First Mission

 My God, what a horrible night! I knew taking care of a baby would be hard work, but I never imagined it would be so much. I looked at the child who was sleeping peacefully in the crib, it didn't look like she spent the night crying for the most diverse reasons.

Hunger, thirst, dirty diaper, attention, until finally the child fell asleep. Unlike me, I got up from the cloth on top of a pile of straw that I called a bed. I left the crib a little farther away so that I wouldn't roll over on top of it while sleeping.

Looking around, I saw the child sleeping. Better let her stay that way. Looking around, I took a look at our "house". It was a small shack made of wood and metal on the outskirts of town, one room, four walls and a roof.

It was empty when I found it, and since I wasn't awakened in the middle of the night by an angry ork, I assumed the owner of the house had been devoured by Tyranids.

A small table in a corner and my "bed". The entrance was an old wooden door. Well, better than nothing, at least it protects us from the rain. Checking my equipment, my guns looked ok.

I'm sure I fired more bullets than should fit in the gun, better not question it, my power of imagination may fail.

I heard a noise next to me, looking at the crib, I saw that the child woke up, taking the crib in my hands, I greeted the baby.

"So how did you sleep?"

*Baby noises*

"Seriously? I'm glad you slept well, unlike me, a certain child didn't let me sleep."

The baby stared at me.

"Don't be disingenuous. Are you ready? Today we will do our first mission, I will choose something easy for us, I just hope we survive."

With my things packed, and the crib closed, I checked the teef in my pocket, ten teef, I need to get more, orks teef degrade fast, preventing orks from accumulating a fortune, so they have to spend their money soon, making the currency run and prevents inflation.

But I also need money to survive, pay for food and equipment, so I need a stable source of income. Risking my life against Tyranids is the only option I have at the moment, but I need to find something different soon.

I left my house and headed towards the guild, upon reaching the building, I checked the missions on the board. Before I couldn't understand the ork language, but strangely it seemed clearer to me, it must be the ork instinct.

I found it! A Snot difficulty mission, to finish off the rippers in the jungle, next to the river, is near Gork's Thumb. A reward of five teef for the completed quest, if I remember correctly, an intact ripper is worth half a teef each.

With a large map that was in the guild, I estimated where the rippers would be, I'll buy myself a map when I have more money.

I took the quest and gave it to Nozbad.

"I want this quest!" I tapped the paper on the counter.

Nozbad glanced at the paper. "At least ya're start'n wit' da easy ones, although rippaz kan be dangerous little fings. Haha! be kareful not ta become nid's lunch, 'der'll be noth'n left if dey katch yer."

With the end of Nozbad's sarcastic comment, I left the guild and prepared for the quest, there was another problem, Laenae. I can't fight holding her with one arm.

Hm! I hate to spend my teef but I have no choice. I went to the bazaar and bought some rope from one of the Grots. It cost a teef. With that done I tied Laenae's crib to my torso like a baby carrier.

With that done, I left the city gates and walked through the jungle with a gun in hand, the paranoia of a lurking Tyranid accompanying me.

-XXXXXX-

I approached the river mentioned in the mission, the rippers must be on the other side, suddenly I heard footsteps behind me, I turned around with the gun ready, I was facing a group of orks.

"Ya want to pick a fight?!?" the group leader asked, the other members raising their guns and pointing them at me.

"No." I lowered my gun and took a step back.

"Dat's wot I thought." The ork spoke with a grunt, bumping his shoulder with mine, the ork walked past me with a laugh, the rest of the group did the same, looking back I saw that the river water was up to their waists as they crossed.

They were about the same size as me, good to know how deep the river was.

I think I can use these orks as a test to know what I'm up against. Looking around I saw a nearby hill, walking up the hill, I had an elevated view across the river, I crouched down and surveyed the place.

In the middle of the trees, I saw something on the ground, it looked like a big purple beehive made of meat, it must be the rippers' nest. The group of orks approached, and like any self-respecting ork, they opened fire on the hive.

The expected happened, expected by me at least, the rippers left the hive like a trail of ants and advanced against the orks, the group of orks shot the rippers, but it was useless, there were hundreds of small Tyranids, for each one killed, twenty would take their place.

Eventually the rippers reached the orks, devouring them, some climbed up the legs, others jumped towards the neck of the orks, amid screams of rage and pain, the orks had their flesh devoured, the rippers ate everything, including the bones, leaving only the orks equipment in place.

No way am I going to finish these things off head on, but I have an idea, I'll probably spend more teef, but if all goes well, I'll complete the quest, let's go back to Gork's Thumb, pay Maground a visit.

-XXXXXX-

I closed Laenae's crib and went towards Maground's workshop. Some ork gave me strange looks for having something tied to my body, but no one stopped me to ask.

I entered Maground's workshop, it was a hectic mess as before, Grots running around doing the Mek's bidding. But where was Maground?

"Hey Maground, are you here?!?" I called out for the Mek.

"Get outta da way!" A voice called from above.

I saw that a large shadow formed above me, looking up, I saw a metal platform falling towards me, I jumped back, avoiding being crushed, when the dust settled, I saw what the platform was.

It was a metal square attached to the ceiling with chains, there was a lever on this platform, it was a kind of elevator, and in that elevator was Maground.

"Well well! if it isn't Gorlonik. Have ya kome ere seek'n ma services?" The Mek asked, stepping off the elevator and walking across the workshop.

"Something similar. Do you happen to have anything that generates electricity?" I said accompanying the Mek.

"Iz a mek, everyth'n ere kan fry ya ta deth, ya need ta be more specific." The Mek asked, analyzing a Shoota that a Grot brought.

"I imagine a generator that is easy to charge and carry and generates a lot of electricity."

"How much electricity are we talk'n about?" Maground asked, handing the Shoota back to the Grot.

"Enough to fry a few hundred gits." I smiled at the Mek.

"Haha! I like yer idea an I fink I have 'actly wot ya are look'n for!" Maground went to a shelf in his workshop and threw tools and pieces of metal to the side, occasionally hitting a Grot, removed a metal box from the shelf, it looked like a fused car battery with an engine and two cables coiled around the sides.

"If yer want ta barbecue git den dis iz wot yer are look'n for." Maground held the battery in front of me.

"How much?"

"Four teef." Maground replied.

I reluctantly paid the Mek.

"So how do I use this thing?" I held the battery by a metal handle at the top.

"Place 'da wires against wot yer want ta fry an' press 'da button on 'da back." Maground replied while counting the teef I paid him.

"Thanks." I spoke as I left the workshop.

"Sure, sure, kome back when ya need something, ya weird git."

Outside Maground's workshop I passed an alleyway where I noticed some rusty buckets, six in total. Looking around there weren't any orks around. I hope no one minds if I take them. They will come in handy in my plan, now let's deal with the rippers.

-XXXXXX-

I returned to the river near the hive, positioned the battery/generator away from the riverbank and uncoiled the wires, placing their bare ends in the water, now for the dangerous part.

"Well, Laenae, better prepare yourself, this will be our first serious fight." I said as I opened the crib and checked the baby.

*Baby noises* Laenae gave me a determined look.

"Such courage, the Nids will run in fear at the sight of you."

The baby snorted as if I had insulted her.

I crossed the river, the water at my hips, when I got to the other side, passing some trees, I saw the hive, some rippers were devouring the remains of orks, but the equipment was intact. If all goes well, maybe I'll get a good loot.

I approached the hive, readied my gun and pulled the trigger.

DAKKA!

DAKKA!

DAKKA!

The result was immediate, the bullets pierced the fleshy walls of the hive and hundreds, perhaps thousands of rippers came towards me, squealing, the small creatures came after me.

I quickly ran towards the river, the Tyranids close behind me, as I reached the river I used my ork strength to jump most of the distance to the other bank, looking back I saw the rippers closing in.

Accelerating my pace, I reached the other side, turned on the battery/generator, immediately the river was taken over by a blinding flash, the electricity was visible in the water, like all Ork technology, the result had to be exaggerated.

Rippers were one of the least intelligent Tyranid species, they were at the bottom of the hierarchy, and without synaptic creatures, they were even less intelligent, so even though the danger was obvious, they entered the river.

What followed was a cacophony of squeals and hisses of pain, the rippers entered one bank but didn't come out the other, some of them leapt out of the water, only to fall back into the electrified river, again my heart raced and I was seized with happiness, not as much as I fought the Banshee, but the feeling was still there.

"HAHAHA! WWWAAAGGGHHH! YER LIKED DIS YER GITS!"

I immediately covered my mouth, when I noticed the Ork accent escaping, looking at the crib, I saw that Laenae was watching everything with wide eyes. Whether it was fear or admiration, I couldn't tell until she laughed.

She doesn't understand what's going on, or she's happy the monsters are gone, either way, she's happy.

I sat on the ground for a while watching the rippers try to cross the river, when they stopped coming, I turned off the battery/generator and waited for the electricity in the water to dissipate, then it came to the boring part.

I spent the whole afternoon collecting dead rippers and putting them in buckets. When the buckets were full, I filled my pockets, but before leaving, I decided to do something. 

I crossed the river again, approached the hive and fired few shots. No rippers appeared.

I put the battery/generator wires in the hive and turned it on, the result repeated, the hive was covered in blinding electricity, a smell of burning flesh covered the place, Laenae growled, Eldar has senses hundreds of times stronger than other races, the smell must be awful for her.

When enough time had passed, I turned off the battery/generator, the hive looked like a pile of burnt flesh, all done, I returned to the Thumb of Gork, picking up equipment from the dead orks on the way, of course, and with six buckets and pockets full of Nids.

-XXXXXX-

"I'm back!" I yelled, kicking open the guild doors.

"Hey, if yer break it, yer have ta pay!" Nozbad yelled from across the counter.

"Don't worry Nozbad, money won't be an issue for me for a while!" I replied, climbing the stairs to the second floor.

And there I found Urgax.

"Look 'oo's back. Have ya kome ere ta 'change nids parts?" Urgax asked.

"You bet!" I put the full buckets on the counter and emptied the rippers I carried in my pocket.

Urgax's eyes widened when he saw the number of Tyranids.

"Did ya kill im all by yourself?" Urgax asked, analyzing a ripper.

"Yes!" Smile.

"An' brought im all intact, no wun eva brought 'dat many rippers, an' each wun iz worth af a teef."

"I know, you can pay now." I extended my hand.

"I kan't teef for all uv im." Urgax crossed his arms.

"Why?" I asked.

"If so many rippa parts go around, dey will lose dere value."

I understand it's basic economics, if there's too much of something circulating in the market, they'll lose value, if there's too little they'll become more expensive. Urgax has to maintain an average level.

"I see, so how much can you pay me?"

"Two hundred teef for four full buckets." Urgax replied.

Two hundred teef? This is too much! I can buy ten War Buggys with that!

"Done!"

I handed four of the six buckets full of Rippers to Urgax, the ork handed me a bag with my payment, with that done, I went downstairs, with two buckets full of Tyranids in my hands.

I stopped in front of Nozbad's counter and handed back the quest paper.

"Mission complete." I said arrogantly.

The ork gave me an irritated look and sighed, "Looks like ya survived, i wonda how long dis will last. Maybe tomorrow i'll wake up an' find ya've been eaten by nid." Nozbad spoke, handing me the quest reward.

Two hundred and five teef in one day, a productive day for sure, it was dusk, on my way home, I put the ripper buckets and dead ork equipment in a corner.

"So Laenae? What did you think of today?"

"Baby noises."

"I know I didn't kill the rippers like real ork, but you have to admit I did a good job."

Laenae glared at me.

"Don't give me that look. If I give you some food, would you forgive me?"

Laenae smiled.

With a laugh, I gave some squig milk to Laenae, with the child fed, I went in search of some food, in other words, I went to Grogak's canteen.

The place was bustling with orks drinking, shouting, talking and fighting.

I sat down in front of the counter and got the Chef's attention.

