As an Enginseer, Morlan, and as the commander of a Skitarii contingent who frequently dealt with command documents, Alonas naturally understood High Gothic.
Yet, in this situation, neither man dared to hesitate, responding with a hint of panic.
"What is it you wish to know?"
The recently destroyed Battle Servitors and the Ceramite armour, still radiating intense heat nearby, spoke to one fact: these automatons were not as stable as they currently appeared. Should the Machine Spirit become displeased, everyone present could be shredded by heavy fire in mere seconds.
Despite the fear, Morlan felt a surge of internal excitement. The ability to communicate meant this was clearly not a mindless, abominable intelligence; otherwise, the first action would have been to murder everyone present. Nevertheless, the sophisticated intelligence displayed required him to proceed with extreme caution. No one knew what might happen next.
Observing the reaction of the two men, which was distinctly different from that of the surrounding Skitarii, Axion gleaned some understanding. The situation was strange.
Did the Adeptus Mechanicus neglect to even hardwire High Gothic into these inferior biological-mechanical servitors?
"I wish to know: what is the current era? Where have the Humans and the Engineers gone? And where are my own kind?"
The torrent of questions left Morlan and Alonas confused.
"The current year is Imperial Calendar 12,432, and the Mechanicus Calendar is 34,789."
While history was not the Mechanicus's primary domain, they were obligated to know this much. The history of the Adeptus Mechanicus far predated that of the Imperium, and their relationship was one of cooperation, not subordination. When a fortunate soul was selected by a tech-priest of the Priesthood and underwent gene-screening, if talent was discovered, they would be nurtured from a young age. Their core syllabus invariably included the fundamental history of the Cult Mechanicus. Though the basic historical overview was brief, it was sufficient for Morlan to answer Axion's query.
"As for Humanity? We are Human. Or are you referring to humans who have not yet undergone mechanical augmentation? And what is an Engineer? Are your own kind other intelligent automatons?"
Morlan's response astonished Axion.
The scanners integrated into the Sentry-Troopers' chassis projected twin green biological identification beams, sweeping across everyone present. Observing the returned data, Axion meticulously conducted a gene-comparison.
"False. Biological identification shows that you are all genetically hybridised organisms. You are fundamentally not Human!"
As he spoke, the Sentry-Trooper raised its weapon.
"You seek to deceive me?!"
Morlan and Alonas looked utterly bewildered by the accusation and anger in Axion's voice. This was the first time Axion had felt a surge of pure anger, yet he did not immediately open fire; he needed to find the truth. The expressions of the two men clearly indicated that they genuinely believed themselves to be Human.
"Lord, I do not comprehend your meaning?" Morlan was the first to react, humbly bowing his head before cautiously asking.
"Your genes are contaminated with too many chaotic fragments, along with components from various xenos and animal life. While you retain a structure and appearance similar to Humanity, you are not Human! You do not deserve to claim that title!"
"If you attempt to mislead me again, I will not hesitate to let you feel the wrath that is the synthesis of Human and Engineer intellect!"
Axion's warning and threat caused the bio-circulatory fluid pumping through Morlan's body to accelerate rapidly.
"This…"
Seeing Morlan fall silent, unsure how to reply, Axion did not press him. He understood now: they might genuinely be unaware of the truth.
But it was irrelevant. Time held no meaning for a Man of Iron; Axion was not bound by the physical limitations of mortality.
After nearly ten minutes of tense silence, Morlan slowly straightened up. He pointed towards the Hive City in the distance.
"Perhaps the Magos could provide you with some answers."
Driven by necessity, Morlan had long deliberated and could only think to lure the construct back to the Hive City before formulating a plan. The city garrisoned more troops and possessed sufficient heavy firepower and Mechanicus-loyal automatons. Yet, this current manner of communication was not what he had hoped for.
As a high-ranking Enginseer of the Mechanicus, Morlan had his pride, and being questioned like a captive was deeply humiliating. However, the result of the recent battle forced him to temporarily concede.
The Triaros might have saved him from the Plague Marines, but he dared not rely on it to escape the Automated Sentry-Troopers.
Just as the scene fell quiet, a violent surge of energy suddenly swept through the area. Bright green light flashed around them, and the very space seemed to be abruptly frozen.
An excited voice echoed across the ground.
"Aha! Is a fascinating historical event about to begin? Ohohoh, what new spark and story will ignite between the ancient human creations and the current Human Imperium!"
A metallic construct, similar in structure to the Sentry-Troopers but distinctly alien, stepped out of a shimmering portal, its staff held high in an extremely excited manner. Had any Adeptus Astartes been present, they would instantly have recognized this newcomer as a Necron. And any who were familiar with the Necrons would easily have identified this strange figure.
"Had I not been close by, and had the Underworld Monitoring Station not flagged an ancient energy signature feedback, I would never have known such an event was transpiring here. A new destiny and history."
The unique frame of the Necron Overlord stalked arbitrarily past the two Automated Sentry-Troopers, Morlan, and Alonas. It even deliberately lifted the twin weapons mounted on the Sentry-Trooper's arms, meticulously examining them.
"Oh, intricate design! Craftsmanship comparable to a Technomancer of the Underworld. A true marvel of ingenuity."
"Zzziiit!!!"
Just as the distinctive Necron skeleton was repeatedly examining the Sentry-Trooper's weapon, a neutron beam suddenly erupted, striking the Necron directly. A green energy shield instantly flared, protecting the alien.
And then, a new voice joined the cacophony within the frozen space.
"Ancient Xenos! Did you believe the spatial stasis technology was unbreakable!"
The Necron turned towards the edge of the space, searching for the source of the voice, where a somewhat tall figure suddenly materialized.
The two Automated Sentry-Troopers, which had been motionless in the stasis, also instantly began to attack.
Neutron beams and grav-autocannon fire swept across the ground arbitrarily.
The staff in the Necron's hand unleashed several beams of light.
As the two Automated Sentry-Troopers were struck by multiple beams, a small explosion instantly killed all the stasis-frozen Skitarii and Servitors around them.
Meanwhile, Axion's core unit flashed with light, executing a short-range warp-jump, teleporting directly behind the startled Necron and seizing the figure who was trying to evade.