In the year 34 ABY, a distress signal led Resistance operatives Commander Poe Dameron and Kazuda Xiono, along with astromech droids BB-8 and CB-23, to probe an abandoned Darius G-class freighter. This freighter, which was transporting Kowakian monkey-lizards, had suffered an assault by Kragan Gorr's pirate crew, under the command of Synara San. A massive Kowakian ape-lizard devoured the majority of the pirates, but San managed to survive by hiding inside a locked container. Dameron, Xiono, and the droids discovered her there, mistaking her for a member of the freighter's crew. They made their escape with the unconscious pirate, fleeing from the giant monkey-lizard. Subsequently, Dameron and Xiono repelled additional pirate ships that arrived in response to the distress call before returning to Castilon, where they met up with Jarek Yeager's shuttle. Upon regaining consciousness, San realized her rescuers were ignorant of her true identity and pretended to be a victim of the attack. Once on the Colossus, Xiono ensured San was properly registered, granting her freedom of movement on the platform. At her earliest convenience, San contacted Gorr, revealing her location, and Gorr instructed her to remain inconspicuous until he provided her with a specific task.
During the latter stages of the Cold War, the First Order developed an interest in utilizing the Colossus platform, situated on Castilon, as a forward base for their forces. To maintain a discreet presence, they engaged Kragan Gorr and his pirate organization to launch attacks on the station. Their intention was that repeated assaults would compel the Colossus' owner, Captain Imanuel Doza, to request the First Order's intervention for security purposes. The initial assault by the pirates proved unsuccessful, as they were repelled more easily than anticipated. Captain Phasma of the First Order expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome, which Gorr attributed to a failure on the part of their informant, Hallion Nark.
Concurrently, the Resistance had dispatched their own operative, Kazuda Xiono, to the Colossus on a mission to ascertain the First Order's objectives there. Xiono was accompanied by BB-8, the astromech droid belonging to Commander Poe Dameron. He had secretly aided in the defense against the pirate attack by transmitting feedback through their communication channels. Further investigation by Xiono revealed that Captain Doza, while not permitting the First Order to seize control of the Colossus, was engaging in a degree of cooperation by accepting fuel shipments from them.
In the period following the initial assault on the Colossus, members of Gorr's crew, led by Synara San, attacked a Darius G-class freighter located in an asteroid field in proximity to Castilon. Their expectation was an easy acquisition, but the freighter's cargo, consisting of Kowakian monkey-lizards, held an unwelcome surprise: a Kowakian ape-lizard, of immense size and resistant to blaster weaponry, which enabled it to overpower and consume the majority of the pirates. During this conflict, a distress signal was somehow activated. San avoided the slaughter by hiding herself in a crate, subsequently losing consciousness.
As a direct result of Xiono's report concerning Captain Doza, Dameron opted to revisit Castilon to engage in direct conversation with him. He reached out to his acquaintance Jarek Yeager, for whom Xiono was employed as a mechanic at his repair shop. Subsequently, Yeager roused Xiono early one morning, ostensibly for a day-long salvage endeavor. It was not until after they had departed the platform, beyond the hearing range of Yeager's other personnel, Tam Ryvora, Neeku Vozo, and R1-J5 "Bucket," that Yeager disclosed to Xiono the true nature of their journey, with Dameron's arrival in his T-70 X-wing starfighter. Dameron had brought a second X-wing, piloted by the astromech CB-23, and Xiono boarded it midair with some assistance from BB-8. They avoided docking or landing to prevent attracting unwanted attention. The astromech then boarded Dameron's fighter, and the two flew off.
Dameron questioned Xiono regarding Doza's possible collusion with the First Order, and Xiono relayed that they were seeking to seize control of the Colossus, although the reasons remained unknown to him. He confided in Dameron about his uncertainties concerning his role as a spy, and Dameron reassured him of his effective performance. They approached the asteroid field near Castilon and resolved to enter it. Dameron demonstrated to Xiono a maneuver he termed the "reverse tailslide," which Xiono attempted twice but failed to successfully execute. At that moment, Xiono detected the freighter's distress signal, prompting the two pilots to fly in its direction to investigate. They discovered the freighter with a wrecked pirate ship nearby, and another docked, suggesting the recent raid. BB-8 detected the lifesigns of several survivors, and Dameron hoped none of them were pirates. The two starfighters docked.
