“I fire my pulverizer gun!” you say with confidence. “I’d fire mine at you right now for delaying my mission, but my gun’s currently… jammed.”
“IT IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL FOR PULVERIZER GUNS TO ‘JAM’,” the alien guard states. You breathe faster. The guard keeps the gun trained at your sweating face. “WHAT AN UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCE. I AM SURE YOU WOULD ENJOY FIRING YOUR PULVERIZER GUN IN RESPONSE TO SUCH AN EVENT.”
You smile, breathing a huge sigh of relief. You’re not a pile of debris yet, damn it!