"Well if not ma favorite kustomer? So wot will it be?" Grogak asked.

"The usual, fungus beer and squig pie." I threw a teef to Grogak.

Grogak took the teef with a smile and returned to the kitchen, ordering the Grots to prepare the food.

You know, this place isn't that bad after all, life in the 40k universe is horrible, if you're not an ork, because they're the only race that's having fun with so many wars.

But I'm not an ork, not completely, I wonder what I should do. Survive and get money. But then what? I need to think about the future. Maybe I'll look for a method of leaving the planet if things get out of hand.

You never know when the Imperium will get tired of the Xenos on this planet and decide to wipe them all out.

A Grot returned with my food and placed it in front of me on the counter. I will leave these serious thoughts for later, for now I will enjoy my victory.

-XXXXXX-

"Hey boss?"

Was someone calling me?

"Boss?"

It was a strange, nasal voice.

"Boss?"

I got up quickly when I realized that the voice was on my side, looking around, I saw a small green creature staring at me. Waking up to such a thing staring me in the face wasn't pleasant, so since I was half awake, I did what was logical.

I screamed.

"AAAAHHHH!"

"AAAAHHH!" The green thing also screamed.

"WWWAAAHHH!" Laenae cried, frightened by the screams.

I took the crib in my arms and rocked it lightly, trying to calm Laenae down.

"Hey boss, what is this?" The green thing asked, pointing to the crib.

Taking a closer look at the thing, I saw it was a Grot wearing an old loincloth. What was a Grot doing here?

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" I asked Grot.

"The boss didn't give me a name, after I woke up in the jungle, I looked for the boss until I got here." The Grot replied.

Boss? Why is this Grot calling me boss? Wait a minute!

"Where in the jungle did you wake up?"

"Near a river." The Grot replied.

Don't tell me frying the Tyranids was enough to make me drop spores. When the ork's adrenaline peaks, they release spores that in the future can become other orks, Grots or squigs.

Orks instinctively know who the boss is, and are drawn towards him, since this Grot came from me, he knows I'm the "boss".

It's no use sending him away, he is able to follow me again, it would also be useful to have a grot helping me, in fact I already have some ideas, and finally, if he became a Grot of another ork, he would be treated horribly, as all other Grots are.

"Well, since I'm your boss, I better give you a name."

"Seriously? Is the boss going to give me a name?" The Grot asked excitedly.

"Yes, and your name will be Dobby."

"Yes, yes, my name is Dobby, the name the boss gave me." The Grot said happily.

"Yes, and since you are my Grot, better meet our partner, Laenae." I showed the child to Dobby.

The two looked at each other curiously.

"Boss, why is this Grot so small and not green?" Dobby asked, nudging Laenae's cheek.

"Dobby, Laenae is a special kind of Grot, she will take time to grow, but when she does she will be one of the biggest and strongest Grots in existence."

"Seriously boss?"

"Yes, that's why I need you to help me take care of her."

"You can count on me, boss!"

"Very well, Dobby, but now I need you to help me with something."

-XXXXXX-

Dobby and I arrived at the fighting pits, it was the same sight as before, two orks fighting in the pit, one of them wearing a blue shirt and the other a red shirt, probably a Death Skull and an Evil Sun, while those on the outside cheered, ate and drank.

We stopped at the entrance to the fight pit, there was a wall on either side, taking a look around the area, I spotted the betting stand.

"Listen here Dobby, I want you to do this." Handing ten teef to Dobby, the Grot looked at me confused.

"I want you to go down to the betting stand and bet those teef on the Death Skull, the ork in blue, and then come back here. You understood?"

Dobby nodded yes and ran to the betting stand where an ork was, keeping me outside the pit, away from the stand's ork's field of vision, I watched what was happening.

The ork was about to shoo Dobby away, but stopped when Dobby showed the teef. The ork accepted the teef and Dobby came back here.

"Boss, I did what you told me, now what?"

"Now Dobby, you stay hidden out here while I bet on the Evil Sun." I left Dobby outside, took ten teef out of my bag and bet on the ork in red.

