wbyrd

Now Accepting commissions for personal use, and for publication illustrations and modeling. I have recently accepted and completed illustrations for both Electronic/Online publications and dead tree publications I will consider and offer an estimate on any project I feel is within my ability. I am willing to offer "to your satisfaction" service including direct feedback chats and brainstorming if desired

A trio of Frigates carefully approach a battered and apparently unmanned spacecraft discovered loitering near a perimeter world O the very outer edges of Human Settled Space. The vessel appeared to be heavily damaged by collisions, and obvious weapons fire and did not respond to any attempt to communicate with it. Probes entered the ship and discovered it was fitted for an organic crew. However no crew living or dead were found aboard the ship. Automated drones and robots appeared to make up the entire "crew" of the unknown warship. 

When Humans attempted to board the vessel it sealed its access points and began to maneuver, a wide variety of weapons were detected as becoming active and fire control sensors were detected by the Frigates which beat a hasty retreat. When a better equipped and more heavily protected survey squadron returned to the system they found no sign of the unknown vessel 


background by :www.deviantart.com/napalm92/

Based on the prototype created by August Coender. the weapon feeds from a disintegrating link housed n a drum to the side of the weapon. Intended as a self defense weapon for vehicles, or as a weapon for close combat the weapon lacks the power of a rifle cartridge but has a massive advantage in magazine capacity over a magazine fed Submachine Gun. In a vehicle the weapon could be fed by a large box allowing it to maintain suppression fire against infantry or hose down a neighboring vehicle to protect it from infantry trying to place explosives or use a can of gas to set it on fire. 

The front sight flips up, or down to allow it to be used through a narrow firing slot or pistol port, and back up to be used when carried by a soldier. it is a fairly straightforward blowback weapon firing from an open bolt. The design has the benefit making it simpler to manufacture than a gas operated system using tubing and stamped parts. with only a few parts requiring any sort of complex machining. 

The practicality of this type of weapon man never be known since Coender is about the only example of a belt fed 9mm I can find records of, and that gun was incomplete and had to be competed by US army to test the design. And evidently Coender was cantankerous enough to spend a while hiding out in a cabin to avoid interrogation after the war , so it's likely he wasn't involved n the work or testing.