Proteus 34 in his original Men of Iron form.
- Name: Proteus 34
- Rank: Artificial Intelligence Construct
- Born/Created: Unknown
- Cult: -not marine-
- Status: Serving the Ghosts of Retribution
Description[]
Proteus 34 is one of the last Men of Iron, an independent Artificial Intelligence Construct. He was first encountered during Operation Ice Spear as a field commander of the Men of Iron battlegroup known as the Wrath. According to him, some sort of communications array was his primary objective. Proteus 34 was captured during Operation Ice Spear when Chapter Master bested him in close combat, claiming Ironhaunt from the machine warrior at the same time. During the subsequent interrogation Proteus was very passive-agressive and didn't believe anything the Chapter Master was trying to convice him of, including the current date.
Proteus 34 in his Cyber-Eagle form.
However following the destruction of the Wrath command ship, Proteus 34 became much more cooperative and seemed willing to assist the Chapter however he could - claiming that he had no other purpose now. He also accepted that it was the 41st Millennium, and that the Men of Iron as a galactic faction had not existed for over 12,000 years. Naturally he was treated with considerable suspicion and mistrust, but in 332.M41 he was given a new body in the form of a Cyber-Eagle.
As a Cyber-Eagle Proteus' ability to interfere with operations was virtually nil and for the next three decades he served as a diligent secretary & messenger for Chapter Master, bringing him astropathic messages, tallying figures, keeping schedules, and on occasion offering his unique outlook & opinions on current events.
In 366.M41 many rumours began circulating around Sector Deus that great powers were forming within The Grave. Proteus 34 had shown a great curiosity towards the irrational nature of the Warp - something that contradicted his logical outlook on reality - over his decades of service to the Chapter. In response to these dark rumours, Proteus offered to journey into The Grave itself to investigate what was happening and report his finding. Chapter Master accepted Proteus' offer and the AI was given a humanoid form to use.
Proteus successfully infiltrated the Grave aboard a smuggling ship, reaching the world of Avignon. He learned that the Anticardinal Radeus Krah had amassed a following of enormous size and was preparing for an invastion of Malta. Proteus took radical action and assassinated the Anticardinal, plunging Avignon into disarray and fracturing his great alliance. Unfortunately Proteus was then hunted across the planet by the many subfactions his own actions had created, though he managed to send a message to the Ghosts of Retribution before his capture.
Operation To Hell and Back was launched by the Chapter in order to rescue Proteus 34, primarily to ensure that his Artificial Intelligence and knowledge could not be turned to nefarious purposes by the occupants of The Grave. Proteus 34 was successfully rescued from the clutches of Chaos forces which had been attempting to merge his core with a giant spider-like war engine. Proteus' core was brought back to the Tombstone where he was restored to psyber-eagle form.