Free Talosian Chronicles 2: Star Dancer by Ben Winston Page A

used by the US Navy called CIWZ. (Pronounced see-whiz) but this little monster is far more devious. It uses a mass driver technology like a rail gun only without the rail. The projectile is accelerated by using rapidly cycling magnetic fields.
    “Originally, I was only going to place a few mounts on the ship to be used as point defense, but I got to thinking about the design. Did you know that he designed it so the projectile size could be varied as well as the velocity it can be fired at?”
    Ian did remember that, but chose not to interrupt the chief, so he nodded his head.
    “Well, the problem with a hyper accelerated particle in space is that it’ll keep going until something stops it. Let’s say you fire one small round at an asteroid with a muzzle velocity of point five light. Even if the mass of the round is low, say around an ounce, and it hit the moon, the damage could be measured in the megatons!
    “So the fix for that was a timed explosive based on time. None of the rounds fired will last longer than a set amount of time. So, think about this, what would happen to a fighter that was attacking the ship if just one of the rounds hit it doing two-thirds of light? It would blow right through the shield and just vaporize the ship!” Dommer said excitedly. “Even if it misses, it’ll cause massive confusion simply from the rounds popping! Like the old flak cannons from World War II!”
    “I didn’t realize that, will there be a danger to our fighters flying around out there?” Ian asked.
    “Not any more than they would be from the laser cannons we already use. The velocity we’re talking about here will only be slightly slower than that of the lasers. Honestly Sir, while I did mount a few extra, larger versions, the lasers are still the main weapons. I did put one of the nasty bastards right at the end of the landing bays, that way if the enemy tried to pull a fast one by going for the bays, they’ll have to get through those guns first!” Dommer said proudly.
    Ian chuckled at the Chief’s enthusiasm. “I take it you finished them up then?”
    Dommer nodded. “The only thing remaining is a live fire test. So, there you go, Sir, your new cannons are ready now.”
    Ian chuckled. “Thank you, Chief. I’ll have to give the test firing some thought. Would you like me to notify you so you can watch?”
    “I would really appreciate it, Sir. I’m dying to see what these things can do!” Dommer said, and rose from his chair. “By the way, Sir. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone that I smiled; I have a reputation to maintain after all.”
    “I didn’t see a thing, Chief!” Ian replied. “But it does look good on you.”
    “Thanks, have a good evening, Sir,” Chief Dommer said as he left the room, once again frowning and appearing deep in thought.

Chapter 5
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    F .S.S. Star Dancer.
    Selene Orbit, (Earth’s moon)
    Earth, Sol Sector.
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    O ne of the items completed at the moon base was the small craft building and assembly area. It was semi-automated, in that there were no humans out on the assembly floor, but the various drones and bots were operated remotely by people. However, since personnel on the base was still low, most assembly was slow going as operators had to do more than one job.
    Even with that delay, the modified shuttle Ian had ordered built for Stellar Cartography had gotten finished, and from the report he was reading, it was performing its test flights. The survey drones it would carry had already been built and tested, and were currently on board the unmanned craft as it performed final runs.
    Ian notified Stellar Cartography and suggested they contact Navigation to get an optimal course plotted for it. Ian knew that everyone in the small department had been working on the programming for the probes ever since Ian had ordered the shuttle.
    Ian’s sense of foreboding was beginning to get to him. He thought that perhaps it was