The Warp

Following the voice, Clever Git squeezed out from between two hulking Orks. He was about to leap onto Cheng Mingrui's shoulder when Cheng Mingrui caught him in one hand.

"You little runt! You've got the nerve to come back!" Cheng Mingrui roared.

"Boss Slick, spare me! I found the way to the Engine Room!" Feeling the crushing pressure of the huge hand around him, Clever Git hurriedly shouted.

That shout really did save his life. Cheng Mingrui loosened the hand he had been about to clench. "If you dare lie to me, I'll squeeze you into pulp and feed you to the Squigs."

"A Weirdboy! I found a Weirdboy! They can use magic, and magic can take us to the Engine Room!"

Looking in the direction Clever Git pointed, Cheng Mingrui spotted a strange Ork wearing an odd mask. He looked like a priest from some primitive tribe performing a spirit dance.

Cheng Mingrui knew quite a bit about Weirdboys. Orks liked to call them Weirdboys or Madboys and even looked down on them, but Weirdboys were actually very powerful. They were the Orks' psykers.

In the universe of Warhammer 40,000, psychic power was extremely common and tremendously powerful, capable of working miracles. Most intelligent life could use psychic power. Except for a certain Blue race.

Power always came at a price, and psychic power was no exception. Every use of psychic power had to draw upon the greatest threat to civilization in the 40,000 universe-the Warp.

The Warp was another dimension of the Materium. It was chaotic and bizarre, with no concept of time and infinite dimensions, making it difficult for beings in the Materium to understand what the Warp actually was.

No one could explain its origins, its principles, or the logic by which it operated. The available information was that, after the War in Heaven, the turbulent emotions generated by intelligent life had wrecked the Warp.

Extreme emotions such as anger, hatred, sorrow, bloodlust, pleasure, and vengeance had turned the Warp into an extraordinarily dangerous place.

The presence of the Four Chaos Gods had made it a paradise for daemons. Anyone entering the Warp would face 99% malice and 100% danger.

Almost every living being with a soul had a reflection in the Warp. The stronger the soul, the stronger its reflection, and the greater the psychic power it possessed.

The Aeldari, for instance, could almost all use psychic power, but their souls had also always been Slaanesh's favorite food.

Humans had it no easier. Their psykers were often seduced by daemons or had their bodies possessed, becoming springboards for daemonic incursions into reality.

Humanity was now playing for stakes just as high as the Aeldari once had. Their longstanding faith in the God-Emperor had transformed the Emperor upon the Golden Throne into something else: a psychic sun blazing in the Warp.

To other races, he was effectively a Fifth Chaos God. Who knew whether humanity would follow the Aeldari down the same old road, sacrificing their civilization's future to enthrone a New Chaos God?

But! None of these problems existed for the Orks. Their psychic power did not come from the Warp, but from their own waaagh! field.

The Orks' Waaagh! was not merely a howl or a battle cry. Waaagh! was real, a soul field unique to the Orks.

Particularly gifted Orks could sense the waaagh! field and use it as psychic power. This also gave the waaagh! field its defining characteristic: the more Ork monsters there were, and the more worked up they got, the stronger the waaagh! field became, and the more power Weirdboys could draw upon. And there were practically no side effects.

Above the Orks' souls stood two powerful gods who protected every Ork's soul: Gork and Mork. In the Orks' eyes, they were all Gork and Mork's Boyz, cunning and savage just like them.

"Clever Git says you've got a way to help us find the humies' Engine Room. You'd better really have one. I ain't got much patience." Cheng Mingrui rested a hand on the Plasma Gun at his waist, imitating a traditional Ork boss as he tried to threaten the Weirdboy before him with a little cunning.

"I can. Gork and Mork guide me from up ahead." With that, the Weirdboy even performed a dance. Wearing that mask, he looked more and more like a religious charlatan.

Cheng Mingrui's brow furrowed. It was really hard to trust someone who acted like this.

Having Weirdboys use the waaagh! field to attack enemies, crushing them with Gork's Fist or Gork's Big Foot, was fine. Cheng Mingrui had no doubts about their destructive power.

But could waaagh energy handle delicate work like giving directions?

While Cheng Mingrui was thinking, Clever Git climbed onto his shoulder and whispered into his ear, "Weirdboys are all like this. Most of 'em are weirdos and lunatics. Don't worry, Boss. Let him have a go first.

"I also found a bunch of Squigs. Their noses are real sharp. Send 'em to look for humies, and if we keep searching one after another, we'll find the Engine Room sooner or later."

Cheng Mingrui glanced at Clever Git. How was this Gretchin so crafty? He even had a backup plan. Gretchin were generally full of nasty schemes, but Clever Git was probably one of the very worst.

It really would be a shame to crush talent like this-Ork talent, rather. He might as well keep using him for now.

The Weirdboy said his name was Kuka and that he was a Prophet. Then he began spreading the gospel of Gork and Mork, preaching what he called divine revelations, though there was no telling whether they were real.

If Cheng Mingrui had not known that Ork psykers were relatively precious, he would have slapped him already, just like a traditional Ork boss.

Cheng Mingrui put a hand on Kuka to stop his dancing and told him to get on with it and find the Engine Room.

Perhaps realizing that he could not go too far in front of the Boss, Kuka got to work. He hummed and muttered in a gibberish language that not a single Ork present could understand. Combined with Kuka's awkward dancing, it left every Ork staring in bewilderment.

Cheng Mingrui wondered whether madness was contagious and he had caught it. He had actually believed Clever Git and Kuka's nonsense and let them act out here.

Finally, just as Cheng Mingrui's patience was about to run out, Kuka stopped his awkward dancing. He pointed in one direction, toward the three passages there, and said, "Gork and Mork have given their instructions. Have the Boyz Waaagh! through that way, and we'll definitely get what we want."

Looking at the three passage entrances, Cheng Mingrui fell silent. Which one was it supposed to be? Had I just been played?

The Ork Boyz did not care about any of that. Once Kuka pointed out the direction, they all grew excited. They had spent all this time preparing just to have a proper fight.

Some disobedient Boy shouted, "Waaagh!!!" All the other Boyz joined in, then surged into the three passages.

Cheng Mingrui's jaw nearly hit the floor. You lot are having way too much fun! Is this a game to you? You really just go whenever you feel like it and Waaagh! whenever you feel like it!