Hold-out blaster/Legends

"If you're going to have to admit to carrying a hold-out blaster, carry two and admit to one."

- Han Solo

Hold-out blasters (also holdout blaster) were small, palm-sized blasters that could be easily concealed inside a sleeve.

Description
There were two categories of Hold-out blasters: civilian and military.

Civilian hold-out blasters were in essence miniature blasters meant for self-defense. Many worlds had strict legislations about the possession and use of arms, and civilan hold-outs were designed to be tolerated by such restrictive regulation. Hence, they fired relatively underpowered bolts, had a poor effective range, and could fire only five or six shots before being depleted. This was seen as sufficient for scaring would-be attackers off, without delivering too much firepower in the hands of a random individual. However, due to their ease of concealment, hold-out blasters were associated with more nefarious characters, and they were still outlawed on some worlds.

Military hold-out blasters, on the other hand, were designed to be weapons in their own right. They were still smaller than the heavy-duty sidearms, but the high-quality military hardware used in their fabrication meant they lacked neither range nor killing power. ISB agents and stormtrooper scouts were issued hold-out pistols as standard weapon, for ease of concealment, or because a heavier weapon would have been too bulky and ungainly to wield while riding a speeder bike.

Usage
They saw widespread use in weapon-restricted areas and were commonly found in the possession of undercover agents, gamblers and other scoundrels, or nobles seeking to protect themselves.

They were sometimes carried by more lethal characters for back-up firepower. Iella Wessiri Antilles, Mara Jade Skywalker, and Han Solo were among the many to use holdout blasters. Holdout blasters were hidden on each floor of the Imperial Palace, contained within a datacard box regarding the complete history of Corvis Minor.

Although blasters were uncommon in the planet Lamaredd because energy replacements were scarce, hold-out blasters were the weapon of choice of two notorious inhabitants of the planet, Guther Bartyn and Miss Mylla.

Notable models

 * Q2 hold-out blaster
 * Q4 hold-out blaster
 * Scout trooper blaster pistol
 * Gee-Tech 12 Defender
 * Czerka 411
 * HSB-200
 * Model 22T4 hold-out blaster pistol