Be a hell of a blade for a space warrior to carry. I can see them now, them drawing it from their belt when another deathworlder, an enemy, tries to push their luck thinking the "squishy human" is weak and helpless. They clean their nails with the tip and go "You really want to do this?" -- DaniAndShali
Humans only seem to have no natural defenses. Many learn this lesson the hard way. Such as the Gendraaugi, Yauch, who had come to the Edge of the Galactic Alliance just to cause trouble. In such places, there are dives made exclusively for Deathworlders.
The walls, ceilings, and floors are specially re-enforced. The tables are bolted to the floor. The drinking vessels are all made of metal and periodically panel-beaten back into shape. The serving staff are behind the best possible barrier and carry heavy stunners at all times. That's how you can tell. Some of the classier versions have large windows made out of homing microbots that reassemble themselves because the owners know that this is a form of Deathworlder enrichment.
This one was not one of the classier establishments. If you were lucky, they hosed it out once a week and maybe re-dented the flagons annually. They did have Time Per Sivu[1] pricing, which meant that nobody with a very dented flagon was short-changed. Yauch didn't need the influence of inebriants to ramp up their courage. They just needed to find the toughest Deathworlder there and fight them.
There. In the center of a respectful circle of very respectful drinkers, sat an unbelievable sight. They were dressed in Skins and Sockassins, and were idly playing with something on their datareader. They were clearly undefended by anything. No chitinous armour, no scutes, no bony plates. No claws, no horns, no sign of anything made for stinging. As this creature exposed their teeth, Yauch was offended to see that they were blunt.
"Are you all larvae?" Yauch challenged. "Why are you afraid of this squishy defenseless lump of soft?"
The hairless and apparently defenseless cogniscent put their datareader down with a click that filled the room. They reached behind their back and drew out a knife with a multitude of purposes. It was the kind of knife with a multitude of edges with different purposes, some of them unrelated to cutting things, but could still cause grievous bodily harm with enough force behind it. It was the kind of knife that could open jars, bottles, doors, barrels, and arteries. Especially arteries. It was with this knife that the apparently squishy being used to clean grime out from under their fingernails.
"Because they know what a Human like me is capable of," said the Human. Finished with their manicure, they rolled the resultant gluck into a ball and flicked it onto the floor. "Is this an adulthood ritual or just vainglory? 'Cause if it's the former, I can figure out something for you so's you can go home with your head held high. Always had a soft spot for kids."
Yauch flared their spines. "You dare insult me by calling me immature? You, who is a soft spot?"
"Vainglory it is," sighed the Human. They got up, handing the datareader off to someone who cowered in their seat. "Don't lose my place, okay?" To Yauch, they said, "You wanna dance? Let's dance."
Two weeks later, when Yauch woke up in the Intensive Care Drawer wondering what happened, they would have an entirely new appreciation for the apparently defenseless Human race. They had believed that taking the knife away from the Human would render them even more helpless, but...
Getting the knife away from the Human had been the first problem. Learning that 'Human' and 'helpless' were almost antonyms came soon after that. The next handful of moments were, honestly, a bit of a blur.
In the messages section was a host of congratulations from other bargoers cheering Yauch on for standing three turns of combat with Human Stiiv. And one brief missive from Human Stiiv which was two words.
Nice try.
[1] Sivu - Standard Volume Unit, or SVU as a standard three-letter acronym. Humans have a way of making words happen that the Alliance has yet to tame or control.
[Image c/- DaniAndShali]
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