Rupeean Duners and Weapons
For Duner Fennecs , to be armed while in public is to show a willingness and ability to face the world. While not strictly needing to be battle-ready, the bearing of weapons is a symbol of the characteristic Duner self-reliance and utility. The range of suitable weapons has no limitation or condition, so long as they are recognisably a tool for self defence. Blunt ceremonial swords, hip-carry pistols, utility knives, the hardlight power kopis or even the full-scale Jz-1 Rifle are acceptable with little more than personal preference (and the trouble of carry weight) to seperate them.
To be unarmed while out of their personal quarters or household is as much a faux pas as doing so without a thermal cloak or other overwear. For many Duners therefore, the division between armed and unarmed life is a day-to-day metaphor of the division between household and public life.
To be disarmed in the presence of another has therefore become a signal of willingness for households to come together, or for the creation of a new home. A Duner giving up their weapons in the presence of another, in an otherwise private environment, acts as a subtle and obscure but powerful symbol of trust. In a more romantic scenario, disarming becomes a sensitive, even submissive act.
For this reason, some Duner communities consider forced disarmament to be a case not of physical attack but sexual assault, with suitably harsher sentencing enforced as a result. It's not uncommon for muggers in tropical or equatorial latitudes of Rupee Quay to return any weapons after emptying their target's pockets of other valuables, for decorum's sake if nothing else.
The most mainstream component of Duner weapons culture is the exchange of arms, a very public sign of mutual trust that has taken on the trappings of betrothal (particularly after cross-contamination with Terran culture). As finer weapons such as hardlight power swords are often hereditary with a family history of their own, trading them is a sign that a relationship has reached a significant milestone and the creation of a new home is imminent.
for those of other cultures or species seeking to start a new life with a Duner significant other, procuring a weapon of suitable fineness and utility is a valuable step. Many seek a weapon culturally important to their own people, such as a Sestian warpick, while others commit to extravagance. There are occasional rumours of Coalition suitors capturing whole Terran tanks to use as betrothal blades.
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