Greyson thought about that and said, What about my beams?
We have a circuit to make them more powerful but Emperor Robbins wants to talk with you before I install them.
What do you think about that, Timmy?
I told him he should install them. Youve given your oath and I know you can be trusted. I know how hard it was to come to the decision to join us and I respect you for being able to see the truth in what youve learned. You will be a great addition to our community.
Timmy, I destroyed a defenseless planet and killed more than forty million innocent inhabitants.
No you didnt.
Greyson was startled by the response, How can you say that?
That evil Duke destroyed that planet. You had no freedom to disobey him. You arent to blame for that, he is. If there was any decency in him, he would have never placed you in that situation. He obviously didnt care about how that would hurt you. Timmy went to the main screen relay and threw the breaker. Ill be done in a few minutes. Oh, and by the way, welcome to our community. Im excited at the prospect of getting to know you.
Greyson knew. The Emperor was right; Timmy was the perfect choice for his partner. He understood what he was forced to do and did not judge him for what he had done. Now he had something to look forward to doing. Timmy noticed the Searchers panels increased in brightness. He wondered what caused it.
Scotty, Jingo, Grang, and Nathan were standing in the central clearing of the human community waiting on Timmy and Tesa. Where did they go? Vring do you know where Timmy is?
Hell be there momentarily. Hes asked me to stay overhead to provide a view of what happens.
Jingo looked at Scotty, I wonder what theyre up to now?
Timmy and Tesa came out of the forest next to the clearing holding what looked like a larger bowgun. Timmy approached the group and smiled, All right, now were ready.
Nathan gave his younger brother a hug, Ready for what?
Were going to trial the new gun. Its no longer a bowgun because it doesnt shoot arrows. You can decide what to call it.
Where have you been?
We took a couple of the blasters you captured at the Magrums compound and put them on an island in the middle of the river, Your Majesty. We dont want to start a fire and were uncertain of what will happen. Would you like to do the honors?
Timmy handed Scotty the gun and he immediately noticed it was heavier than the bowgun but not as much as its increased size promised. How do I do this?
The switch just above your thumb is in the upper position. That means it is set to go after a blaster. Just point it in any direction but down and pull the back trigger.
Scotty saw there were two triggers in the grip with the front one being slightly offset from the back. It was easy to place his index finger on the back trigger without touching the front one. He shrugged and pointed the gun at a distant tree and pulled the trigger.
A bright light erupted from the gun and went straight at the tree and then went vertical. It continued to climb and then suddenly changed direction and disappeared at high velocity over the trees toward the river. A moment later the group heard a loud boom.
Timmy said, Vring, can you show us what happened?
Everyone suddenly had a vision of Scotty firing the gun and a bright light leave the barrel and move up in the sky. It changed direction and went supersonic as it flew a straight line to the island in the river. Then a bright flash erupted from the island.
Its programmed to go vertical if it doesnt sense a blaster in the immediate vicinity. If you aim it at a blaster, it will go straight at what youre aiming.
Jingo smiled, What if you dont want to explode the blaster?
Timmy pointed to a button next to the selector switch, Press this button and the spark will go after anything organic next to the blaster and burn it.
Nathan said, I wish I had better control over what I want to hit.
Oh, but we have taken care of you, Great Searcher. Timmy turned to Tesa and said, Go to the target.
Tesa ran across the clearing and up the hill next to the community and disappeared into the forest. Everyone looked at each other and wondered what was going on. After fifteen minutes they heard Vring say, Shes there, Timmy.
Timmy turned to Scotty, Your Majesty, look through the raised scope on top of the gun at the tree on the hill about half a mile away.
Timmy pointed and everyone squinted to see what he was pointing at. Scotty raised the gun and looked through the scope in the direction Timmy indicated and immediately saw Tesa standing next to a large white square. I see her, Timmy.
Please allow the others to see. Scotty handed the gun to Jingo and he passed it to the next until all had seen Tesa. Ok, this is a little complicated but Ill try to make it as simple as possible. If you want to hit a specific target, thumb the selector to the second position. That powers the scopes targeting system. Are we together so far? Everyone nodded. Now you use the front trigger to designate your target. Sight through the scope and as soon as you have your target in the center, pull the front trigger back to the second trigger. The target will be hit with a beam from the small red generator in the gun and mark it with an energy reading that will last for about sixty seconds. When you pull the back trigger, the gun will fire a spark at whatever you have designated even if it moves away from where it was previously located. Does everyone understand?
Grang asked, How do I decide whether or not to burn or explode the target. Everyone looked at Grang. He saw them staring, What?
Scotty shook his head as Timmy said, The button will still determine whether the spark explodes or burns. Push it and the sparks will burn until you push it again. Timmy turned to Scotty, Now, Your Majesty, if you will designate that white square with the first trigger. Dont pull the second until we start the target moving.
Everyone watched as Scotty sighted through the scope and pulled the first trigger. Ive done it, Timmy.
Timmy said, Vring if you will start the target moving.
Scotty watched through the scope as Vring gripped the white square and flew away from the giant ging tree that had it suspended on a wire. He flew about two hundred feet and released the target and it started swinging in a four hundred foot arc. Scotty handed the gun to everyone and allowed them to see the swinging target. Timmy waited and said, You may pull the second trigger now.
Should I aim at the target?
If you choose; or you can just fire it in the general direction.
Scotty pointed the gun toward the target and pulled the second trigger. The Spark left faster than they could see and there was an immediate flash on the distant hill. Scotty looked in the scope and saw a black mark in the center of the white square. This is amazing. Where did you get the material for that target?
Its an armor plate from an Ultraship. It wont burn but it can be slightly damaged by a spark set to explode. The thing to remember is that the spark will see the energy signature of whatever youve designated. Even if they hide behind cover, the spark will detect the radiation. If they run away, the spark will chase them. The real skill in using this gun will be the ability to sight and designate a target.
Grang asked, Is the beam wide enough to designate more than one person? Everyone looked at Grang again and he said, What?!
Jingo smiled, Thats more words than youve used in a month.
We have to learn this weapon. You should be asking those questions.
Jingo laughed, You just see it faster than I do.
Timmy said, Actually, the beam can be widened to target more than one person. The control is on the side of the scope. Push the organic button on the scope and swing it across your targets. The number of targets sited will appear in the upper corner of the scope. If you target five people, fire five sparks.