Why do you have so many knives, surely you don't need more than one? -- She Who Knits
"Oh I need all of them," said Human Mar, "and don't call me Shirley." Currently in the midst of sharpening one, he checked the blade's sharpness against his thumbnail.
"Pardon?" said Companion Gij, her feathers half-fluffed in anxiety. "I did not do that."
"Ancient Terran joke. Never mind." The knife passed its odd inspection and returned to its sheath, then to its place on the wall. "That one's an army combat knife, good for survival situations. It's neighbour is a Kukuri, excellent for fast and efficient close combat. And this little fellow is the Swiss Army Knife, more for utility than for combat at all. Bad idea to try fighting with one of those. The long fellow across the bottom is a camping machete. Note the saw teeth opposite the blade."
"All right. Yes. I can see you have a lot of knives for battle," her eyes fixated on a sword that was also part of the display. "And since you say you need them... Why?"
"Stunners and plasma weapons can run out of power or short out in the right kind of EMP blast," said Mar. "These will never run out of sharp or pointy."
Considering Humans and their everlasting war with their mortal enemy - Humans... it was entirely logical that they would prepare for even the most unlikely circumstances. Humans had a knack for enforcing such things on their current enemies.
"I am certain you will keep those in their display," said Gij. "We are a planetary survey mission. Combat of that extreme will not happen."
Mar was insufferable after the space pirates tried to attack. His weapons were incredibly useful during that event. Including his ultimate basic tutorial.
"Pointy end goes into the bad guys, and don't be afraid of pissing them off. That's also the point."
[Photo by David Ballew on Unsplash]
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