After I returned outside, Dobby and I waited until a volley of whoops and boos echoed through the pit, looking inside I saw that the Death Skull had won.

"Dobby, go get the bet money!"

Dobby quickly ran to the betting counter and grabbed the teef, much to the chagrin of the ork at the counter, but a bet was a bet.

"Here it is, boss!" Dobby handed me the bag of teef..

"Dobby, we'll be here for a while." I smiled at the Grot.

So Dobby and I spent the afternoon cheating on the bets, every time a new fight started, we bet on opposing orks at large time intervals, so that the ork on the stand wouldn't get suspicious, sometimes Dobby won, sometimes I won, but in the end, we both made a profit.

The ork that Dobby bet on won, Dobby went to collect the bet, but when he returned with a bag full of teef above his head, an ork got in his way and took the bag from his hands.

"Hey, give me that back! This is for my boss!" Dobby screamed as he leapt up, trying to grab the bag of teef, but the ork kept it out of reach.

"And what are you going to do, shorty?" The ork sneered as he kicked Dobby away, then stomped on his chest, pinning him to the ground.

It pissed me off, I can't tell if it was the ork side or the human side, but I didn't like what I was seeing, someone was messing with my grot, someone who wasn't me.

So, following Mork's teachings, I was cunningly brutal, in other words, I punched the ork in the back of the head with my Knife & Knuckle while he looked at the other side, knocking him down the pit.

"Take kare uv it, dobby!" Handing Dobby my guns and teef, making a quick adjustment to the ropes, I moved Laenae's crib to my back.

Then I jumped into the pit.

"Wot 'da zog was 'dat idea uv yours, yer git?!?" The ork yelled, getting to his feet.

"Ya messed wit' ma grot an got ma teef! Now I will rip yours off!"

The orks gathered at the edge of the pit to watch the fight, cheering and screaming.

"WWWAAAGGGHHH!" The ork ran towards me.

I took a handful of dirt from the ground of the pit and threw it in his eyes, the ork let out an angry scream as he held his eyes.

With that opportunity, I punched the ork in the face repeatedly, the spikes on my knuckles piercing and slicing with each swing, drawing blood from the ork.

"Stop it an' fight like an ork!" The ork screamed, regaining his vision and punching me in the face. I felt blood dripping from my mouth.

Amidst the anger, joy returned, with my heart racing, a smile formed on my face.

"Why don't yer kome ova ere an I'll showz yer how I fight?" I Told the ork.

Letting out a scream of rage the ork tried to punch me, I bent down and when I got up, I punched his chin, pulling out some teef, but the ork recovered and hit me in the head again, I returned the blow punching him in the stomach, causing him to bow.

Suddenly the ork threw himself at me, punching me repeatedly in the stomach and pushing me back. I raised both fists and brought it down on his back, throwing him to the ground.

So I lifted my foot and tried to stomp the ork's head, he rolled out of the way and got up. We stared at each other, circling the pit.

At this rate we're going to punch each other until one falls unconscious, I need a quick way to end this.

The ork ran up, delivering a series of punches, I retreated keeping out of reach of the ork, taking a look back, I saw that I was close to the wall of the well.

"Stop running! Kome ere so I kan break yer bones!" The ork screamed.

When I got close to the wall, I took a step to the side, getting out of the way of the punch. Due to his blow, the ork was propelled forward, so giving his legs a sweep, I made the ork fall forward, hitting his face on the wall.

Before he could get up, I grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed him repeatedly against the wall.

"So wot do ya fink, yer git?!? Dis iz how i fight!" I screamed between impacts.

With each blow, the impression of the ork's face was left on the wall, the wall cracked a little due to the strength of my body, teef and blood flew, when I believed it was enough, I stopped my attack and threw the ork on his back to the ground.

"I told yer I was gunna ripp yer teef out! An' now Iz gunna showz yer why 'dat's ma name!"

I sat on the ork's chest and threw several punches, each one harder than the last, when the ork's face became a bloody, swollen mess, I stopped.

Rising to my feet and looking around, breathing heavily, I let out a war cry.

