In 3 BBY, the Spectres initiated a heist at a Mining Guild Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery to obtain fuel for their ship, the Ghost, and the Phoenix Cell. During the heist, the rebels skirmished with Mining Guild security forces under the command of Boss Yushyn. The rebels were aided by a herd of purrgil, which depended on the Clouzon-36 gas there as a source of sustenance. After stealing the gas, the rebels destroyed the gas refinery in order to deny its services to the Galactic Empire.
Phoenix Cell was in dire need of fuel for their ships, so the Spectres, in the Ghost, were sent to steal fuel for the entire squadron. The Ghost was very low on fuel itself, so they would not be able to leave without stealing it. While traveling to a Mining Guild gas refinery hidden in an asteroid belt, the rebels encountered a herd of purrgil, large space-dwelling creatures that were capable of traveling through hyperspace. While the Ghosts captain, Hera Syndulla, wanted to open fire on the purrgil, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and his apprentice Ezra Bridger convinced her to instead fly the Ghost in the same direction that the purrgil herd were traveling in. Unknown to the rebels, the Mining Guild gas refinery operation was harming the purrgil by preventing them from accessing the Clouzon-36 gas which they needed to travel through the stars.
This had the immediate effect of calming the purrgil. While Ezra could sense that the purrgil were trying to call out to them through the Force, Hera was dismissive of the creatures since she regarded them as a menace to interstellar travel. Shortly later, two TIE/mg Mining Guild starfighters appeared and began to attack the purrgil. At Ezra's urging, the Spectres came to their aid and destroyed the two TIE fighters. Kanan used the Ghosts top turret to destroy the first TIE while Ezra used the ship's rear cannon to hit the second one.
However, the brief dogfight drained the Ghosts systems and prompted Hera to order her crew to switch off all appliances in order to conserve the remaining power. The Mandalorian weapons expert Sabine Wren traced the TIE fighters to the Mining Guild gas refinery and deduced that the purrgil herd was traveling to the same destination. Shortly later, the Ghost arrived at the outskirts of the gas refinery. After parking the starship on a nearby asteroid above the facility, Hera and Sabine devised a plan to steal the Clouzon-36 fuel.
While Hera and the Lasat warrior Garazeb Orrelios manned the ship, Kanan, Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper would jump down to an unguarded landing platform and steal several canisters of Clouzon 36 that were awaiting pick-up by the Galactic Empire. To create a diversion and destroy the facility, Sabine also planned to use explosives to ignite the volatile Clouzon 36 gas. When Ezra suggested that the purrgil were also interested in the fuel, Hera told him to focus on the mission.
After donning helmets, the four rebels descended to the gas refinery. Sabine managed to ride on Chopper while the Jedi used the Force to guide their descent. While Chopper, Sabine, and Kanan managed to land safely on a bridge, Ezra miscalculated his jump and plunged into the toxic atmosphere below the asteroid. Using the Force, Kanan was able to levitate Ezra to safety. Shortly later, they were attacked by several Rodian Mining Guild guards. Their boss Yushyn had earlier dispatched two TIE fighters to keep the purrgil herd away and ordered his men to keep the space creatures from feeding on the Clouzon-36 gas.
Before Sabine could activate the detonators, Ezra counseled her not to do it; forcing the Spectres to change their plans. After fighting their way through the facility and neutralizing resistance, Ezra told the other rebels that the purrgil were connected to the gas and that they could not simply blow it up. Changing their plans, Kanan ordered Ezra to man the main gun emplacement while the other rebels secured the landing platform for the Ghost to land. Despite Hera's antipathy towards the purrgil, she and Zeb reluctantly complied with Kanan's revised plan.
With the gas refinery breached, Yushyn ordered his men to defend the Imperial shipment at all costs. Ezra managed to used the main gun emplacement to eliminate resistance in the landing platform. This enabled Hera and Zeb to land the Ghost on the platform. The rebels then began loading the fuel canisters aboard the Ghost and refueling the ship. Hera also used the ship's cannon systems to disable a Mining Guild gun emplacement. However, the rebels encountered a setback when Ezra was knocked off his gun emplacement by a laser blast and plummeted into the gas-covered crater below the asteroid.
Meanwhile, Ezra landed on top of a purrgil known as the Purrgil King. The creature saved Ezra from death through asphyxiation by finding his helmet. By starring into the purrgil's eye, Ezra was able to establish a bond with the creature through the Force. As a result, Ezra learned that the crater was not the purrgil's home but that they subsisted on the Clouzon-36 gas there. The purrgil depended on the gas to travel into hyperspace and were threatened by the Mining Guild refinery operation. Ezra convinced the purrgil to join forces with the rebels in defeating the Mining Guild.
Back at the gas refinery, Yushyn had deployed several TIE fighters to neutralize the intruders. The other rebels had almost finished refueling the Ghost but were trapped by the Mining Guild forces. Yushyn issued an ultimatum demanded that the "thieves" surrender. However, Ezra then reappeared with the purrgil herd. Using his lightsaber, the young rebel slashed the wing radiator off one TIE fighter, causing it to crash and explode. The other rebels eliminated the remaining Mining Guild forces and the Ghost was able to complete its refueling.
Yushyn attempted to man a cannon but was corned by two purrgil including the purrgil king. The purrgil king grabbed the Mining Guild boss by the leg and dragged him into the depths of the crater below. After leaving with the needed fuel supplies, the rebels bombarded the gas refinery in order to deny the facility to the Empire.
The heist at the Mining Guild asteroid belt gas refinery enabled the Spectres to gain enough fuel to refuel the Ghost and to supply the Phoenix Squadron. In addition, the destruction of the gas refinery enabled the purrgil to feed on the Clouzon-36 gas there unhindered. Following the heist, Ezra reunited with his fellow rebels in the planetoid's upper atmosphere. Ezra related his experiences with the purrgil to his master Kanan. As a result of their alliance with the purrgil, the Spectres including Hera gained a better appreciation of the space-dwelling creatures. Having gained the creatures' friendship, the rebels then followed the purrgil through hyperspace.
The Heist at the Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery first appeared in the Star Wars Rebels episode "The Call," which first premiered on Disney XD on February 10, 2016. The Mining Guild, an organization that was first mentioned in The Empire Strikes Back, served as the main antagonists of the episode. In addition, the episode also introduced a new species, the purrgil, into the Star Wars universe.
- Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles