"The Call" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels. It is the thirtieth episode of the series overall.
It was directed by Mel Zwyer and written by Bill Wolkoff. Fred Tatasciore guest stars as Boss Yushyn. The episode premiered on February 10, 2016 on Disney XD.
In the episode, the crew of the Ghost is in desperate need of fuel for themselves and for Phoenix Cell. They find a Mining Guild asteroid operation and set out to steal the fuel, while encountering mysterious space creatures known as the purrgil.
Low on fuel and power in deep space, the Ghost crew encounters massive, mysterious creatures whose lives are threatened by a mining operation.
Low on fuel and power, the crew of the Ghost is traveling towards an asteroid gas refinery to obtain fuel supplies for their ship and the Phoenix Cell. Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren are piloting the Ghost towards their destination when Chopper enters the cockpit to deliver a status report. Suddenly, Ezra Bridger hears some high-pitched cries in the distance. Hera at first hears nothing but then Sabine spots several large creatures floating through space in the distance. These creatures turn out to be purrgil, large space-dwelling creatures capable of hyperspace travel.
As the purrgil herd swarms the Ghost, Hera wants to open fire on them but Kanan Jarrus urges caution. Ezra then counsels that Hera fly the Ghost in the same direction as the herd rather than against them. Ezra's idea works and the purrgil calm down. Through the Force, Ezra senses that the purrgil are trying to call out to them. Hera is dismissive, regarding the purrgil as "a big, lumbering menace" that block hyperspace travel. The purrgil begin to show signs of being startled. Shortly later, two yellow-streaked Mining Guild TIES appear and begin to strafe the purrgil. At the insistence of Kanan, the crew of the Ghost come to their aid. Kanan uses the Ghost's turret cannon to destroy the first TIE while Ezra uses the ship's rear cannon to destroy the second TIE.
Sabine tracks down the TIE fighters to the asteroid gas refinery that they are traveling to. The crew of the Ghost quickly realize that the purrgil herd is also traveling to the same destination. Low on power, Hera orders her rebel crew to switch off all power appliances on the Ghost. During a private conversation, Hera confided in Ezra about her personal animosity towards the purrgil. When she was young, she had hear tales of how the space-faring purrgil had inspired people to develop hyperspace travel. However, Hera admitted that she did not believe in these legends and regarded the purrgil as a menace for crashing into starships and endangering hyperspace travel. She had lost more than one friend that way. Ezra suggests that the purrgil are unaware of the harm they are causing.
Shortly later, the Ghost's computers pick up an energy source on an unidentified planetoid ahead which turns out to be the gas refinery. As they approach they gas refinery, Sabine studies the facility and devises a plan to infiltrate it. The Ghost lands on a nearby asteroid above the refinery. Zeb grumbles that the Ghost's automatic doors are no longer working. With the crew assembled in the cockpit, Hera outlines their plan to steal fuel from the gas refinery. While Hera and Zeb man the ship's controls, Kanan, Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper will jump down onto an unguarded landing platform where several canisters of Clouzon-36 lie awaiting pick-up by the Empire. To create a diversion and destroy the facility, Sabine plans to ignite the Clouzon-36. During the meeting, Ezra is too distracted by the purrgil to concentrate on the mission. Before they depart on the mission, Ezra confides that the purrgil also want the fuel but Hera tells him to focus on the mission.
Meanwhile, the Mining Guild refinery's boss Yushyn complains about the purrgil to one of his Rodian subordinates. He orders the refinery's cannons to hold back the purrgil and to kill any that approach. When Yushyn asks about the two missing TIE fighters, the Rodian subordinate suggests that they may have encountered problems.
Back on the Ghost, Kanan, Sabine and Ezra don helmets before their jump. Kanan is annoyed when he learns that Sabine has painted his stormtrooper helmet to make it more stylish. When Ezra asks how they are getting down, Sabine chides him for not paying attention. The rebels descend down to the gas refinery's landing platform with Sabine riding on Chopper. Sabine and Chopper land safely on a bridge, followed by Kanan, who telekinetically pushes against the ground to safely slow his fall. Ezra, having not master this technique, instead plummets into the toxic atmosphere below. Kanan saves his apprentice by levitating him to safety. Shortly later, they are attacked by armed Mining Guild guards.
Under Kanan's orders, Sabine activates the detonators but is restrained by Ezra. As they make their way through the facility, Ezra uses the Force to throw down a Rodian gunner. When confronted by his comrades, Ezra tells them that the purrgil are connected to the gas. Changing their plans, Kanan orders Ezra to man the gun emplacement while the other rebels secure the landing zone. Back on the Ghost, Zeb and Hera learn about Sabine's change in plans with Hera grumbling about the purrgil. With the rebels having breached the refinery, Yushyn orders the sentries to defend the Imperial shipment at all costs.
Kanan, Sabine, and Chopper are pinned down by gunfire from the refinery's Rodian guards. Ezra comes to their rescue by firing the cannon at the sentries, knocking one out and forcing the others to retreat. With Sabine and her comrades having secured the landing zone, Hera lands the Ghost on the landing platform. Ezra is knocked off his gun emplacement by a Rodian gunner, causing him to plummet into the gas-covered crater on the planetoid below. Under enemy fire, the other rebels load the fuel canisters aboard the Ghost. Hera manages to use one of the Ghost's turrets to knock out a gun emplacement and its Rodian gunner.
Yushyn orders the refinery to deploy its TIE fighters, which begin strafing the Ghost. When Hera chides Sabine about the unsecured platform, Sabine replied that they had only temporarily secured it. Meanwhile, Zeb begins using a fuel canister to power up the Ghost's systems. Under attack from TIE fighters, Kanan contacts Ezra to provide covering fire. Meanwhile, Ezra awakes on top of a purrgil known as the Purrgil King which comes to his aid by providing his helmet, thus saving him from death by asphyxiation. By staring into the Purrgil King's eye, Ezra is able to form a bond with creature and communicate with it. Together, Ezra travels with the purrgil herd towards the gas refinery.
Meanwhile, the other crew of the Ghost are cornered by Yushyn's guards and TIE fighters. Yushyn issues an ultimatum demanding that the "thieves" surrender. However, Ezra returned with the purrgil herd and attacked the Mining Guild forces. While riding on a purrgil, Ezra used his lightsaber to slash off the wing radiator of a TIE fighter, causing it to explode in space. Meanwhile, Zeb completed powering up the Ghost and the ship was able to take-off with its crew. Yushyn attempted to leave to man a cannon but was cornered by two purrgil. One of them grabbed him with its jaws and dragged him down into the depths of the planetoid below. Before leaving, the Ghost bombarded the asteroid refinery in order to deny it to the Empire, causing it to explode.
In space, Ezra is reunited with his fellow crew on the Ghost. Ezra tells his master Kanan that he had managed to establish a deep connection with the purrgil. As a result, he had learned that the crater was not their home but that they depended on the gas to survive and to travel into hyperspace. The gas refinery had been preventing the purrgil from feeding on the gas. Hera expresses gratitude towards the purrgil for helping them get off the ground. The rebels then watch as the purrgil jump into hyperspace. Having overcome her animosity towards the purrgil, she suggests that they follow them rather than return to the rebel fleet.