Archaic Cryogenics Facility, 0 834.999.M41
Adeptus Mechanicus Expedition to ruins on Holy Terra
Objective: Hunt for archaeotech to further the goals of the Omnissiah - that is, the God-Emperor of Humanity

Within the confines of the ruins, half-buried underground, two Tech-Priests from the Adeptus Mechanicus, along with a Servitor and a pair of recording servo-skulls, were examining the ancient structure for signs of ancient technology left. The building in question seemed to date from the early era of the third millennium, making this an extraordinarily rare find.

++Observation++ ++Ultrasonics reveal a basement area beneath this floor++ ++contents unknown++ ++access port discovered++

The less human-looking of the two tech-priests, an Explorator assigned to accompany Magos Felicia Tayber during this expedition, stepped over to an extraordinarily rusted file cabinet, pushing it aside(and turning it into scrap metal as well) to reveal the faint outlines of a door. The senior tech-priest's mechadendrites began to cut away at the exterior, sparks flying as the door fell forward down a large staircase.

Stepping over the ruined door, the three(or two and a half, given the Servitor's less-than-human mental capabilities) reached the lower floor, where they were shown a strange sight - small metal containers, each one connected to tubes that fed in some sort of chilled gaseous mixture. One of the servo-skulls floated forward, scanning the mysterious container, the Explorator vocalizing the machine's findings.

++Head of human sentient++ ++Third millennium relic++ ++head is preserved through application of cryogenic gas++ ++head is non-functional and incapable of being attached to a body++ ++containment failure is likely cause of death of cryo-frozen tissue++

"Hardly a surprise," Felicia mused, pausing for a moment as she heard a noise down at the far end of the room. "Why such equipment would remain functional without any maintenance for millennia is a miracle of the Machine-God." A door opened, and what very clearly appeared to be a mechanized humanoid stepped forward - It was large, over a foot taller than the Magos herself. Slowly and mechanically, the individual walked over towards them, saying nothing. The hum of ancient motors and glimpse of archaic sensors underneath the facial plate of the entity indicated clearly that this was some sort of archaic machine - perhaps even a Man of Iron.

The machine's exterior appeared to be a durable alloy. It had a pair of stabbing claws, retracted as of right now, along with a human-like appendage for the right arm and a cannon on the left that appeared to be of a design unseen to humanity. It was not Chaos-corrupted from what Felicia could tell - it gave no indication of aberrant behavior, nor did it showcase the physical signs of an automaton possessed by a daemon.

The two tech-priests, immediately intrigued at the thought of this machine leading them to its fellows, followed, only to be greeted with an unusual sight - a massive cryogenics pod that the archaic construct was tending to. Another Man of Iron, identical but even more banged up than the one that had greeted them, was assisting it, turning a valve to release more gas into the pod, continuing the preservation of whatever human remained inside.

"Fascinating. These... automatons... have kept the individual frozen for this entire time." Felicia mused, pondering over the capabilities of how to bring out the person within from stasis. "Imagine what he could tell us of the ancient technologies here... "

++Warning++ ++Subject has severe internal trauma++ ++heart and left lung damaged critically++ ++death will follow if revived without implants++

"Well, do you see any way we can keep the pod frozen?" She mused. The options were slim - the body would need to be swiftly thawed, then operated on before any decay could set in. But how could they manage proper implantation of organ replacements in such a short span of time?

++Nanites can stabilize individual's organs for long enough to allow for replacements++ ++fitted with micro factory to produce the necessary nanites++

The Explorator had spent time among the Cult of the Micro-Omnisiah on Galath, and had been implanted with the nano-genus mechadendrites and the micro-factory to produce the necessary nanites. Emperor willing, they would stabilize whoever the individual was for long enough that they could replace the necessary organs. With such being the case, they immediately moved to begin the disassembling process for removing the body from the pod. This would be a remarkable discovery.

Perhaps they would get a planet out of it.

Recovery Ward, Holy Terra, 0 835.999.M41

"Date-log, 835.999.M41." Felicia mused to the recorder built into her very body. "The operation was somewhat successful. Significant damage was caused to the individual's torso. Several ribs were completely broken. The liver, pancreas, heart, and right lung were all damaged beyond repair, likely the reason this man was in cryogenic stasis to begin with - to seek an opportunity for his repair later." She looked down, noticing the still-comatose body of the individual, his eyes closed and his flesh pale, a residual effect of the cold. "Individual is estimated to be in his early twenties. More than the usual amount of alcohol was found in his system, suggesting intoxication played a part in the situation he was now in. Physical structure has been reinforced through implantation of mechanical braces instead of damaged ribs, as well as artificial organs. His body is biologically active, but no brain activity has been detected since his awakening."

She sighed, to herself, frustrated. Had all her work been for naught? Then a brief spike formed on the monitor he had been wired to. And another, and another... Slowly, it seemed as though he was awakening, a finger twitching, a shoulder maneuvering forward as the body seemed to run itself through some sort of mental reactivation protocol. This continued for what seemed like hours, electric current from the mind slowly rising to levels of extreme erraticism.

Car... Crash... What happened? Bright lights... Force... Stabbed by something... Damn, that party wasn't worth it, was it?

He shuddered more and more violently, the unknowing flashback shocking whatever remained of his psyche into action before he ceased moving once more, the brain activity, previously off the charts, reduced to slightly below-normal levels. A medical servitor brought in an IV, swiftly plugged into his system to provide him with whatever nutrients he had failed to receive during stasis, the adequate nutrients to assist his body in adjusting to the new implants.

