Skirmish in Guavian Death Space

During the First Order-Resistance War, the Colossus refueling station fought a skirmish against forces of the Guavian Death Gang in an asteroid field at the edge of Guavian-controlled space. The space station had passed through the asteroid field in an attempt to exit Guavian space unnoticed by the criminal organization, but after being spotted by a scout, the station was detained by Guavian forces, who demanded they pay a toll of 1 million credits or have the station seized and its population turned over to the First Order. Captain Imanuel Doza refused the Guavian leader's demands, and Ace Squadron engaged the criminals. They were eventually able to destroy most of the Guavian starships as the Colossus reached open space, allowing the station to escape.
==Prelude==
Prior to the First Order-Resistance War, the First Order sought to use the Colossus supertanker fuel depot on the planet Castilon as a supply line for their fleet to invade the galaxy. By engineering a kidnapping attempt against Captain Imanuel Doza's daughter Torra, the First Order were able to convince Captain Doza to acquiesce to a First Order occupation. Following the Hosnian Cataclysm, the Team Colossus led by Kazuda Xiono, Jarek Yeager, and Captain Doza expelled the First Order and brought the Colossus into uncharted space.
In response, the First Order launched a hunt for the Colossus, seeking to use the space station for their war effort. While evading the First Order, the Colossus had to travel through Guavian Death Space. The quickest way to get out of Guavian space was through an asteroid field. Captain Doza tasked the Ace Squadron pilots Hype Fazon, Torra, and Xiono with scouting through the asteroid field to ensure there were no Guavian patrols and eliminate any that they encountered.
==The skirmish==
===Into hostile space===
While flying through the asteroid field, Xiono and CB-23 encountered a Guavian ship in their racer Fireball. Fazon ordered Xiono to keep the Guavian starship in his sights. Xiono attempted to jam the starship's systems, but the Fireball systems were malfunctioning, causing Xiono to be pressed against the viewscreen by the internal gravity. Thus, the Guavian starship was able to easily escape. Due to a spat with the Nikto Leoz, Xiono believed that he was cursed due to a recent spate of accidents and his friend Neeku Vozo's superstitious belief in curses.
Xiono was reprimanded by Captain Doza for allowing the Guavian ship to get away and thus endangering the Colossus. After a failed attempt to convince Leoz to lift the curse, Xiono visited the archaeologist and spiritualist Mika Grey. Grey managed to calm Xiono's anxieties by giving him a wooden talisman as a good luck charm.
Shortly later, a flotilla of Guavian starships converged upon the Colossus. The Guavian leader demanded that Captain Doza pay a toll of 1 million credits or surrender the ship to the Guavian Death Gang. When Doza refused, the Guavian leader warned that they would take over the ship and turn the residents over to the First Order. Since the Colossus was unable to do a hyperspace jump due to the denseness of the asteroid field, Doza mustered Ace Squadron.
===The dogfight===
The entire Ace Squadron was deployed for the defense of the Colossus, including Fazon, Torra, Freya Fenris, Bo Keevil, and Griff Halloran. Xiono and CB-23 were late, but managed to climb into the Fireball in time to join the battle, Xiono unwittingly dropping the talisman on the hangar floor as he hurried to his fighter. The Aces were aided by the Colossus turbolaser cannons. Under Captain Doza's orders, the Aces led the Guavian starships away from the station, running circles around the asteroid field.
Despite having left his lucky charm behind, Xiono managed to regain his composure. While being pursued by two Guavian ships, he managed to shoot an asteroid,and his pursuers crashed into the resulting debris. Xiono then saved Keevil from two Guavian pursuers, shooting down the enemy fighters. Having regained the confidence of his fellow pilots, Xiono convinced them to lead the Guavian ships deeper into the asteroid field since they weren't as maneuverable as the Aces' racing starfighters. Several Guavian ships were destroyed by laser fire or the asteroids.
Ace Squadron's actions enabled the Colossus to approach the perimeter of the asteroid field, where the space was clear enough to make a hyperspace jump. After reaching the opening, Captain Doza ordered the Aces to return to the station. The Aces managed to land their ships in the hangar in time before the Colossus jumped into hyperspace.
==Aftermath==
The Guavian Death Gang failed to capture the Colossus and lost several starships. Only two ships survived the skirmish, and they were unable to track the Colossus through hyperspace. After returning to the Aces' hangar, Xiono found his good luck charm and realized that he did not need it. He rationalized that Leoz's curse had not been real and that he had misinterpreted the recent spate of accidents as a sign that he had been cursed. Heeding Grey's advice that a curse only existed in a person's mind, Xiono handed his talisman to Leonz, claiming it was cursed. This spooked the superstitious pirate, who tried to pass it to other people, including Garma and Bolza Grool.
==Behind the scenes==
The skirmish in Guavian Death Space first appeared in the Star Wars Resistance season 2 episode "Kaz's Curse," which premiered on December 8, 2019 on Disney XD.
==Appearances==
* 
==Sources==
*
*Star Wars: Timelines 
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
==Notes and references==
Category:Events during the First Order–Resistance war