"Axion, you are free to engage in combat, but you must not under any circumstances attack Imperial personnel. If you do, we will find a way to destroy you, regardless of the cost."
Axion shrugged indifferently.
"Rest assured. While I doubt your ability to destroy me, I require more historical data. Once I achieve my objectives, subsequent matters will not require my consideration."
Provided he could find a genetically normal human, Axion did not believe a rational mind would refuse the loyalty of an Iron Man. As for all other matters, he only needed to follow instructions and execute the task.
Even with independent intelligence, an Iron Man was an extreme form of intelligent tool; unless necessary, an Iron Man did not require additional negotiation as that was the task of their Creators.
The issue that truly complicated things for Axion was the lack of any matching service object.
He had to determine where the true Humans had gone.
And whether the gene-mixed biological entities claiming to be human before him were the result of natural human evolution.
If they were naturally evolved humans, Axion could serve them. If they were not, then where did these 'human' biological entities, with their heavily compromised genetics, come from? Had the true human race been obliterated?
These were the questions Axion needed to resolve.
Hearing Axion's words, Thien clenched his gauntlet. Though he did not know what Axion was pursuing or why he was obsessed with historical data, his interactions so far indicated the ancient construct was extremely honour-bound.
Axion strode to the massive bulkhead door behind the command deck, rotating his head nearly 180 degrees.
Looking at the Captain, the personnel Thien had addressed, in a manner that was profoundly anti-cogitator and sanity-draining:
"I assume you are the Captain. Please open the door. I promised not to use unconventional means."
For Axion, a heavy automated door was merely a matter of electronic infiltration and control.
However, Axion considered the ship a type of personnel; forced intrusion and hijacking an opponent's vessel was not the behaviour of an ally.
The surrounding crew and Astra Militarum hesitated, looking at the Naval Captain standing at the central command console.
After several seconds of deliberation, the Captain nodded.
It was clear that this specialized mechanical entity possessed powerful combat capabilities, likely even exceeding those of the Emperor's Angels.
Otherwise, Thien would not have sounded so frantic in the communication.
Evidently, this unique entity was beyond the capacity of even Sergeant Thien to deal with, leaving the Captain no choice but to comply.
A man who could command an Imperial Battleship was certainly no fool.
As the heavy armoured hatch opened, Axion rotated his head back and, stepping out of the command deck, left behind a brief word of thanks in High Gothic.
As the enormous metallic form lumbered heavily out of the Bridge, the Captain immediately slammed the hatch shut, then nervously scanned his surroundings, as if fearing that more monstrous entities might appear via the same route at any moment.
Meanwhile, the Astra Militarum forces in the corridor outside the Bridge had been utterly broken. Thirty Iron Warriors had initiated a dimensional strike against them.
Coupled with the fact that Thien's departure had necessitated the withdrawal of the Guardsmen from one side corridor, the under-manned Astra Militarum had been almost entirely annihilated, their blood paving the way across the hall floor in a carnage that claimed hundreds of lives.
The Astartes, clad in gray-black ceramite armour that appeared heavier and more solid than the Black Templars' plating, relentlessly squeezed the triggers of their Boltguns.
The high-calibre Bolter rounds often shattered several mortal soldiers with a single blast. Melta-cannons and Heavy Lasers mixed among the crowd of defenders were specifically targeted.
A soldier would often be reduced to shredded paste before he could even raise his weapon to fire.
The next soldier would rush in, only to fail to complete the shot.
The anti-ballistic plating in front of the Heavy Lascannons was utterly pulverized by the concentrated barrage of bolter fire. Short bursts of fire were utterly incapable of inflicting meaningful damage on an Astartes.
Sustained fire, conversely, required endless supply of 'flesh components.'
The casualties of the Astra Militarum were skyrocketing in a one-sided slaughter.
Axion, who had just stepped from the corridor into the large hall, was stunned by the gruesome scene.
Interstellar warfare was not uncommon in his database. The era of human expansion saw the extinction of countless xenos species.
Yet, in every conflict, the Iron Men were the combat spearhead; the Creators might not even appear on the battlefield. There would certainly be no human corpses on the ground.
But these genetically compromised 'humans' displayed biological characteristics almost identical to the humans in his database.
This recalled to his data-vaults the ancient records of human civil war, where the bodies of the Creators were stacked layer upon layer, a scene almost identical to the one before him.
Axion felt a brief moment of disorientation.
But he quickly shook off the unstable emotional state.
A simple scan of the battlefield immediately identified the two warring factions in the compartment.
Thirty of the entities bore symbols similar to those on the four warships he had just destroyed. Clearly, these vastly oversized, genetically modified warriors were the enemy target.
"They appear to be the same class of technological product as Thien's biological warrior-constructs. Are these also a Legion of renegades? Then what about those strange warriors that resembled biological parasites?"
"I believe they were called 'Plague Warriors'? Are they different from these 'Iron Warriors'?"
Axion was confused.
Though Axion had done nothing more than scan the battlefield, the Iron Warriors, who were currently butchering the Guardsmen, would not ignore the strange mechanical entity.
"Captain! That mechanical entity looks strange! It does not appear to be a creation of the False Emperor's dogs!"
One of the Iron Warriors hesitated, pointing his Bolt Rifle at Axion, who stood at the far end of the hall's doorway.
An Iron Warrior with silver embellishments around his shoulder pad waved a hand dismissively.
"Clad in steel, heart of iron. Show no mercy! Eliminate the False Emperor's lapdogs! Regardless of its origin, it is to be annihilated."
The other Iron Warriors on the scene responded to their Captain's shout with their own war-cries.
They then accelerated their assault.
A number of bolter rounds were immediately directed at Axion.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The bolter rounds exploded repeatedly against Axion's chassis, the rising smoke briefly obscuring his massive frame.
Just as the Iron Warriors believed they had eliminated the threat, a sudden, clear sound emanated from the smoke.
"Hmm?"
Axion, his thoughts momentarily interrupted by the impact, used a mechanical hand to brush the area that had been struck. Wiping away the powdery residue of the bolter explosions, he turned his head to face the Iron Warriors who had fired.
"Agh!"
Several screams erupted almost simultaneously.
Axion's residual image at the doorway became translucent.
The Iron Warriors who had just fired were instantly cleaved in two down the centre.
The Captain with the silver shoulder pad instantly spotted the towering machine-mind that had abruptly appeared in the midst of his squad.
Two long, slender mechanical arms had, at some unknown point, extended two thin, triangular blades. A pale golden light shimmered across their surfaces.
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