The smell of scorched ichor and burnt metal still clung to the air. The Shatterstorm Mk I rested in the center of the FAWS bay, its dual barrels blackened with use, the triple-drum housing dented from the brutal trial.
Sirius sat slouched against his bench, hair wild, grease smeared across his cheek, and a half-crazed grin pulling at his lips. The sound of his laughter during the battle still echoed in the heads of those who had fought beside him.
The reinforced doors opened with a hiss. Stone Varga and Bear Ivanov entered, armor scratched and streaked with Hivebug gore. Chief Loras followed, hands clasped behind his back, expression unreadable.
Stone dropped his heavy gauntlet on the table with a loud metallic clang. "That cannon of yours…" He jabbed a finger at the hulking prototype. "It's not a weapon—it's a storm. I swear it nearly scared me more than the bugs."
Bear's laugh rumbled low, though there was awe in his voice. "Scared? Try being inside a mech with sensors screaming. Watching that thing eat an entire swarm alive—I thought the earth itself was shaking."
Sirius tilted his head back and grinned wider. "Good. Then it worked."
Stone's scowl softened despite himself. "Worked is an understatement. The swarm didn't just break, it melted. And when those AP rounds cracked the Tank… gods above, I didn't think I'd live to see it."
Loras stepped closer, his boots echoing on the metal floor. He studied the weapon, then glanced at Sirius. "The Shatterstorm Mk I. Not flawless. The jam nearly cost us. But effective. More than effective. Blake… you've changed the battlefield again."
Sirius shrugged, feigning modesty, though pride burned in his eyes. "Not perfect. But she screamed, didn't she?"
"Like thunder," Bear said.
Stone folded his arms. "Like madness. But if madness keeps us alive, I'll march behind it."
Loras' voice lowered, carrying more weight. "We'll refine it. What you've built here will shape doctrine. Entire squads will fight differently because of this cannon."
Sirius chuckled, brushing a streak of oil from his cheek. "Then let them dance to my thunder."
---
Months of Refinement
Time passed in a blur of work. The Shatterstorm was dismantled, rebuilt, and tested again and again. Sirius lived in the workshop, tinkering, welding, scribbling notes with wild strokes.
The dual barrels were reinforced with new alloys. The cooling vents were redesigned to cycle faster. The drum mechanism was refined until it indexed and fed smoother than any heavy weapon before it. Sirius experimented with different ammunition profiles—shard rounds for swarm suppression, armor-piercing slugs for Tank-class Hivebugs.
Each test was brutal. The cannon roared, jammed, vented, and roared again. FAWS techs grew used to Sirius' manic laughter echoing across the bay whenever sparks flew or barrels overheated. Some whispered he was a lost cause. Others shook their heads with wary respect.
But Bear and Stone, who had stood in the storm with him, never mocked. They knew the weapon's fury firsthand.
At last, months later, the final version stood gleaming on Sirius' bench. The Shatterstorm Mk I, finished. Twin barrels polished, triple-drum housing seamless, stabilizers humming with precision.
Sirius stood before it, eyes bright with triumph.
ARI's calm voice filled his mind:
> "Mission Complete: Shatterstorm Mk I — Dual-Barrel Heavy Autocannon. Efficiency rating: 94%. All sub-missions finalized. Reward unlocked: Shatterstorm Mk I Blueprint; HUD integration protocols uploaded."
Sirius exhaled and then laughed. Not the ragged cackle of exhaustion, but the deep, rolling laugh of satisfaction. "HAHAHA! Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!"
The FAWS techs looked up from their workstations and sighed.
"There he goes again."
"Madman."
"Renegade."
Loras, observing quietly from the balcony, only smirked faintly.
---
ARI's Compilation
In the quiet hours after the trial, ARI's glow shimmered faintly in Sirius' vision.
> "Compiling weapon data. Shatterstorm Mk I: blueprint archived. Ammo Counter Display: blueprint archived. Both stored in secure server partition. Telemetry integration complete."
Sirius leaned back, wiping his hands with a rag. "So both babies are safe now, huh?"
> "Affirmative. Ready for formal reporting."
He chuckled, eyes narrowing with mischief. "Alright then. Time to show Loras what I've been hiding."
---
The Report
Later that week, Sirius walked into Chief Loras' office carrying a slim datapad under his arm. The Shatterstorm report glowed across the screen, alongside schematics of a much smaller device: the standardized ammo counter.
Loras looked up from his desk. "Blake. Report?"
Sirius dropped the datapad onto the table with a grin. "Shatterstorm Mk I completed. All sub-systems stable. And… there's something else."
Loras raised a brow and tapped the pad. His eyes scanned the ammo counter display, widening as he realized what he was seeing. "An integrated ammo counter? Synced to weapons and helmets? Blake… when did you make this?"
Sirius scratched the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. "Uh… a while ago. Before the Shatterstorm. Built it after watching infantry burn through clips without even counting their shots."
Loras' stare hardened. "And you didn't report it?"
Sirius leaned forward, grin fading into seriousness. "Because they needed to learn first. Soldiers had to train their instincts—to feel every shot, count rounds in their bones. If I gave them this too soon, they'd depend on it. And when it broke? They'd die."
The silence in the room was heavy. Finally, Loras exhaled, leaning back in his chair. "So you sat on a completed project… and waited until you thought the time was right."
"Exactly," Sirius said, smirking faintly. "Now they've learned. Now they're ready. And now my baby will sharpen them instead of softening them."
Loras' lips twitched into something rare—a smile. "Renegade Blake indeed."
Sirius laughed, loud and wild, throwing his arms wide. "HAHAHA! You finally get it!"
The FAWS personnel outside the office glanced at the sound, shaking their heads.
"There he goes again."
"Lost cause."
But Loras, Bear, and Stone knew better.
What Sirius Blake brought to the war wasn't madness. It was survival.
And now, with the Shatterstorm and the ammo counter ready for mass deployment, humanity's arsenal had grown deadlier than ever.