Within the freighter, the pilots encountered empty crates scattered throughout the corridors, indicative of the freighter's living cargo. Upon hearing unusual sounds, they, along with the two droids, followed them and witnessed two pirates being captured and devoured by the ape-lizard, without initially discerning the creature's nature. After proceeding to another section of the ship, they were confronted by a monkey-lizard, which Dameron drove away. He informed Xiono about its identity, expressing his aversion to the creatures. Shortly thereafter, they were accosted by more. Two of the creatures ruptured a pipe, filling the corridor with smoke that obscured visibility. One monkey-lizard pilfered Dameron's blaster pistol, compelling him to pursue it, leaving Xiono alone in the hallway. After losing his flashlight, Xiono panicked and eventually fled, encountering the droids by tripping over BB-8, before being attacked by another lizard.
Dameron recovered his blaster by hurling a crate at the thief, causing the monkey-lizard to drop the weapon and flee. BB-8 and CB-23 had not been getting along, but CB was grateful after BB hurled off a monkey-lizard that was attacking her, leading the two droids to briefly ignore Xiono as he struggled with several of the creatures that were attacking him. BB-8 eventually shocked a monkey-lizard clinging to Xiono's leg, at which point Dameron arrived. He fired his blaster into the ceiling to scare off the remaining creatures, accidentally killing one on the ceiling he hadn't known was there. Afterwards, the droids picked up a remaining humanoid lifesign.
The droids guided Dameron and Xiono to a room adjacent to the hallway, separated by a partially closed blast door, and CB-23 directed them to the correct crate. Dameron and Xiono were surprised to find the unconscious San inside the crate, and Dameron checked her pulse. The two assumed that San was likely part of the freighter's crew. Hearing a roar from the ape-lizard, the two decided to get out as fast as possible, and Xiono picked up San. Just as they were heading back down the hallway, the ape-lizard arrived and forced open the blast door, prompting the humans and droids to run for it. As Xiono expressed concern that he was falling behind and the ape-lizard was catching up, Dameron split off to lure the creature away. Xiono and the droids reached the door to where the X-wings were docked, but had to put San down due to exhaustion. Dameron was at one point thrown into a wall by the creature, but recovered and caught up to Xiono shortly afterwards. He and Xiono picked up San and carried her through the door just ahead of the creature.
San was placed in the back of Xiono's borrowed fighter, and the two ships departed the freighter. At this juncture, they encountered three pirate starships that were investigating the status of their comrades. Dameron shot down one, and Xiono, finding himself pursued by another, executed the tailslide flawlessly to destroy his pursuer. The third ship retreated.
The two X-wings made their way back to Castilon and linked up with Yeager aboard his shuttle. Yeager voiced his surprise upon learning that they had saved a survivor from a pirate assault. Following Xiono's boarding of the unconscious San, Dameron assured Yeager that she would not be joining his crew. Yeager conveyed his belief that transporting San to the Colossus was a misguided decision, although Xiono remained optimistic. Dameron reassured BB-8 that they would meet again soon, before he and CB-23 departed in the X-wings.
Upon awakening, San discovered Xiono hovering over her and reacted by striking him in the face. He hastily explained that they were only attempting to assist her, and after introducing himself, Yeager, and BB-8 as mechanics, asserted that she had been rescued by two pilots, and he and Yeager had volunteered to take her in. Yeager countered that he had not. San expressed surprise at being transported to the Colossus and claimed to be a victim of the pirate assault. She stated that her identification had been stolen and voiced uncertainty regarding her reception, but Xiono reassured her that he and Yeager would facilitate her registration. On the platform, a security droid exhibited suspicion toward San, but Xiono had registered her and affirmed that everything was in order. Inside, she quickly excused herself from Xiono and Yeager, stating her intention to remain private. This aroused Yeager's suspicion, and he cautioned Xiono that he would be held accountable for any incidents involving her.
Once alone, San established contact with her superior, Gorr, and recounted the events that had transpired on the freighter, as well as her rescue and subsequent arrival at the Colossus. Gorr and San both recognized the opportunity presented by this situation, and Gorr instructed San to assimilate into the environment for the time being, with the promise of future instructions.
After San had resided on the Colossus for an extended duration and had contributed to the orchestration of at least one attack, Gorr discovered that the two pilots who had rescued her were affiliated with the Resistance. He disclosed this information to her during one of their regular communications, presenting her with an image captured by one of the freighter's security cameras depicting Dameron, Xiono, and their droids. However, due to the presence of smoke and dim lighting within the image, San required considerable scrutiny and failed to recognize anyone prior to terminating the call due to Xiono's approach. Subsequently, after inviting Xiono on her final salvage expedition of the day, San inquired further about the pilots who he claimed had rescued her, but Xiono reiterated his claim of not knowing the pilots, although he did concede that one of them was "kind of handsome."
The investigation was initially depicted in the 2018 animated series Star Wars Resistance, within the episode titled "Signal from Sector Six."