The frontline burned again.
Light infantry huddled in the smoking ruins of a barricade, Hivebugs swarming their flanks. The chatter of rifles filled the air, echoing through dust and ichor. Carbine X rifles barked in steady rhythms, their automatic ejections keeping magazines cycling smoothly. But even with the new system, panic still ruled the battlefield.
"Pour it into them! Don't stop firing!" shouted Sergeant Kole, his voice hoarse.
Rifles spat nonstop. Bullets hammered against Hivebug carapaces, sparking against armored plates, punching shallow divots into chitin. The swarm slowed but didn't stop.
Private Lenz cursed loudly, slamming a fresh Micro Mag into his rifle. "Why won't they drop?! I hit that one twenty times already!"
"Not the body!" Lieutenant Carver snapped, firing with surgical precision. His rounds cracked through a Hivebug's foreleg joint, sending it collapsing into the dirt. "The limbs, damn it! Stop wasting shots!"
But fear drowned his orders. Most of the squad still fired in wide bursts, unloading round after round into armored torsos instead of weak points. For every bug that fell, three more soaked up bullets and kept coming.
By the time the swarm broke, nearly half the squad's ammo was gone.
---
Hours later, the medbay overflowed again.
Rows of cots were lined with bloodied soldiers. Groans and coughing filled the cramped space, mixing with the metallic tang of antiseptic and the sour smell of burnt flesh.
Whisper Kade, combat medic and Sirius' old friend, worked tirelessly over a soldier whose arm had been ripped open by Hivebug claws. Sweat dripped into her eyes, but she didn't stop stitching.
Another medic staggered past, muttering under his breath: "Half the injuries wouldn't have happened if they weren't reloading in the open. They just… they don't think about conserving rounds."
Whisper hissed through her teeth, voice tight with fatigue. "They burn ammo like it's endless. Then when it counts, when the swarm's on top of them—they've got nothing."
She looked at the stack of empty Micro Mags piled in a supply bin. They were supposed to last an entire day of fighting. Instead, they'd been chewed through in half the time.
---
In the war room, senior officers circled a holo-table projecting ammo depletion charts.
Colonel Maren slammed her fist down. "This is unsustainable. Carbine X solved reload efficiency, but we're losing ammunition faster than supply can keep up. The Hivebugs aren't dying faster—they're just eating bullets."
General Harker scowled. "Our soldiers are panicking. They unload into armored plates instead of weak spots. Average expenditure: forty rounds per Hivebug neutralized."
"That's nearly double projected efficiency," an analyst muttered.
"And the resupply convoys can't keep up," another officer added grimly. "If this trend continues, we'll have squads running dry in live combat zones."
The room fell silent.
Finally, Chief Engineer Loras stepped forward. His voice was calm, but his eyes betrayed his concern. "We'll need to think of a solution within FAWS. If soldiers can't see what they're spending, they'll never learn to conserve it."
"Do you have a fix?" General Harker asked.
"Not yet," Loras admitted. "But I know someone who will."
---
In the FAWS workshop, Sirius Blake hunched over his workbench, staring at battle telemetry projected across his vision. ARI fed him graphs, kill ratios, and ammo expenditure logs.
> "Average expenditure: 42 rounds per Hivebug neutralized. Squads report frequent overfire, aiming at armored carapaces instead of weak points. Ammunition depletion increased by 38% compared to projected estimates," ARI recited.
Sirius clenched his fists. They're drowning themselves. The weapons are fine, but the soldiers—they don't know how much they're wasting.
He imagined Carver's squad, sweating, panicking, spraying bullets into armor. Whisper's medbay, overflowing with men who had run dry at the wrong moment.
"They don't see it," Sirius muttered. "They just keep pulling the trigger until it's too late."
> "Proposal generated," ARI replied smoothly. "Mission objective: Ammo Counter Display — All Weapons. Standardized integration across rifles, carbines, sidearms, and heavy platforms. Display feeds sync with HUDs and rear-panel indicators."
Holographic schematics sprang to life before his eyes—tiny telemetry chips embedded in Micro Mags, visual counters glowing on weapon casings, helmets linked to ammo tallies in real-time.
Sirius' lips twitched into a grin. "Yeah. If they see the numbers dropping, they'll think twice before dumping mags into armor. Make every bullet count."
---
ARI Mission Log
Major Mission — Ammo Counter Display: All Weapons
Objectives:
1. Display Hardware Design → Compact counters attachable to all weapon classes.
2. Per-Mag / Per-Drum Telemetry Protocol → Chips track remaining rounds with precision.
3. HUD Integration & Sync → Sync to helmets, squad visors, and rear-panel icons.
4. Power Management & Redundancy → Keep displays running through battle strain.
5. Ruggedization & Environmental Testing → Resistant to dust, ichor, heat, and impact.
6. Field Trials & Calibration → Deployed squad tests, real-time combat feedback.
Reward:
Optic Helmet — Half-Face blueprint pack.
Telemetry Firmware for weapons.
Payload Icon Sets for HUD integration.
Minor Augmentation: Visual reflex sync (+1%).
---
Sirius leaned forward, scribbling over the holographic drafts with a stylus. "Counters on rifles. Mags talking to helmets. Rear-panel displays for squad leaders to track their teams' ammo in real time."
He chuckled under his breath. "No more blind shooting. No more wasted mags. Every soldier's going to know exactly what they've got—and what they don't."
Technicians nearby glanced at him, some whispering. One shook his head. "There he goes again, laughing at blueprints like they're a damn comedy show."
Another smirked faintly. "Don't care what he looks like—last time he giggled, we got the Carbine X."
Sirius ignored them all. His mind was already racing, ARI feeding him line after line of schematics.
> "Mission log initiated," ARI confirmed softly. "Estimated time to completion: pending resource allocation."
"Then let's get to work," Sirius said, eyes blazing with determination. "We've got a new journey."
---
Outside the workshop, the war raged on. Soldiers fought, reloaded, and bled. Hivebugs adapted, swarming in new formations.
But in the shadows of FAWS, Sirius Blake had already taken the next step.
The Carbine X had solved reloads. The Micro Mag had given them endurance.
Now, the Ammo Counter would teach them discipline.
Because in a war where every bullet mattered, knowledge was survival.
And Sirius intended to give humanity that survival—one invention at a time.