Several Rodian refugees, including Greedo and his family, lived on Level 88 from 4-1 BBY.
Shortly before the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance used sections of Level 88's warehouse district for storage of contraband weaponry. They would conceal the weapons in crates of spice and secretly ship them off-world in blockade runners in the dead of night. A young Rodian mercenary named Greedo learned of this and sold the information to a bounty hunter named Spurch Goa. Goa, in turn sold the information directly to the Galactic Empire. The ensuing battle was brief, but fierce.
Darth Vader sent two camouflaged assault shuttles to Level 88 and laid waste to the warehouse district. Stormtroopers disembarked from the shuttles and engaged twenty Rebel commandos in front of the ruins of the warehouse. The commandos turned the tide of battle in their favor by firing a C4-CZN ion field gun at the shuttles destroying them. Through the course of the battle, several buildings in the warehouse district were set on fire. A second wave of Imperials, possibly led by Vader himself, arrived soon afterwards. Their "Death Engine" did even more damage, causing explosions which could be felt as high as .