Mind probe (Force power)

Mind probe was a powerful ability of the Force that allowed the user to sift through the thoughts of the victim, seeking useful information. The mind probe was highly invasive and and those being subjected to it could feel great discomfort, to the point of extreme pain, making it useful in torturing subjects that attempted to resist. However, such resistance would be unsuccessful in a being without the power to use the Force.

History
"Get out of my head!"

- Rey to Kylo Ren as she resists his mind probe

After capturing Kanan Jarrus, a Jedi survivor of Order 66 and a rebel, the Grand Inquisitor questioned Jarrus aboard Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's Star Destroyer, the Sovereign, used the mind probe ability in an attempt to discover the location of the other rebels, however Jarrus managed to resist the Inquisitor's probing. After capturing Ezra Bridger on abandoned Republic medical station, she tried to psychologically break him and to get him to reveal the location of Ahsoka Tano through taunts, threats, and even an attempted mind probe, which only caused Ezra discomfort, while he was able to resist her.

Anakin Skywalker himself would later be capable of using the ability as the Sith Lord Darth Vader. He once used the ability to sense conflict within his son, Luke Skywalker, aboard the second Death Star. In the process of sensing his son's emotions, Vader was able to discover the existence of Luke's twin sister, born to himself and Padmé Amidala.

The powerful dark side-wielder Kylo Ren was adept at the mind probe and used it to great effect, with his use of the ability being strong enough to exert physical force on a target with enough effort, either to pinning them down or to hold them up. When seeking the map that would lead to the location of Luke Skywalker, he traveled to the planet Pillio where he probed the mind of Del Meeko and learned that Lor San Tekka had taken the map to Bayora. Sometime later he captured the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron on Jakku after Dameron traveled there to retrieve the portion of the map that Tekka had. While Dameron was resistant to traditional interrogation techniques, he had no power to resist Ren's power, which inflicted great pain on Poe, until it was revealed that Dameron had stored the information he sought in the astromech droid BB-8, who was on Jakku. Later, Ren captured the scavenger Rey after learning that she had seen the map and subjected her to a mind probe as well. As he sought the information, he discovered other memories, such as her encounters with Han Solo, and taunted her. Rey, however, discovered something new within herself, an ability in the Force. To her surprise, she turned the mind probe's effect back upon Ren, learning something of him: that he feared he would never be as powerful as the legendary Darth Vader. Ren, rattled, left her in order to regroup. When Rey was alone with but a single guard, she considered what she had done with Ren's mind. Her dawning realization led her to perform a mind trick on the guard.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens novelization
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens Graphic Novel Adaptation
 * The Force Awakens, Part I
 * The Force Awakens, Part V
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens Graphic Novel Adaptation
 * The Force Awakens, Part I
 * The Force Awakens, Part V

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens