In 3 BBY, the Spectres launched a raid on a Mining Guild Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery to acquire fuel for their vessel, the Ghost, as well as the Phoenix Cell. During this raid, the rebels engaged in combat with Mining Guild security personnel under the direction of Boss Yushyn. The rebels received assistance from a group of purrgil, who relied on the Clouzon-36 gas present as a source of nourishment. Following the successful acquisition of the gas, the rebels obliterated the gas refinery, preventing its utilization by the Galactic Empire.
The Phoenix Cell's ships were critically low on fuel, so the Spectres, aboard the Ghost, were dispatched to procure fuel for the entire fleet. The Ghost itself had very little fuel remaining, making a successful theft essential for their departure. En route to a Mining Guild gas refinery concealed within an asteroid belt, the rebels encountered a group of purrgil, massive creatures inhabiting space and capable of traversing hyperspace. While the Ghost's captain, Hera Syndulla, initially intended to fire upon the purrgil, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and his apprentice Ezra Bridger convinced her to instead align the Ghost's trajectory with the purrgil herd's path. Unbeknownst to the rebels, the Mining Guild's gas refinery operations were detrimental to the purrgil, impeding their access to the Clouzon-36 gas vital for interstellar travel.
This action immediately pacified the purrgil. While Ezra could perceive the purrgil attempting to communicate through the Force, Hera dismissed the creatures, considering them a hazard to interstellar navigation. Shortly thereafter, two TIE/mg Mining Guild starfighters appeared and initiated an attack on the purrgil. Prompted by Ezra, the Spectres intervened to assist them, destroying both TIE fighters. Kanan utilized the Ghost's upper turret to eliminate the first TIE, while Ezra employed the ship's rear cannon to strike the second.
However, this brief engagement depleted the Ghost's energy reserves, prompting Hera to instruct her crew to deactivate all non-essential systems to conserve power. Sabine Wren, the Mandalorian weapons specialist, traced the TIE fighters' origin to the Mining Guild gas refinery, deducing that the purrgil herd was heading towards the same location. Shortly after, the Ghost arrived near the gas refinery. After parking the starship on an asteroid above the facility, Hera and Sabine formulated a strategy to steal the Clouzon-36 fuel.
While Hera and the Lasat warrior Garazeb Orrelios remained on the ship, Kanan, Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper would descend to an undefended landing platform and seize several containers of Clouzon 36, which were awaiting collection by the Galactic Empire. To create a distraction and destroy the facility, Sabine planned to use explosives to ignite the volatile Clouzon 36 gas. When Ezra suggested that the purrgil were also interested in the fuel, Hera told him to focus on the mission.
Wearing helmets, the four rebels made their way down to the gas refinery. Sabine managed to ride on Chopper while the Jedi used the Force to guide their descent. While Chopper, Sabine, and Kanan landed safely on a bridge, Ezra made a miscalculation and fell into the toxic atmosphere below the asteroid. Using the Force, Kanan was able to levitate Ezra to safety. Shortly after, they were attacked by several Rodian Mining Guild guards. Their boss Yushyn had earlier dispatched two TIE fighters to keep the purrgil herd away and ordered his men to keep the space creatures from feeding on the Clouzon-36 gas.
Before Sabine could activate the detonators, Ezra advised her against it, forcing the Spectres to alter their plans. After fighting their way through the facility and neutralizing resistance, Ezra told the other rebels that the purrgil were connected to the gas and that they could not simply blow it up. Changing their plans, Kanan ordered Ezra to man the main gun emplacement while the other rebels secured the landing platform for the Ghost to land. Despite Hera's antipathy towards the purrgil, she and Zeb reluctantly complied with Kanan's revised plan.
With the gas refinery breached, Yushyn ordered his men to defend the Imperial shipment at all costs. Ezra managed to used the main gun emplacement to eliminate resistance in the landing platform. This enabled Hera and Zeb to land the Ghost on the platform. The rebels then began loading the fuel canisters aboard the Ghost and refueling the ship. Hera also used the ship's cannon systems to disable a Mining Guild gun emplacement. However, the rebels encountered a setback when Ezra was knocked off his gun emplacement by a laser blast and plummeted into the gas-covered crater below the asteroid.
Ezra, in the meantime, landed on a purrgil known as the Purrgil King. This creature saved Ezra from death by asphyxiation by locating his helmet. By staring into the purrgil's eye, Ezra was able to establish a bond with the creature through the Force. As a result, Ezra learned that the crater was not the purrgil's home but that they subsisted on the Clouzon-36 gas there. The purrgil depended on the gas to travel into hyperspace and were threatened by the Mining Guild refinery operation. Ezra convinced the purrgil to join forces with the rebels in defeating the Mining Guild.
Back at the gas refinery, Yushyn had deployed several TIE fighters to neutralize the intruders. The other rebels had almost finished refueling the Ghost but were trapped by the Mining Guild forces. Yushyn issued an ultimatum demanded that the "thieves" surrender. However, Ezra then reappeared with the purrgil herd. Using his lightsaber, the young rebel slashed the wing radiator off one TIE fighter, causing it to crash and explode. The other rebels eliminated the remaining Mining Guild forces and the Ghost was able to complete its refueling.
Yushyn attempted to man a cannon but was corned by two purrgil including the purrgil king. The purrgil king grabbed the Mining Guild boss by the leg and dragged him into the depths of the crater below. After leaving with the needed fuel supplies, the rebels bombarded the gas refinery in order to deny the facility to the Empire.
The successful raid at the Mining Guild asteroid belt gas refinery allowed the Spectres to obtain sufficient fuel to resupply both the Ghost and the Phoenix Squadron. Moreover, the destruction of the gas refinery allowed the purrgil to consume the Clouzon-36 gas without interference. Following the raid, Ezra rejoined his fellow rebels in the planetoid's upper atmosphere. Ezra recounted his experiences with the purrgil to his master Kanan. As a consequence of their alliance with the purrgil, the Spectres, including Hera, developed a greater understanding of the space-dwelling creatures. Having earned the creatures' friendship, the rebels then followed the purrgil through hyperspace.
The Heist at the Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery was first depicted in the Star Wars Rebels episode "The Call," which initially aired on Disney XD on February 10, 2016. The Mining Guild, an organization that was first mentioned in The Empire Strikes Back, served as the main antagonists of the episode. In addition, the episode also introduced a new species, the purrgil, into the Star Wars universe.