Matthew Stover

Each proton torpedo shell had been loaded with thousands of tiny jagged bits of durasteel, packed around a core of conventional explosive.On detonation, these tiny bits of durasteel became an expanding
sphere of shrapnel; though traveling with respectable velocity of their own, they were most effective when set off in the path of oncoming Defenders, because impact energy, after all, is determined by relative velocity. At star fighter combat speeds, flying into a cloud of durasteel pellets could transform one’s ship from a star fighter into a very, very expensive cheese grater.