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The Burning was the name given to a form of torture that consisted of the repeated use of a blaster, set at a low power level, to slowly sear the flesh of an individual's body down to the bone. It was common practice for an interrogator using this method to begin with one of the victim's legs so as to immobilize them. The interrogator would repeat the process with other parts of the victim's body until the victim gave the interrogator the answers he or she wanted, until the victim perished, or the torturer satisfied.
History[]
In cases in which a victim possessed knowledge that an interrogator desired, the Burning was an extremely effective means of obtaining information. Forcing an individual to watch as another was subjected to this particularly brutal torture method also proved to be effective. However, when a victim did not have information that an interrogator wanted, the interrogator ran the risk of eventually killing the victim.
During the Pius Dea Era, the Burning was inflicted on Jedi Padawans—along with other physical torments—as part of the Trial of the Flesh stage of the Jedi Trials.[2]
The bounty hunter Feskitt Bobb, one among sundry ruthless individuals, employed the Burning during the course of his hunts. The Corporate Sector Authority's Security Police performed the technique with E-11 blaster rifles in a hunt for the leaders of an uprising against the Authority during its annexation of the Trianii colony of Fibuli. During the Galactic Empire's campaign against the Virgillian Free Alignment, stormtroopers stationed aboard the Victory-class Star Destroyer Stormwind used this technique while questioning refugees; however, they ended up killing many refugees while gaining no useful information.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
The Burning was first described in the pages of Han Solo at Stars' End, by author Brian Daley. When he was asked in an interview whether he believed that Owen and Beru Lars were victims of the Burning, Daley said that the scene in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, where Luke Skywalker sees the burning homestead and their charred corpses "was exactly what I had in mind when I wrote those lines."[4]
Appearances[]
- Han Solo at Stars' End (First mentioned)
Sources[]
- A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
- Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook
- The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook
- Gundark's Fantastic Technology: Personal Gear
"The History of the Mandalorians" — Star Wars Insider 80
Xim Week: The Despotica (Part IV: Evocar) on Hyperspace (article) (content obsolete and backup link not available)- The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force
