There are some explanations. They are bad shots. They are also tough enough not to be injured when kicked by a brutal sergeant of the Foreign Legion. Their physical constitution is such that they can be hanged without being strangled or suffering a broken neck. A ship's captain who has been hanged by mutineers, after swinging around for a while, is cut down and deemed to have died so he quietly assumes a new role, like that of a fresh recruit to the ship's crew.
The Hokas' home planet, Toka, is Brackney's Star III. When the action moves to Teklo, Brakney's Star II, this theme of physical resilience continues. Telkan biochemistry works so fast that blood clots almost instantly and the Telks immediately recover from bullet wounds inflicted by the Hokas' black powder rifles. The Telks themselves fight with:
eggbeaters with sharp crank-turned blades;
scissors or shears for clipping off hands or head although Alex sees one Telk's six limbs knocking the blades aside;
mousetraps big enough for bears;
ladles for throwing corrosive acid which, however, only makes them scratch because "...they seemed too tough for serious damage..." (p. 185);
bouncing balls with poisoned needles;
pipes blowing a "...noxious weed to which the pipemen had cultivated an immunity..." (p. 177);
poison-covered tiddlywinks littering the ground to impede an enemy advance.
When the Telkan biochemistry in airborne yeasts energetically ferments brewing Hoka beer, a new weapon is forged: beer bottles with knife blades in the corks. When the corks are released, jets of liquid and blades hit the enemy, not killing anyone, just knocking them out for a few hours.
Well, I have carefully listed these absurdities expecting to find a point at which someone should surely die but maybe not?
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