It wasn't hard to intuit which end of the pistol was the dangerous part. There was only one end with a hole in it. She took care not to aim it at the ship, either, not knowing how much damage it could do. Her experiences of gaatlock had been...memorable. It was hard to see how this little thing would do as much damage (and perhaps it couldn't, since presumably a smaller amount was involved), but Hawke hadn't lived as long as she had by taking stupid risks.

All right, that wasn't true at all, she'd lived this long despite frequently taking stupid risks. She survived in part because she paid attention to details.

She adjusted her grip on the gun so she was holding it properly, feeling how the grip settled itself into the palm of her hand. She she did aim and fire, she deliberately pointed the weapon over the side of the ship, into the open air. For the moment, she didn't want to hit anything, not until she knew what she was doing.

The kick surprised her. You didn't get that sort of recoil firing a bow, or even a crossbow, not to the same extent. It wasn't a huge amount, but it was noticeable, and would've been enough to throw off her aim for a second shot if she'd been aiming. And it implied a lot of force. "That's impressive," she said, meaning it.