"Sneaky Boss? What's that? Never heard of him! I'm Rottooth Boss, and I'm the strongest Boss there is!" On Fengrao IV, Rottooth received a psychic communication.
Through it, he learned that some fellow called Sneaky Boss had brought a fleet in from the other end of the star system and rammed it up the Tyranids' backside, causing their mass retreat.
By any reasonable standard, this was good news. Among other species, it would have been timely reinforcement that saved their lives. But Ork culture didn't work that way.
An Ork would think, This is my fight, my war! What clueless git's come to steal my fun? I've got to teach him a lesson!
That was exactly what Rottooth Boss thought. He should have been the one to defeat the Tyranids, not that fellow called Slick.
So Rottooth didn't listen to any further explanation over the psychic communication. He cut it off and prepared to take his fleet to meet the Ork Warboss called Slick.
Gork and Mork had told him to prove himself, too. This was the perfect chance to show them who the strongest Boss really was. With centuries of warfare and combat experience behind him, Rottooth Boss brimmed with confidence.
On Fengrao IV, Cheng Mingrui took Hols out to play amid a sea of Tyranid Warrior Bugs. It really was play, because none of the Tyranids' weapons could penetrate their defenses.
Following the principle of redundant defenses, Cheng Mingrui had designed several defensive devices for Hols. One was a necklace worn around his neck, which provided a seemingly thin but extraordinarily tough force field over the surface of his body.
Cheng Mingrui had tested it. Nothing short of bombardment with firepower comparable to an interstellar warship's could break through.
That was the first layer. The second was a