Socially Awkward Ork

"Why are those mech-pilots so..." The Medic pauses to search for the right word.

"Bitey?" Offers the Commander.

"I was going to say feral, but yeah."

"It's because of their close quarters combat mods, both anatomical and neurological."

"What, why would they have those?" Asks, the medic, incredulously.

The commander sets down their mug and explains, patiently:

"Captured mechs and their pilots are worth more intact than they are scattered into pieces. The rider needs to be able to defend themself independently of their ride. Guns run out of ammo, limbs can break. But sharpened teeth is easy to conceal and difficult to remove from a prisoner. Combined with their enhanced reflexes, it's simple for a pilot to give a target a good chomp."

"I see. That makes sense," Says the Medic nodding until they stop as something occurs to them: "Wait, I've been having to patch up wounds that weren't particularly lethal. So it's not that effective for self-defense."

"Three reasons for that: First is survivorship bias, you haven't seen the mech-jackers who got their jugulars ripped open. Second is that pilot's have dull caps on their teeth that can disintegrate when their handler presses a button. When they're on base, those caps stay on, which keeps their chew toys alive. Third is that pilots like to bite, because of the neurological conditioning, but they've got enough self-control to break skin but not cause serious damage. Or at least they're supposed to."

The medic hums, contemplatively.

"Any more questions?" says the Commander as they pick back up their mug.

"Nope, thanks commander. I'll be going now."