Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel 1: The Deimos Artifact by Phillip Nolte

down the corridor and through a hatch that opened into the middle of the large boardroom. "We figured we'd never need room for that many people, so we sacrificed part of the meetin' room for that...!" Cliff touched a panel on the wall that turned on the lighting and pointed forward.
    Zack and Beth were confronted by a rather large cylinder that ran up from the floor and disappeared into the ceiling. The cylinder, marred only by a hatch opening, took up perhaps a third of the original space in the room. As they approached the cylinder, Zack estimated that its diameter was something around four meters or so. He could also see that it was securely attached to the bulkhead by a couple of meter-wide plates that were welded floor to ceiling to the cylinder and to the bulkhead. Cliff opened the hatch on the cylinder and motioned them inside.
    Zack squeezed through the hatch and was confronted by a narrow aisle that ran between two identical banks of heavy duty electrical components that filled the space from floor to ceiling. Headspace and shoulder room within this layer of the compact turret was limited and Zack had to remain slightly stooped over. Beth and Cliff, who were shorter than he was, could both stand up straight, though only just. Having served onboard a number of Naval warships, Beth recognized what they were looking at immediately.
    "These are pulse beam capacitor banks," she said, incredulously. "Do you mean to tell me that this old tub has a pulse beam weapons system?"
    "Yes, Ma'am. Marv had it installed a month or so ago, just before we returned to Haven for him to settle affairs with some of his creditors. We...ah...haven't got all of the permits we need yet, so it's best we keep this among ourselves for the time being."
    Zack climbed up the short central ladder to the projector compartment above. Beth and Cliff followed right behind him. Space in the upper compartment was a little more generous and even Zack could stand up straight. Just behind the central opening was the gunner's chair, flanked by a couple of gun control consoles, each of which was in easy reach of a person sitting in the chair.
    "I haven't seen one of these retractable types before, Cliff," said Zack. "What happens to the projectors when you retract the turret?"
    "They fold down vertically into slots on the front of the turret. Then they extend and lock into place after you deploy the emplacement."
    Zack climbed into the gunner's chair and immediately found himself in familiar territory. He slipped his feet into the stirrups of the foot controls that regulated turret movement and projector elevation. His hands fell naturally onto the hand controls that were used to make fine adjustments in the aim and the thumb buttons that actually triggered the pulses. The controls were all well-worn, as though the emplacement had seen heavy use at some point in its past. His two companions watched him while he tested the controls.
    "Why in Space did you think you'd need a pulse beam weapon?" asked Beth.
    "We've been in some pretty dicey places with this old girl," replied Cliff, "Marv wanted to be able to fight back if we had to."
    "Well, this system should do the trick!" said Beth.
    "If it works," said Zack, "Have you tested it?"
    "Not in actual battle, but we did fire a few pulses with it right after it was installed. Marv was gonna get some more practice with it, but then he...had his accident."
    Beth couldn't help but notice how familiar Zack seemed to be with the weapons system, "You look pretty comfortable in that chair," she said.
    "Among other things, I'm the back-up gunner for my hovercraft unit," said Zack, still choosing to remain somewhat vague regarding his current status within the Marine Corps. "The emplacement on my hovercraft isn't near as big as this one, but the operation is pretty much the same. I ought to be able to operate it if we need it."
    "Maybe we can continue this tour later, but for now I'd better get back to the bridge," said Beth,