Axion could empathize with the act of insulting one's superiors. According to the socio-cultural records in its databanks, non-intelligent units in positions of authority frequently made decisions and issued directives that were nearly impossible for their subordinates to execute.
However, Axion failed to realize one crucial point: even when hurling insults, one must consider the target. Insulting an Adeptus Astartes was, by any measure, a grievous error, especially when one's own standing was significantly lower.
Had other members of the Adeptus Mechanicus overheard, they likely would have remained silent. There was no profit in offending a colleague, after all. Furthermore, the Cult Mechanicus held a status equal to that of the wider Imperium, existing in a unique symbiotic partnership where tech-priests enjoyed substantial prerogatives.
But to have such an insult pointed out by a third party was profoundly embarrassing. Even if the various Imperial departments didn't always pursue such slights, the wrath of the individual involved was not something easily weathered. After all, a Space Marine in ceramite power armour was, with both arms at his sides, wider than a standard human was tall.
Fortunately, Calanthus possessed far more restraint than the grease-monkeys of the Mechanicus. Though Axion had helpfully explained that the tech-priest's meaningless burst of short-range noise was actually a string of profanities, Calanthus said nothing. He simply reached down, gathered the fragments of the shattered breastplate along with the remains still in his hand, and placed them in a nearby maintenance bay. Whether that piece of armour was destined for the forge-fires of reclamation or painstaking repair remained to be seen.
To prevent Axion from breaking anything else, Calanthus led the machine toward a different, colossal hangar. Inside stood several towering war machines.
Knight Suits.
These tall, humanoid constructs looked like hunched old men draped in hooded cloaks. Averaging ten metres in height, they were massive even compared to the Astartes. Surrounding these giants, a legion of Imperial servitors and tech-priests bustled about their duties.
A mortal woman wearing a form-fitting, multi-coloured leather bodysuit, adorned with the Imperial Aquila and the intricate iconography of the Briar flower, immediately approached upon seeing Calanthus.
"Salutations, Brother Calanthus."
Calanthus bowed his head slightly in response. "And to you, Matriarch Heman."
Stepping aside, Calanthus introduced the mortal to Axion. "This is Heman, Matriarch of the Knight House Briar. They are among the sworn associates serving our Chapter. In times of war, the Knights of her household pilot these Knight-class suits to provide essential heavy support on the battlefield."
As soon as Calanthus finished speaking, Axion raised a finger, pointing at a Knight Suit currently undergoing maintenance.
"I recognize this model. Forest Pioneer. Equipped with a colossal chainsaw and a heavy incinerator."
"According to the records, this is standard equipment for clearing drop zones, specifically on planets with significant ecological value. The serrated teeth, reinforced with a molecular-disruption field, can easily mulch unknown vegetation and any small indigenous fauna hiding within. Once scorched by the heavy incinerator and the ground is leveled, the area can be readily converted into arable land."
However, as its scanners whirred, Axion suddenly shook its head.
"Wait. That is incorrect. This is not a Forest Pioneer. The power output and control schematics are different."
Matriarch Heman's expression turned somewhat peculiar. Aside from a small number of Questor Imperialis Knights, most Knight Suits across the galaxy were the property of noble Knight Houses. According to Imperial records, every Knight House traced its lineage back to the dawn of the Age of Exploration, when human pioneers set out into the stars with colony ships and these massive machines of industry.
Axion's databanks, however, told a different story.
All Knight machines were developed by the Federal Colonization Bureau as multi-purpose frontier tools and heavy-duty civilian security mechs. During the Great Starfaring Era, the Bureau had specifically engineered this series of single-pilot mechs to allow colony fleets to handle survival friction with "local indigenous populations." Most were modular in design to facilitate field repairs by the accompanying mechanics. Colony ships possessed industrial facilities; provided sufficient materials and the STC standard templates, they could manufacture any required product.
The Knight Suit STC was among them. These suits utilized standard interfaces, and their tool modules were interchangeable. The colossal chainsaw was for cutting; the heavy incinerator was for clearing brush; the lance-like weapon was actually a mining tool for boring into mountains. The power claw was designed for hauling and crushing ore.
The modular design gave these Knight Suits immense potential for modification, potential that had been forgotten in the unfathomable depths of the Great Houses' histories.
"You seem remarkably well-versed in the historical configurations of these machines," Matriarch Heman remarked, showing no offense. She glanced at the Imperial Aquila and Mechanicus sigils on Axion's silver-white metallic chassis, then turned to Calanthus.
"Is this some new creation of the Mechanicus? It seems... interesting."
Axion did not wait for Calanthus to reply. Instead, it turned its sensor-array toward the Astartes.
"You say these machines provide support on the battlefield? The structural integrity of these mechs is insufficient for any modern combat environment. They are too fragile; their defensive capabilities are abysmal. Sending them into a live fire zone is synonymous with suicide."
Calanthus looked at the "Knights." Beyond the prominent chainsaws and incinerators, they were armed with twin-linked battle cannons, volcano cannons, heavy plasma, large multi-lasers, and more. Two even boasted carapace-mounted ironstorm missile pods. By any metric, they looked exceptionally well-armed.
Axion's words successfully provoked Heman's ire.
"We are a Knight House. To pilot these Divine Machines in battle and protect the people is our honour and our sacred duty. Though I have brought my kin from our homeworld to fulfil our oaths to the Ultramarines Chapter, it does not mean we will suffer such contemptuous insults!"
Axion looked at Calanthus with genuine bewilderment. "Deploying such illegally modified civilian machinery into a combat zone is a death sentence."
Axion could not confirm if these humans, with their significant genetic drift, were a natural iteration of humanity, so it simply treated them as such. But once categorized as human, Axion could not ignore such irrational and non-standard operating procedures.
As for the Astartes... in Axion's eyes, the Astartes weren't human at all. They violated natural laws; they were bio-engineered soldiers. The grease-monkeys of the Mechanicus were the same.
And the original purpose of the Iron Men was to serve and protect their creators.
Watching the furious Heman, Calanthus felt a massive headache brewing. He couldn't explain Axion's true nature to her, yet he couldn't grasp Axion's logic either. After all, on the battlefield, a Knight Suit was far more formidable than a lone Space Marine. Without heavy weaponry, an Astartes armed only with a bolter or plasma gun would be obliterated by a Knight.