"WWWAAAGGGHHH!"

And the spectators went crazy cheering for me, when the adrenaline went down, I felt the pain caused by the blows. 

My mind cleared and I realized the situation I was in, taking a deep breath, I grabbed the bag of teef that the ork stole, then I picked up his teef spread across the pit and put it in the bag.

When I got out of the pit, the orks surrounded me and cheered for me, clapping and patting me on the back. In the midst of this crowd I found Dobby.

"Kome on Dobby." I said as I grabbed my things and placed the crib back on my chest.

"Right boss." Dobby answered while limping.

Seeing this, I let out a sigh, picked up Dobby and placed him on my shoulder.

"Boss?" Dobby asked.

"Get some rest dobby, yer did a gud job today so let's get yer some stuff."

-XXXXXX-

After a quick visit to the bazaar, Dobby was better equipped now, he wore black boots, brown shorts, a yellow shirt just like mine, small metal shoulder pads, a metal plate over his heart and a metallic helmet with a spike sticking out from above.

"Are you sure about this, boss? These things look expensive." Dobby asked.

Actually they weren't, it's cheap equipment, but better than any normal grot would have, and besides, I'm an Bad Moon, I can afford it. Thanks to the pit bets, and the teef I knocked out of the ork, I now have three hundred and fifty teef.

"Only one thing left now." I took the Slugga out of my holster and handed it to Dobby.

The grot gave me an admiring look.

"Boss! This is your shoota!"

"And I'm giving it to you. If you're going to be my grot, you need one, keep up the good work and you'll get the best gear a grot can have."

"Leave it to me boss! I will help you krump all the gits that got in your way." The grot said, accepting the gun.

"That's what I like to hear, but right now I need you to do something for me."

-XXXXXX-

"Hey, Maground!" I shouted, entering the workshop.

"Ya kame back fast. Wot ya need?" The Mek asked.

I tossed a bag full of teef to Maground, the Mek was impressed by the amount.

"I need you to build something for me, but no questions asked." I placed the buckets full of dead rippers and Laenae's crib on a table in the workshop.

Maground smiled "HAHAHA! I knew do'n business wit' ya would be a gud idea!"

So for the rest of the day Maground worked on the things I asked.

Leaving the workshop, wearing my new piece of equipment and carrying Laenae's crib, I turned into an alley and hidden behind a pile of boxes was Dobby taking care of the baby.

"Dobby."

Upon hearing my voice, the Grot jumped in fright and pointed its gun at me.

"Boss! I didn't see you coming."

"Must be due to what I'm wearing." I said, showing Dobby my new gear.

A chain mail made from ripper carapace, the mail covered my torso, arms and head, leaving only my face showing, the reason Dobby hadn't seen me was due to the color of the carapace, purple.

"But what does that have to do with it, boss?"

"Dobby, have you ever seen a purple ork?"

"No."

"There is your answer."

"And what is that on your arm, boss?" Dobby pointed to the crib.

"That Dobby, it's Laenae's new crib."

I let go of the crib and it floated down the alley. There was a metal disc around the crib, an anti-gravity generator and a small antenna was spinning on top of the crib, a force field generator. Best ork technology teef can buy.

I picked up Laenae and placed her in her crib.

"So what do you think of your new crib?"

*Baby noises*

"I'm glad you like it, if you want we can change the color."

*Baby noise*

"Yes, 'da red wun goes fasta."

"Now for the final touch." I put on a metallic bracelet and a current of blue energy came out of a small metal disc at the end of the crib and connected it to the bracelet.

I took a few steps forward and the crib followed me.

"I'll wear this when we're on missions, your crib floating beside me will draw a lot of attention in town."

I disconnected the bracelet and the chain disappeared, I picked up Laenae's crib and carried it in my arm.

"Today has been a long day. How about we get something to eat?" I asked Dobby and Laenae.

"Yes boss!" Dobby replied.

Laenae snorted.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!

So the three of us headed towards the canteen, the only thing on my mind at the moment were ways I could use to get more money.

The Bad Moon spoke louder and louder.

END OF CHAPTER