Sicaran Main Battle Tank

The **Sicaran Battle Tank** was an Imperial main battle tank and one of the most advanced armoured vehicles used by the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade and the Antarus Apostasy in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.

These powerful vehicles were exclusive to the armouries of the *Legiones Astartes,* introduced to the armouries of the legions in the wake of successful combat trials on the fields of Ullanor. Since that time, the vehicle began to supplant the venerable Predator tank, as well as proving to be an extremely versatile basic design, dozens of distinct variant finding their way into some or all of the legions armouries.

## History

The Sicaran Battle Tank was the exclusive province of the Space Marine Legions and was considered one of the most advanced armoured units in the arsenal of the Great Crusade. First seeing action at the Ullanor Crusade, the Sicaran performed exceptionally, the Scorpion Guard requesting all avaliable units be placed under their command for the final push against the Orks, something that was granted for their final counter attack.

Designed not simply by a single Primarch, the idea behind the Sicaran came from the mind of Artellion, the youngest of the pantheon. Having seen the Predator and its shortcomings, Artellion envisioned a new battle tank for the legions, one that could keep up with the speed of an Astartes advance, and carry weapons that could match any foe. He also saw a desire to keep the tank maluable, its design able to be adapted to take new weapons as the need arose.

For this however, Artellion knew he would need assistance, Shaaa Hydrades and Galvarian both responding to the request, though neither knew the other was to be present, the emnity the pair had always had for one another long since widening into outright scorn of the other. Only due to Artellion did the trio manage to work together, Galvarian working on the vehicles advance sensor suite and targetting arrays, while Shaaa focused instead on the chasis of the vehicle, creating something that was robust enough to survive on a battlefield, yet light enough to not make the transition into a Heavy Tank. When both of their work was combined with the weapons Artellion had devised, it created a tank far superior to the aging Predator, deemed suitable to replace the tank in the decades to come.

## Armament

The primary armament of the Sicaran Battle Tank is a twin-linked set of the highly sophisticated Herakles Pattern Accelerator Autocannon. These weapons are akin to the much heavier calibre Accelerator Cannon mounted upon the super-heavy Fellblade tank. While the Accelerator Autocannons used by the Sicaran are smaller, they are superior in terms of firing speed and accuracy, and are capable of firing shells at far higher velocities than a standard Autocannon.

This allows the Sicaran to engage swiftly moving enemy vehicles and pinpoint vulnerabilities in their armour with lethal precision. The Sicaran is also armed with a hull-mounted Heavy Bolter and two sponson-mounted weapons, which can be either Heavy Bolters or Lascannons. The vehicle can also be outfitted with a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, Extra Armour Plating, a Dozer Blade, an Auxiliary Drive System, armoured ceramite plating, a Searchlight, or Smoke Launchers.

## Wargear

A standard Legion Sicaran Battle Tank is armed and equipped with:

* Twin-linked Herakles Pattern Accelerator Autocannons
* Heavy Bolter
* Searchlight
* Smoke Launchers
* Extra Armour Plating

A Legion Sicaran Battle Tank may take one of the following pintle-mounted weapons:

* Twin-linked Bolter
* Combi-Weapon
* Heavy Bolter
* Heavy Flamer
* Multi-Melta
* Havoc Missile Launcher

A Legion Sicaran Battle Tank may also be armed with the following sets of sponson weapons, two weapons per set:

* Heavy Bolters
* Lascannons

Legion Sicaran Battle Tanks may also have a variety of vehicle equipment such as:

* Dozer Blade
* Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher
* Armoured Ceramite Plating
* Auxiliary Drive System

## Variants

* **Sicaran Arcus Strike Tank** - The Sicaran Arcus Strike Tank is a ranged support variant of the standard Sicaran Battle Tank. The Sicaran Arcus removes the standard Sicaran's turret-mounted weapons and replaces it with an Arcus Launcher, a type of Rotary Missile Launcher, similar to that of the Deimos Whirlwind Scorpius.
* **Sicaran Advancer Armoured Transport**- Unique amongst the Sicaran's variants, the Advancer is not a Battle Tank, but a transport, capable of carrying six fully armoured Astartes into battle, while possessing extended sensors and command and control suites to allow them to observe and direct the flow of the battle. As such, many legion commanders began utilising the Sicaran Advancer in place of other such vehicles, such as the Damocles Command Rhino.
* **Sicaran Cockatrice** - Designed by Artellion in the wake of the initial wave, the Cockatrice can best be described as a sniper tank. Sharing a similar profile to the Venator, the Cockatrice mounts a single railcannon within its hull, able to engage any foe from extreme range with a variety of different projectiles, or even scraps of metal if required, allowing the tank to operate for long periods without resupply.
* **Sicaran Dominus** - Designed to overcome fast moving, heavily armoured enemy assets, the Dominus is a tank destroyer that retains the tuerrt system of its forebear, though replaces the Herakles Pattern Accelerator Autocannons with a pair of mighty Grav-Cannons.
* **Sicaran Executioner** - The last of the Sicarans, the Executioner boasts a hull-mounted, twin-linked heavy conversion beamer, making it deadly at extreme ranges. The Executioner is by far the rarest of any of the Sicaran variants.
* **Sicaran Lanius** - Designed to create a dedicated anti-infantry tank that is also easy to maintain, the Lanius replaces the Herakles Pattern Accelerator Autocannons with an array of far more readily avalible Kheres Assault Cannons. The resultant design is crude but effective, just like the War Bears who designed it.
* **Sicaran Omega Plasma Carrier** - The Sicaran Omega Plasma Carrier, mostly refered to as the Sicaran Omega, removes the standard Sicaran's turret-mounted weapons and replaces them with a twin-linked set of Omega Plasma Cannons, making the vehicle a threat to heavy infantry and vehicles alike, while retaining the fast tracking turret of the base tank.
* **Sicaran Overlord** - The heaviest variant of the Sicaran, the Overlord was designed by Shaaa Hydrades as his vision of what the original Sicaran should have been, a Heavy tank, rather than a medium classification. Mounting heavier armour and replacing the accelerator autocannons with a pair of battle cannons more commonly found on the Kodiak battle tank, the Overlord was the perfect successor to the aging Malcador Assault Tank.
* **Sicaran Punisher Assault Tank** - The Sicaran Punisher Assault Tank is an anti-infantry variant of the standard Sicaran Battle Tank. The Sicaran Punisher removes the standard Sicaran's turret-mounted weapons and replaces them with a Punisher Rotary Cannon.
* **Sicaran Ustor** - Designed in the wake of the successful if crude Sicaran Lanius, the Ustor was designed alongside the punisher to create a dedicated anti-infantry vehicle. While the punisher focused on a hail of solid shots however, the Ustor was developed to use a mighty Volkite Cascade, destroying the enemy in a beam of searing energy.
* **Sicaran Venator** - The Sicaran Venator is a heavy tank destroyer variant of the standard Sicaran Battle Tank. The Sicaran Venator removes the standard Sicaran's turret and hull-mounted Heavy Bolter and replaces it with a hull-mounted Neutron Laser Cannon.
* **Sicaran Vindex Air-Defence Tank** - Created to give the legions a fast moving, well armoured and well armed anti-aircraft vehicle, the Vindex was not only designed to aid in the replacement of the Predator, but the myriad of other stop gap anti-air vehicles in use by the legions.