Scitarii and the Overseers

The Skitarii (singular Skitarius) are the military arm of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Also known as the Tech-Guard or the Legioness Skitarii, they are equipped with some of the finest weapons and armor available to the Mechanicus. While the tech-priests of the Omnissiah are all imbued with unique augmetics, Skitarii are fitted with uniform cybernetics within their cohort, at least during their initial formation. Like all Mechanicus, any injuries sustained are a chance to get more augmetics and thus become closer to their Machine-God's perfect form. All Skitarii, regardless of origin, have their lower legs replaced during their creation.
The Overseers, the commanders of the Skitarii, have all passed the Crux Mechanicus, a term used to describe anyone who is less than five percent flesh. Often they are brains sitting in an armored, mechanical body. Many Overseers come from the ranks of Skitarii, learning the art of war and conquest through years of service but some, very few, come from the ranks of the Knight World Noble Houses. When a young noble from a Knight House comes of age, they are sent to an allied Forge World where they undergo a trial called the Ritual of Becoming to bond with the machine spirit of an Imperial Knight. Those who pass the Ritual go on to be pilots of Imperial Knights. Many who fail are driven mad by the experience and are given the Emperor's Mercy. Those who are rejected by the Machine Spirit but survive with their mind more or less intact are then given up to the Adeptus Mechanicus who implant the mind into a new Overseer shell.
Skitarii and Overseers attached to a void fleet are called Classiarii. They are trained for boarding actions, security, and bodyguard duty. Their equipment includes void-sealed armor and weapons modified to work in the cold and radiation saturated vacuum of space.

Type

Infantry