Heist at the Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery In 3 BBY , the Spectres initiated a heist at a Mining Guild Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery to obtain fuel for their ship , the " Ghost " , and the Phoenix Cell . During the heist , the rebels skirmished with Mining Guild security forces under the command of Boss Yushyn . The rebels were aided by a herd of purrgil , which depended on the Clouzon - 36 gas there as a source of sustenance . After stealing the gas , the rebels destroyed the gas refinery in order to deny its services to the Galactic Empire . Prelude . Phoenix Cell was in dire need of fuel for their ships , so the Spectres , in the " Ghost " , were sent to steal fuel for the entire squadron . The " Ghost " was very low on fuel itself , so they would not be able to leave without stealing it . While traveling to a Mining Guild gas refinery hidden in an asteroid belt , the rebels encountered a herd of purrgil , large space - dwelling creatures that were capable of traveling through hyperspace . While the " Ghost " captain , Hera Syndulla , wanted to open fire on the purrgil , the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and his apprentice Ezra Bridger convinced her to instead fly the " Ghost " in the same direction that the purrgil herd were traveling in . Unknown to the rebels , the Mining Guild gas refinery operation was harming the purrgil by preventing them from accessing the Clouzon - 36 gas which they needed to travel through the stars . This had the immediate effect of calming the purrgil . While Ezra could sense that the purrgil were trying to call out to them through the Force , Hera was dismissive of the creatures since she regarded them as a menace to interstellar travel . Shortly later , two Mining Guild TIE fighter s appeared and began to attack the purrgil . At Ezra ' s urging , the Spectres came to their aid and destroyed the two TIE fighters . Kanan used the " Ghost " top turret to destroy the first TIE while Ezra used the ship ' s rear cannon to hit the second one . However , the brief dogfight drained the " Ghost " systems and prompted Hera to order her crew to switch off all appliances in order to conserve the remaining power . The Mandalorian weapons expert Sabine Wren traced the TIE fighters to the Mining Guild gas refinery and deduced that the purrgil herd was traveling to the same destination . Shortly later , the " Ghost " arrived at the outskirts of the gas refinery . After parking the starship on a nearby asteroid above the facility , Hera and Sabine devised a plan to steal the Clouzon - 36 fuel . While Hera and the Lasat warrior Garazeb Orrelios manned the ship , Kanan , Sabine , Ezra , and Chopper would jump down to an unguarded landing platform and steal several canisters of Clouzon 36 that were awaiting pick - up by the Galactic Empire . To create a diversion and destroy the facility , Sabine also 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 . The Heist . Raiding the gas refinery . After donning helmets , the four rebels descended 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 managed to land safely on a bridge , Ezra miscalculated his jump and plunged into the toxic atmosphere below the asteroid . Using the Force , Kanan was able to levitate Ezra to safety . Shortly later , 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 counseled her not to do it ; forcing the Spectres to change 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 . New allies . Meanwhile , Ezra landed on top of a purrgil known as the Purrgil King . The creature saved Ezra from death through asphyxiation by finding his helmet . By starring 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 . Aftermath . The heist at the Mining Guild asteroid belt gas refinery enabled the Spectres to gain enough fuel to refuel the " Ghost " and to supply the Phoenix Squadron . In addition , the destruction of the gas refinery enabled the purrgil to feed on the Clouzon - 36 gas there unhindered . Following the heist , Ezra reunited with his fellow rebels in the planetoid ' s upper atmosphere . Ezra related his experiences with the purrgil to his master Kanan . As a result of their alliance with the purrgil , the Spectres including Hera gained a better appreciation of the space - dwelling creatures . Having gained the creatures ' friendship , the rebels then followed the purrgil through hyperspace . Behind the scenes . The Heist at the Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery first appeared in the " Star Wars Rebels " episode " The Call " , which first premiered on Disney XD on February 10 , 2016 . The Mining Guild , an organization that was first mentioned in " " , served as the main antagonists of the episode . In addition , the episode also introduced a new species , the purrgil , into the Star Wars universe .