Besn

"The Art group reports on the suitability of art forms within their sector, trying to apply the same austere tenets of the New Order to every art form within the galaxy; sand-casting of Tatooine, transnovels of Cadomai, participlays of Besn, the dynamic holosculptures of Ediorung—all are judged by the same inflexible criteria."

―Imperial Intelligence report to a Grand Moff^[4]

Besn was a celestial body^[4] located in the Besn system, a part of the Mayagil sector^[1] in the Trailing Sectors portion of^[2] the Outer Rim Territories.^[1] It was the origin point of the art form known as participlays, which the Art group of the Coalition for Progress of the Galactic Empire's Commission for the Preservation of the New Order reviewed and judged. By the time shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Imperial Intelligence noted Besn's participlays in a report prepared for an Imperial Grand Moff, which in turn was later added by Rebel Alliance historian Major Arhul Hextrophon to a compilation of Imperial documents for Alliance Supreme Commander Mon Mothma and other Rebel officers.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Besn was first mentioned in Greg Gorden's 1989 Imperial Sourcebook that was published by West End Games for use with Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.^[5] "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, How I Wonder Where We Are," a 1990 roleplaying game source article published in the thirteenth issue of the Voyages SF magazine, placed Besn in the Taldot sector. Since that article was released outside of the Lucas Licensing process, its canonicity within the Star Wars Legends continuity was never confirmed.^[6] The 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas subsequently placed the Besn system, and therefore the celestial body, in grid square N-18,^[3] and the StarWars.com Online Companion to the book later overrode the Voyages SF 13 placement by establishing that the Besn system was situated in the Mayagil sector instead.^[1]