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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→Pilot
The pilots within Dreadnoughts are Marines who have suffered mortal wounds in battle, maimed and crippled beyond recovery: instead of being mercifully killed, the greatest heroes are instead given what is considered the honour of continuing to serve the [[Emperor]] past their normal lives. Once interred within the Dreadnought, the Marine cannot leave the metal womb and is destined for a life of endless battle until destroyed. Some are so ancient their memories may extend back to the founding of their [[chapter]] and its earliest history. For this reason they are revered not just as powerful warriors but also as ageless forebears and living embodiments of battles fought long ago. If a Dreadnought is destroyed, the Space Marines will fight to retrieve the armoured shell so that the occupant can be returned to the chapter's mausoleum for his long-deserved final rest.{{Fn|5}}
All Dreadnoughts contain speakers and the warrior within can communicate with other Space Marines. An interred warrior’s thoughts and emotions are translated by the Dreadnought’s systems into a simulated vocalization loosely reminiscent of the pilot’s original flesh voice.{{Fn|15}} The synthesised, crackling voice emanates from within the machine, making a conversation with a Dreadnought an eerie experience. Traditionally, every Dreadnought also bears a scroll with the inscribed name of the hero on it. When the a new warrior is interred as a pilot, the Dreadnought will take a new name.{{Fn|2a}}
====Armour and Systems====
