A Human individual named Gideon Smith, who worked as a miner, could be found in the Sil'Lume asteroid belt. He would occasionally provide his services to the Tredway family. He also maintained a friendship with Sidney Shortfang, who was also a miner. Gideon harbored resentment towards the Galactic Empire and eagerly seized any opportunity to cause them trouble.
In the year 0 ABY, Gideon Smith was engaged in his mining activities within the Sil'Lume asteroid belt. It was during this time that he crossed paths with Luke Skywalker, who had journeyed to the Sil'Lume system to assess its suitability as a potential location for a Rebel base. After witnessing the capture of Erling Tredway by Imperial forces under the command of Governor-General Sebastian Parnell, Smith, accompanied by Shortfang in his vessel named Rockcan, embarked on a journey to 24 Tredway to deliver news of Tredway's capture to his family. Unfortunately, their arrival was too late, as the asteroid had already been subjected to an Imperial attack, resulting in the massacre of the workers stationed there. Nevertheless, with Skywalker's assistance, Smith and Shortfang managed to locate Erling's sister, Dena Tredway, who had sustained severe injuries during the assault but had managed to survive thanks to the assistance of droid workers at the facility. Smith, possessing extensive knowledge of the mining tunnels, took the helm of a boss-buggy to facilitate the extraction of the critically injured Dena from the mines. After safely loading her onto the Rockcan, the group transported her to a nearby asteroid inhabited by Doctor Ire Eleazari, a friend of Dena.
While Eleazari tended to Dena's injuries, Smith, Shortfang, and Skywalker set their sights on Tol Ado, a penal colony where Erling had been incarcerated following his arrest. The group successfully infiltrated the base by disguising themselves as Imperial prisoners, with Skywalker donning an Imperial uniform to complete the ruse. Through their coordinated efforts, they managed to pinpoint Erling's cell within the Deathblock and persuade him to make his escape. However, upon learning of the massacre of his home and family at the hands of the Empire, Erling was consumed by a burning desire for revenge against those responsible, abandoning his long-held belief in peaceful resistance. Driven by vengeance, Erling initiated a firefight with the Imperial forces. As Skywalker attempted to facilitate their escape aboard a repulsorcraft, Smith selflessly pushed Erling to the floor of the vehicle to shield him from harm. Tragically, this act of bravery resulted in Smith being struck by blaster fire, causing him to fall from the craft. As the Rebels sped away, Smith was fatally shot by the Imperials as his companions made their escape.
Skywalker experienced profound grief over Smith's demise, convinced that it could have been easily prevented had Erling not succumbed to his vengeful impulses and engaged the Imperials in a desperate act of retribution.
Troy Denning was the creator of Gideon Smith, who made his debut in one of the role-playing scenarios featured in Jedi's Honor, a 1990 role-playing supplement published by West End Games. The outcome of the adventure hinges on the choices made by the reader. Skywalker has the option to abandon Gideon and Sidney in order to focus on locating a Rebel base, leaving the two miners to fend for themselves, but this decision leads to the failure of the scenario.
If Skywalker fails to convince Erling to join them due to not visiting 24 Tredway earlier in the scenario, Tredway is left to die on Tol Ado and Smith survives the infiltration of the Deathblock. However, if the group has visited 24 Tredway, Erling agrees to come with them, resulting in Smith's death. There is no scenario in which Smith survives if Erling agrees to come with the Rebels.