In 45 ABY, the Columi brothers, Craitheus and Marvid Qreph were attempting a hostile financial takeover of the Chiloon Rift. However, their efforts to convince Lando Calrissian to sell his holdings in the nebula were unsuccessful. Frustrated, they decided to attempt to kill Calrissian and his allies, Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo.
The Qrephs used their agent, Vestara Khai to carry out the assassination, and she infiltrated Calrissian's refinery on the planet Sarnus. The refinery was organized to process minerals from an asteroid field in the rift and had tractor beams that could pull asteroids from space for mining. Vestara sabotaged one of the tractor beams, causing an asteroid to collide with the refinery, incinerating it and killing thirty thousand of Calrissian's employees.
Calrissian and the Solos were able to escape the destruction and they made their way to the planet Valnoos, where the Qrephs would organize a second attempt on Calrissian's life.