The ancient Orks were created by the Old Ones — the origin of all stories in the Warhammer universe. They were famed in the War in Heaven. Now, only the Orks who ravage the galaxy, and the Eldar who were born alongside them, remain.
And now, Nyx's newly adopted son was clearly extraordinary — so much so that Nyx bestowed upon him a sufficiently powerful name: Bug.
Nyx looked forward to the day when Brother Bug could grow to a strength comparable to Gork and Mork. For now, however, Bug's combat power seemed sufficient to contend with a Primarch, and his very existence was of far greater value than an ordinary Primarch.
According to Brother Bug himself, ever since he gained self‑awareness, he had fought on Gork and Mork's ring against countless green Boyz. It was only when he followed Nyx into the material universe that he first saw beings other than greenskins.
Nevertheless, after Nyx explained Bug's origins to everyone, most people lowered their guard against this seemingly honest greenskin — except for Mortarion.
He still harboured intense hostility toward Bug, and he justified this as his hatred of xenos.
But Typhon, silently observing the Death Lord's changes, could not mistake the feelings of jealousy and possessiveness.
When Nyx announced that he would accept Bug as his adopted son, Mortarion nearly ground his teeth to dust. Whenever Bug and Nyx grew closer, Mortarion would 'involuntarily' interpose himself between them to separate them.
...Jealousy and possessiveness. Mortarion — when did you become like this?!
Typhon only felt his perception shifting. He did not know that this was not uncommon among the Primarchs — the phenomenon of 'daddy's boys' competing for paternal attention had long been widespread among many of the Primarchs. Even after they themselves became the gene‑sires of Legions, their own sons would experience this phenomenon.
"Brother Bug!"
Nyx's voice cut through Typhon's thoughts. "Come, show everyone what you can do!"
At this command, every Reaper member turned their gaze to Bug. They were curious about this new, large greenskin, and secretly hoped he could deliver a shocking performance like Nyx's miracle that evening.
"WAAAGH! Me, Bug — I ain't never lettin' Boss down!"
An exclusive Ork roar erupted. The green WAAAGH! energy field began to surge around Brother Bug! Mortarion could not help but frown as he watched.
...Father must have been bewitched by this shameless xenos!
Images of him expelling, or even exterminating, Bug flashed incessantly through his mind. Yet, as he watched Bug rush toward the pile of xenos corpses, Mortarion sneered silently.
This greenskin xenos — does he intend to use his psychic energy to perform some blasphemous ritual with the corpses? He truly is a xenos.
He secretly resolved: even if Father stopped him, he would rid the world of this xenos after he finished his so‑called 'performance' — at most, for Father's sake, he would grant him a 'merciful' death.
Brother Bug, absorbed in his construction, cared nothing for the gazes of others. All sorts of strange thoughts constantly burst forth in his head. At this moment, the incredible creative talent of the Ork race began to manifest in his genetic code. In other words, Brother Bug had the potential to become the most powerful 'Mekboy' of all time.
"OI RECKON DIS CAN WORK!"
He crouched beside the grotesque xenos debris. His thick green fingers prodded and poked; a green light flickered in his eyes.
He tore off a cold, luminescent chitinous plate, weighed it in his hand, and snapped off a thin, sturdy, specially‑shaped arm‑bone. He roughly jammed it together with the plate, producing a nauseating squelch‑crack. And this was only the beginning.
As though entering a state of near‑trance, he spun around and pounced upon a pile of mechanical scrap stacked beside Nyx — the remnants of Nyx's smelting lessons. In this moment, they became precious materials in Brother Bug's hands.
He muttered Mekboy terminology incomprehensible to outsiders, yet his movements were astonishingly swift. His green iron fist smashed a bent metal plate flat, twisted it into a barrel‑like shape, then yanked several cables from the heap, wrapping them around the xenos arm‑bone without even looking...
No blueprints. No measurements. No precision tools. Only brute force, improvisation, and the subtle hum of the omnipresent green WAAAGH! energy field.
Bug's technique appeared chaotic — even destructive. Yet each movement possessed a strange, purposeful fluidity, as though these disparate parts were simply meant to be joined together in exactly this way.
Before the eyes of all, Brother Bug completed his creation in just ten minutes — and this was the first firearm he had ever made in his life.
He then aimed this biomass‑infused, grotesque weapon at a target Nyx had prepared, and pulled the trigger.
BANG——!
A crisp report exploded from the muzzle. A specially‑shaped projectile, trailing pale green energy, struck the target — instantly blasting a large hole through it.
"...This... How is this possible?!"
This time, even Mortarion felt his cognitive framework shaken.
Though he had never encountered firearms, his Primarch‑level cognition and deduction told him that a weapon cobbled together from scrap and bones should, at best, not explode in his face. Yet it not only fired — it inflicted such destruction!
...This must be xenos psychic sorcery!
"Mortarion. You seem unconvinced of Brother Bug's skill?"
Nyx smiled at him, having already read the disbelief and shock on his face. But there was nothing to be done — Ork technology was always like this. In the future, he would see countless Mechanicum adepts driven to breakdowns by such sights.
"...Yes, Father. I do not believe this weapon is logically sound."
Mortarion's response articulated his view of the shoota — and in a sense, he was correct.
"You are right. But Brother Bug is far more exceptional than either of us imagined."
Nyx turned to Brother Bug. "Bug. Let Mortarion try your weapon as well."
Hearing this summons, Brother Bug bounded over to Mortarion like a gust of wind. He was completely oblivious to Mortarion's grim expression — or, in the Ork worldview, Mortarion could now be considered 'Boss's squishy', and such details didn't matter. He unthinkingly thrust the gun into Mortarion's hands.
"...?"
Mortarion hesitated. Touch this blasphemous xenos creation? Yet the Primarch's pride ultimately overcame his revulsion.
He shot Bug a cold glance, gave it no further thought, and reached out to take the weapon.
The moment his hand closed around it — he was startled by its unexpected lightness. It was far lighter than the materials it was made from.
And when he pulled the trigger, he was shocked once more. This xenos weapon fired... remarkably smoothly.
Heh heh. This is exactly what I wanted to see!
The key difference between Bug's weapons and those of other exceptional Mekboys was that they could be used by non‑Ork units — so long as Bug himself covered them with his WAAAGH! energy field. As long as the field did not fade, the weapon could function normally.
Nyx could already envision himself dual‑wielding with Bug Kong.