It was a good thing he hadn't yet awoken from the rest he had received. After all, this was the grim darkness of the far future. There was only one thing awaiting him.

War.

Recovery Ward, Holy Terra, 0 836.999.M41

Eyes opened for the first time in many millennia. They were green, verdant like the forests long made extinct on the Hive World as man expanded to every territory of the planet's surface, even the oceans devoured by his thirst. He slowly moved his fingers, stretching them before weakly clenching them in a fist. He turned his head left and right before moving his shoulders back, slowly sitting up. This was... different. He recollected fondly where he had died, and everything that had transpired since then.

Looking around, he noticed the degree of strange, dystopian advancement that had spread throughout the entirety of the hospital bed. Carefully, he turned towards the right side of the bed, wiggling his toes and twitching his feet to ensure that they would work. As he stood up, an almost painful tingling sensation reached his brain, so strong that he almost lost his footing – but as he continued to stand up, the feeling began to slowly go away. Taking the IV from his arm and slowly removing it, he began to cautiously walk towards the door, looking to exit the room and find someone, anyone to talk to.

But the door was sealed. There would be no method of entrance anytime soon, no doorknob, no keypad… Nothing at all to utilize in order to exit the room. Because of this, he did the only thing he felt was sensible – he began to bang on the door, hoping that someone would answer him. And indeed, someone did – but that someone made him step back in fear.

It was a woman. Wearing robes of crimson red, a good half of her face seemed to have been replaced by disturbing metal implants, flesh menacingly melded with machinery. Mechanical limbs, tipped with tri-fingered claws, seemed to sprout from her back, aimed menacingly towards him despite the smile she seemed to showcase with whatever flesh was still functional on her face. He immediately began to tremble, falling back. "Oh God no... This has to be some sort of sick, fucked up dream... No way in hell the Borg Queen and Doctor Octopus could've merged like this..."

Felicia paused, eying him. He spoke in a syntax that sounded unusually, almost disturbingly close to the Low Gothic commonly utilized by the population of the Imperium. Some things he spoke of were very much unfamiliar to her, though she chose to halt her further advancement into the room. "You clearly appear to be in a state of shock... I am Felicia Tayber, Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus. I recovered you from the state of cryogenic suspension you were placed in. We also recovered some automatons that were tending to you and the others being preserved there."

He paused for a moment. "You're a mage of the what? Is this some kinda weird-ass steampunk fantasy cosplay you have going on? Is it Halloween?"

She blinked, taking a second to comprehend the lack of knowledge of the present the man had. "I am a tech-priest... I serve the Machine God and keep the machine-spirits of weapons and vehicles fully functional. Is that what you have trouble understanding?" She looked down at his form, pressed against the wall, hands trembling against the glass. "We did manage to bring you back from your injuries, though much of your organs had to be replaced with implants, in concert with some of your ribs."

He stopped, pondering on her words as he brought a hand down to further examine the left side of his body. Where there was supposed to be flesh, there was only cold, soulless steel. He ran his hands over the plate, something that felt as though it were oddly light for being made of what felt like steel. He grimaced, not wanting to ponder more on the vision of what lie underneath the loose fitting medical tunic he wore, before turning back to the metal woman. "So I was in stasis for..."

++Estimated length of suspension is approximately 38 millennia++ ++Exact date inconclusive++

The Explorator that had come with Felicia, far more mechanical than even her, stepped into the room, a servo-skull floating in as well. What little color was in the man's flesh vanished as he looked at what had once been the head of a living, breathing human being, now covered with primitive-looking wires and plates that caused it to float a mere foot away. It was like the ghost from Eyes... but in real life. And what was there to do against a floating skull?

He punched it. With a fist, he aimed for the skull's singular optic, cracking the thin glass covering the optic even as his knuckle bruised from the impact. As the skull staggered back, with the Magos watching in horror, he slipped behind it, tearing the bundles of wire from the back of the floating automaton. Sparks flew from the optic as the lights on the familiar exploded, the powerless husk falling to the ground, soon to be stepped on a couple dozen times by the man's foot. Did it hurt considering he wasn't wearing any boots? Yes, but he didn't step on anything particularly sharp or pointy, so his feet weren't cut to shreds.

The Explorator had rushed to get help as Felicia desperately tried to stop him from further cracking and harming the skull of what had once been Brother Maynard, a loyal member of the Ecclesiarchy who died saving a Cardinal from a frag grenade tossed at him by a Chaos Cultist some three hundred years prior. Eventually, he stopped before kicking it one final time, sending it flying into the wall. Gasping, he leaned back against the wall, slowly slipping down until he was sitting on the floor. "I won... I killed it..." A loud sigh of relief came from his lips as he did his best to ease his tension.

"You destroyed a sacred relic of the Imperium." The armored form of the Inquisitor known as Edmarius eyed the man who still stared at the mechanical head. He stepped forward, even as the man continued to stare at the lifeless automaton. "Do you realize what sort of crime you've committed?"

Skull robot... Brazen head as used by Pope Sylvester II... Night vision... Magnetic anti-gravity repulsion... Hoverboard...

She reached down, grabbing him by the tunic as he remained in the stunned, trance-like state, trying his best to remain composed in the face of the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor. Looking at the Magos, he shook his head before an acolyte of his forced the revived human's hands behind his back, cuffing him and taking him out of the room. "Your presence is no longer required, Magos Tayber." A new servo-skull entered the room as the Inquisitor

"This is a matter of heresy. No more, no less."