In a galaxy consumed by conflict weapons ore a dangerous but necessary fact of life. The most common sidearm is the high-energy laser/particle beam weapon commonly called a blaster. When a blaster is fired, a small amount at high-energy blaster gas moves from the gas chamber to the gas conversion enabler (commonly called an XCter). There the gas is excited by energy from the weapon's power source, which is a small power pack for hand weapons and a reactor or a power generator for a larger weapon. The excited gas passes into the actuating blaster module, where it is processed into a beam comprised of intense energy particles coupled with light. The prismatic crystal housing focuses the beam, which is further focused, or 'galvenned,' as it passes down the blaster's barrel. The final particle beam, or 'bolt,' contains high-energy particles that cause tremendous damage to anything they hit; the bolt's visible light is a harmless by-product of this reaction.