The Burning

"The Espos were brutal in their interrogation of prisoners, seeking the ringleaders. It was the first time I had seen anyone use The Burning [&hellip;] I will not leave my mate in the hands of the kind of people who would do that."

- Atuarre to Han Solo

The Burning was a method of torture used by the Corporate Sector Authority and the Galactic Empire in the interrogation of prisoners.

Method
The prisoner was first shot in one of his or her limbs with a low-powered (but still lethal) blaster. Using a blaster at such a low power level merely vaporized the flesh of the targeted area but left the bone mostly intact. The interrogator then would proceed to target the blaster so as to vaporize the remaining flesh in a slow and excruciating manner.

Due its brutality, The Burning was an extremely effective method of getting questions answered. Interrogators also found that The Burning was also effective in breaking the will of other prisoners merely by forcing them to observe it being performed on one of their own.

Behind the scenes

 * When asked whether he believed that The Burning was the method used to kill Owen and Beru Lars in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, author Brian Daley said that it was exactly what he thought. "Given &hellip; the nature of Imperial atrocities, and the energy weapons in the SW universe, it's an obvious extrapolation-- a quick and dirty interrogation technique to be used in the field."

Appearances

 * Han Solo at Stars' End