Energy tethers, which shared a close relationship with tractor beams, functioned as projected energy fields. Their purpose was to stabilize a vessel when it was in unstable or chaotic surroundings. Typically, a vessel employing an energy tether would secure itself to a larger vessel for stability during entry into such environments. The smaller vessel generally managed the tether, adjusting its length as needed. If an energy tether happened to break, re-establishing it was a simple process of boosting the energy supplied to the tether's projector.