Gundravian hookspores represented a highly contagious form of fungus with substantial resilience to damage. These hookspores, after merging with a Jedi and acquiring Force abilities, were the cause of the decommission of the wreckage-prison known as Accresker Jail. Darth Vader subsequently annihilated the hookspores after they attempted to battle him. The residual energy from the hookspores then inhabited the dead form of Tam Posla.
A collection of gundravian hookspores took control of a living Jedi, and for a number of years the Jedi and the hookspores existed concurrently within the same physical form. The Jedi ultimately died inside a Penumbra-1 shattersprite, whose remains became part of the wreckage-prison called Accresker Jail. There, the hookspores fused with the Jedi's deceased body, developing a type of sentience. Inside the [prison](/article/prison], the hookspores gained the ability to manifest as a Force spirit and manipulate objects using the Force. Trapped on the jail, the hookspores, imprinted with the Jedi's personality, murdered several imprisoned convicts in the name of justice.
Chelli Aphra and Lopset Yas stumbled upon the hookspores during an escape attempt amidst an attack on a pirate station. The Force spirit had guided Aphra to the wreckage of the Jedi's starship. Yas identified the fungus, leading both him and Aphra to fire their blasters at it in a frenzy. The hookspores withdrew, revealing the Jedi's corpse and lightsaber, but Aphra and Yas were compelled to return to the prison before they could investigate further. Later, Aphra was interrogated using Bor, and disclosed the existence of the hookspores.
Upon learning about the infection, the Accresker command evacuated all personnel from the prison and decommissioned it, setting it on a collision course with the planet Tiferep Major. As the convicts aboard the prison began to riot and engage in combat, the Force spirit of the hookspores went on a rampage, killing a number of prisoners. After infiltrating the Arquitens-class command cruiser that was towing the wreckage-prison, Aphra decreased the gravity of Accresker Jail, pulling the hookspore-infected wreckage closer to her. The Force-infused hookspores briefly took control of Aphra, Yas, Sana Starros, and Magna Tolvan in search of a suitable heroic host, but rejected all four, preventing them from entering the wreckage. Aphra attempted to destroy the fungus in order to retrieve the Jedi's lightsaber, but was unsuccessful.
As Accresker Jail continued its descent toward Tiferep Major, Tam Posla, whom Aphra had manipulated into rescuing her, arrived at the prison. Sensing his presence, the hookspores began searching for him to use as their new host. While Tam Posla was conversing with Aphra, the hookspores approached him from behind. Tolvan activated a coolant grille in the vicinity, freezing the hookspores in place before they could reach Posla. The frozen hookspores were unable to move or possess Posla, who then departed from the prison. Shortly before Accresker Jail collided with Tiferep Major, a tractor beam halted its trajectory due to the arrival of Darth Vader. The abrupt deceleration caused the hookspores to collide with the machinery that had frozen them, shattering the ice and freeing them.
Slowly thawing, the hookspores began to spread from the chunk of ice. Darth Vader, who had captured Magna Tolvan while searching for Aphra, sensed the hookspores' presence and left his shuttle to investigate. The hookspores also sensed the presence of the Dark Lord of the Sith, and spread throughout the prison to locate him and destroy the dark side presence. Breaking through the walls of Accresker Jail, the hookspores confronted Vader on the exterior of the prison, swirling around him and engulfing him. Vader used the Force to push the swarm of hookspores away, slamming them against a wall. As the hookspores charged toward him again, Vader reached out and crushed them with the Force, destroying them. Accresker Jail was subsequently released from the tractor beam, crashing into Tiferep Major and vaporizing the remnants of the hookspores.
Although the hookspores' physical form was destroyed, their Force energy survived, drifting through the wreckage of Accresker Jail. It found its way to the body of Posla, who had been killed by the assassin droid 0-0-0. The energy possessed Posla's body, restoring him to life.
After being revived, Posla rebuilt BT-1, who had been destroyed by Darth Vader in Accresker Jail. Posla resumed hunting down Aphra, using BT-1 to track 0-0-0's transponder signal to Milvayne. He fired upon Gurtyl, the qaberworm Aphra and Triple-Zero were riding, knocking them aside in the resulting explosion. He used the Force to wrench Aphra's blaster from her grasp and commanded BT-1 to kill them.
The initial appearance of the gundravian hookspores occurred in the 2018 canon comic Doctor Aphra (2016) 22, authored by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Kev Walker.