Konnik Siegecrawler

The Konnik Siegecrawler is a super-heavy warcrawler manufactured on the forge world of Victoria and utilized exclusively by the 203rd Combined. The STC was only recently discovered on Tharkad and brought to Victoria for analysis and manufacture. Although it is not one of the largest armored vehicles in service with the Astra Militarum, it is one of the rarest and technologically complex. When deployed, Konniks are often used as spearheads for breakthroughs or as ground command vehicles.

Konniks are heavily armored behemoths with a variety of weaponry designed to engage a multitude of differing targets. As a warcrawler, it is capable of traversing more treacherous terrain than its treaded counterparts in the Baneblade and Shadowsword. Despite this advantage, however, Konniks are still relatively slow machines, lack significant maneuverability, and do present a large target profile to enemy anti-armor weaponry.

One of the most unique aspects of the Konnik that sets it apart from other super-heavy vehicles in the Astra Militarum arsenal is its modularity. The primary and secondary weapon mounts were designed during the Dark Age of Technology to allow for changes in the field. As a result, there are no dedicated variants of the Konnik, but a team of rear-echelon engineers that can alter the siegecrawler’s configuration when needed.

History
The Konnik was a lost technology from before the time of the Great Crusade and is a relic of the Dark Age of Technology. As the STC has only recently been discovered, only a few dozen Konniks have been produced with all exclusively being manufactured on Victoria. They were first utilized by the 203rd Combined’s breakthrough companies during the Hephastion Campaign where it was utilized as the core of the siege regiment’s spearhead to break the defenses of Hephastion Prime.

Armament
The standard configuration of the Konnik consists of a casemate-mounted traversable mega battle cannon as its primary armament. The mega battle cannon is supplemented with a forward-facing twin-linked heavy bolter and two pairs of turret-mounted lascannons mounted on side sponsons. It can also be equipped further with searchlights and smoke launchers.

Since the Konnik is designed to be modular, its primary armament can be altered in the field. Konniks are capable of mounting a Vulcan mega bolter, a volcano cannon, or a plasma blastgun. The side sponsons can also be altered to be equipped with twin-linked heavy stubbers, or pairs of heavy bolters as the combat situation requires.

Crew
The Konnik, despite its massive size, only requires a crew of six individuals. Unlike other vehicles, the roles of primary and secondary loaders are not required aboard a Konnik as the siegecrawler is equipped with advanced auto-loading mechanisms.
 * Commanding Officer - The CO is the senior officer on board the siegecrawler and serves to coordinate the crew of the vehicle.
 * Tactical Officer - The Konnik’s TO is the second-in-command of the siegecrawler and is responsible for the vehicle’s auspex and augury sensors.
 * Adept of the Mechanicus - As with all other super-heavies of the Astra Militaurm, all Konniks are accompanied by a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus who is responsible for performing routine maintenance and emergency repairs during combat operations.
 * Driver - The driver steers the siegecrawler and also controls the front facing twin-linked heavy bolters.
 * Primary Gunner - The Primary Gunner operates the Konnik’s main weapon systems.
 * Secondary Gunner - The Secondary Gunner manages the firing of the port and starboard sponson weapon systems.

Notable Users of the Konnik

 * 203rd Combined Siege Regiment - Currently, the Konnik is almost exclusively utilized by the 203rd as part of the regiment’s 1st Breakthrough Company. Since its most recent re-introduction into the Imperial arsenal, only a handful of Konniks have been fabricated.