The Clash at Drexel unfolded shortly after the Battle of Yavin amidst the broader Galactic Civil War. The conflict pitted the ship-dwellers residing within the Great Ship against the Dragon Lords, who were once banished from the city-ship and subsequently gained control over the sea-dragons native to Drexel.
The Dragon Lords emerged victorious, inflicting substantial damage upon the city-ship. Noteworthy participants in the battle included Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca, all of whom later found themselves engaged in a space-based confrontation with the pirate known as Crimson Jack.
Following the Battle of Yavin, Luke Skywalker, accompanied by the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, embarked on a reconnaissance mission to locate a suitable site for a new Rebel base. During his exploration, Skywalker discovered the Drexel system. He attempted to relay this information to Princess Leia Organa, but his communication was disrupted, prompting the Princess to seek out Skywalker independently, only to be captured by the pirate Crimson Jack.
Skywalker was subsequently discovered by the ship-dwellers and appointed their Master Machinesmith. Shortly thereafter, the smuggler Han Solo was also taken prisoner while returning from Aduba-3. By revealing the existence of a hidden treasure to Crimson Jack, they convinced him to venture to the Drexel system. While on Drexel's surface, Skywalker was apprehended by the ship-dwellers and learned that his vessel had been grounded by a potent sonic-jammer. Soon after, Crimson Jack's heavily modified battlecruiser entered the system. While the battlecruiser was immobilized by the sonic-jammer, Solo, Organa, and Chewbacca successfully escaped aboard the Millennium Falcon.
Upon their arrival, a large-scale battle erupted between the Dragon Lords and the ship-dwellers. A skimmer fired upon the Millennium Falcon, but Skywalker neutralized it. Subsequently, Chewbacca, suspecting Skywalker of targeting the Falcon, attempted to attack him, but R2-D2's extinguisher diffused the situation. Meanwhile, Leia Organa was captured by the city-ship governor Quarg, while Han Solo was rescued by the Dragon Lords. One of the Dragon Lords explained to Solo that the sonic-jammer was responsible for the sea-dragons' erratic behavior. Meanwhile, Quarg, using Organa's life as leverage, forced Skywalker to connect the Falcon's power to the sonic-jammer, resulting in the sea-dragons' demise. While the governor was preoccupied, Solo, arriving on a sea-dragon, employed a weapon system to destroy the sonic-jammer. Aboard the city-ship, Organa, aided by Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker, managed to escape. Regrettably, as soon as the Falcon was repaired, Crimson Jack's fighters descended from orbit. The battle, at least for the Rebels, soon escalated into space.
Solo and Skywalker managed to eliminate two enemy fighters, but the female pirate Jolli inflicted damage upon the Falcon's gyro control module before being struck and sent spiraling out of control. While attempting to persuade Solo to surrender, Jack discovered that the smuggler had erased all of his navicomputer data. The pirate proposed a meeting with Solo in open space, shielded only by the magnetic field emanating from Jack's battlecruiser, to exchange a Gyro Control Module for the charts. Jolli also pleaded for Jack's assistance, but he dismissed her, leaving her to her fate.
However, during the exchange, Jack double-crossed Solo, summoning his henchmen and sealing the magnetic field separating Solo from the Falcon. Solo was compelled to make a final stand, but he received unexpected assistance from an enraged Jolli, who returned to eliminate all of the pirates, with the exception of Jack himself, and breached the battlecruiser's control bridge. Capitalizing on this distraction, Solo fatally shot Crimson Jack in the chest. After sharing a brief kiss with Jolli and repairing the Falcon, Solo and his companions departed the Drexel system.
Crimson Jack's battlecruiser continued to drift aimlessly above Drexel, until it was discovered by Jabba's accountant, Mosep Binneed. He also discovered, through the ship's log, that Han Solo was responsible for its destruction. Because Jabba had provided assistance in refitting the battlecruiser, the bounty that had been lifted from Han's head following the Orleon incident was reinstated. That bounty was eventually collected by Boba Fett.