[Tlhingan-hol] nuq bop bom: 'ay' cha'vatlh loSmaH Hut: nuH bey

[Steven Boozer]

Qov:
> laQbe' nISwI'. Mossam ghopDaq rIHwI' tu'lu'. [312] ghobtaHvIS
> lelta'. Mossam qab mupmeH nISwI' lo'choH qImyal. 
>
> [312] A Canadian army-trained weapons technician indicated
> that mishandling of a weapon, such as getting the trigger
> twisted while it was knocked against the ground in a struggle
> could prevent it from firing. But I decided that crafty Mossam
> was more interesting than lucky Mossam, and had her pull out
> the power pack "clip" instead, leaving the damage to the weapon
> to be discovered as qImyal tries to jam the charge back in.

IIRC Klingon disruptor pistols - at least 23rd century TOS versions - don't have those tongue-like switches (protected by a trigger guard) we're accustomed to on Earth.  I believe there's a button on the back that one thumbs - {Sen} "use the thumb" - to fire the pistol.  See Okrand's article in HolQeD:

  nISwI' HIch Sen 
  fire the disruptor pistol

literally "use the thumb in the way it's most appropriately used on a disruptor pistol", "use the thumb to activate the disruptor pistol", "thumb the disruptor pistol" (cf. HQ 10.2:8).

I found a model of a Klingon disruptor pistol at http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/purpleelaphants/images/beH1.jpg 
http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/purpleelaphants/images/beH2.jpg 
http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/purpleelaphants/images/beH3.jpg 

The last image clearly shows a rectangular blue trigger {chu'wI'} button on the handle {qengwI' naQ} (?) right below the decorated rivet {veragh}.  Now I'm not a weapons technician, but this seems an obvious design flaw as dropping the weapon could accidentally fire it.  Not to mention making it dangerously easy to (mis)fire the weapon in one of those classic struggling-over-the-gun scenes so common in movies and television!


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons