Could a solar flare be coaxed from a star with a magnetic weapon, possibly by manipulating magnetic reconnection? Could the resulting flare be aimed at a planet (or space fleet) with any accuracy?
I understand that a solar flare will not "fry" a planet, but I am hoping for a portable weapon that would cause extreme mayhem and disruption (not planetcide). By portable, I mean it can be transported and deployed from a ship, or the weapon is the whole ship.
A NASA video about the coronal mass ejection event in 2012 suggests that repeated flares, or co-ordinated flares could be more damaging. Could this weapon (or ship) survive the flairs or possibly get out of the way to fire again and again?
Technology level is thousands of years in the future. My story is set in an Electric Universe where electromagnetism is a stand-in for magic, but I'd like to get a reality-check before I add the handwavium.