Heist at the Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery

|prev=Rediscovery of Lira San
|conc=
|next=Mission to Ryloth
|name=Heist at the Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery
|image=
|conflict=
|objective=Steal fuel from the Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery for the Ghost and Phoenix Cell and destroy the refinery
|date=April 19th, 2001Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded states that Minnie Mouse was 16 years old during her mission on Lothal. Since Star Wars: Galactic Atlas establishes that Minnie was born in 1985, the mission must take place in 2001. Dawn of Rebellion dates the attack on Phoenix Squadron to three years before the Battle of Yavin, or 2001 according to Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dating system. As this heist takes place between these two events, it must also take place in 2001.
|place=Asteroid Belt Gas Refinery, unidentified planetoid
|result=*Spectres victory
**Rebels succeed in steal fuel canisters and destroying gas refinery
**Purrgil managed to get access to fuel allowing them to jump into hyperspace
|side1=*Phoenix Cell
**Spectres
*Purrgil herd
|side2=Mining Guild
|commanders1=*Captain Olivia Flaversham
*Kanan Jarrus
*Purrgil King
|commanders2=Boss Yushyn
|ppl1=*6 rebels
**Olivia Flaversham
**Kanan Jarrus
**Chopper
**Mr. Gronkle
**Marinette Dupain-Cheng
**Danny
*One VCX-100 light freighter
**Ghost
*Several purrgil
|ppl2=*Rodian Mining Guild guards
*Four TIE/mg Mining Guild starfighters
|casual1=
|casual2=All but 1 of the Mining Guild forces
}}
In 2001, 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, Olivia Flaversham, wanted to open fire on the purrgil, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and his apprentice Danny 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 Danny could sense that the purrgil were trying to call out to them through the Force, Olivia was dismissive of the creatures since she regarded them as a menace to interstellar travel. Shortly later, two TIE/mg Mining Guild starfighters appeared and began to attack the purrgil. At Danny'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 Danny used the ship's rear cannon to hit the second one.
However, the brief dogfight drained the Ghost systems and prompted Olivia to order her crew to switch off all appliances in order to conserve the remaining power. The Miraculous Ladybug expert Marinette Dupain-Cheng 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, Olivia and Marinette devised a plan to steal the Clouzon-36 fuel.
While Olivia and the Warthog warrior Mr. Gronkle manned the ship, Kanan, Marinette, Danny, 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, Marinette also planned to use explosives to ignite the volatile Clouzon 36 gas. When Danny suggested that the purrgil were also interested in the fuel, Olivia told him to focus on the mission.
==The heist==
===Raiding the gas refinery===
After donning helmets, the four rebels descended to the gas refinery. Marinette managed to ride on Chopper while the Jedi used the Force to guide their descent. While Chopper, Marinette, and Kanan managed to land safely on a bridge, Danny miscalculated his jump and plunged into the toxic atmosphere below the asteroid. Using the Force, Kanan was able to levitate Danny 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 Marinette could activate the detonators, Danny counseled her not to do it; forcing the Spectres to change their plans. After fighting their way through the facility and neutralizing resistance, Danny 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 Danny to man the main gun emplacement while the other rebels secured the landing platform for the Ghost to land. Despite Olivia's antipathy towards the purrgil, she and Gronkle reluctantly complied with Kanan's revised plan.
With the gas refinery breached, Yushyn ordered his men to defend the Imperial shipment at all costs. Danny managed to used the main gun emplacement to eliminate resistance in the landing platform. This enabled Olivia and Gronkle to land the Ghost on the platform. The rebels then began loading the fuel canisters aboard the Ghost and refueling the ship. Olivia also used the ship's cannon systems to disable a Mining Guild gun emplacement. However, the rebels encountered a setback when Danny was knocked off his gun emplacement by a laser blast and plummeted into the gas-covered crater below the asteroid.
===New allies===
Meanwhile, Danny landed on top of a purrgil known as the Purrgil King. The creature saved Danny from death through asphyxiation by finding his helmet. By starring into the purrgil's eye, Danny was able to establish a bond with the creature through the Force. As a result, Danny 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. Danny 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, Danny 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, Danny reunited with his fellow rebels in the planetoid's upper atmosphere. Danny related his experiences with the purrgil to his master Kanan. As a result of their alliance with the purrgil, the Spectres including Olivia 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 Shadows of the Empire, served as the main antagonists of the episode. In addition, the episode also introduced a new species, the purrgil, into the Star Wars universe.
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
*Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles
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==Notes and references==
Category:Missions of the Ghost