Battle of Hoth (2 ABY)

"Get ready to defend yourself. The Imperial are here."

- Bren Derlin

This Battle of Hoth occurred around 2 ABY, when Imperial forces visited Hoth in search of the Nightsister Kyrisa and discovered a small Rebel outpost there.

Prelude
"I want proof of the Rebels on Hoth. That doesn't mean we have to take them alive."

- Jeffren Brek

After losing an intense struggle for leadership with Clan Mother Gethzerion, the Nightsister Kyrisa was exiled from Dathomir and eventually crash-landed on Hoth. Taking refuge deep within the icy caverns, she used her mastery of the Force ability Animal friendship to take control of wampas and other local creatures, creating a new pack of minions that obeyed all of her commands, both mental and spoken. Her manipulation of the beast was so complete, that it attracted many forces of the galactic scale. A Dark Jedi Namman Cha intended to recruit the Nightsister into the service of the Emperor. He learned that her starship had crashed on Hoth and set out on the mission to find her. The Imperial Security Bureau leader Blackhole also was interested in the Nightsister, having several ideas for the use of beast mastery in the espionage, he set a small detachment of ISB agents led by captain Jeffren Brek to aid Cha in his search. Cha's involvement had also became known to his old enemy Rachi Sitra, a Jedi Knight aiding the Rebel Alliance. Sitra learned from the Dathomiri Witches from the Singing Mountain Clan of the danger Kyrisa represented and, determined not to let her be found by the Empire, traveled to Hoth with a mission to find her first.

During that time, the Alliance to Restore the Republic had discovered the distant planet Hoth and established a small outpost there, evaluating the potential of building a larger base. The Alliance High Command began to think that Hoth could be the location of the next important base for the Alliance. Eventually the multiple parties looking for the Nightsister on the surface of the planet began encountering resistance from Kyrisa's beasts, as well as each other. While on Tauntaun patrol, Han Solo and Col Serra encountered an Imperial looking for the Nightsister, but were unable to apprehend him due to a snowstorm. At the same time, a squad of snowtroopers led by Jeffren Brek stumbled across a group of Alliance Special Forces members and battled them until the storm made it impossible to continue. Brek did not expect any Rebel to be present on the planet and send a scout to investigate their outpost - which at that time consisted of nothing but a handful of temporary structures and multiple stacks of boxes. Before he could get any holovids, the scout was spotted by a Rebel patrol led by Leia Organa and was forced to flee.

The battle
"Walkers coming. Small ones, but any walkers are trouble."

- Han Solo

When the presence of the outpost was confirmed, the Imperial forces requested reinforcements to deal with it. By the demand of Maximilian Veers, they were provided with heavy weaponry and even several light walkers. Colonel Adrick was in charge of the operation and soon he led one AT-ST, two AT-PTs and a squad of snowtroopers to the small outpost. However, the detachment was spotted by Han Solo during his patrol, prompting him to return to the outpost and inform the chief of security Bren Derlin. Derlin quickly put a well-rehearsed defensive plan into motion, and the troopers have taken their positions along the perimeter of the outpost.

The initial assault by squad of snowtroopers escorting the AT-PTs on foot was met with heavy blaster fire, forcing them to temporary fall back. However, soon the AT-ST arrived for support and began blazing away at Rebel positions. Eventually, the SpecForce heavy weapons managed to cripple the walkers. Regardless, the snowtroopers were still putting up a good fight, and the Alliance had lost many good men. The battle ended when another blizzard began, engulfing both armies and making it impossible for them to continue. The Rebel forces have retreated back to the temporary shelters in the outpost.

Aftermath
"Rebels on Hoth? All I have is your word for it? What could they be doing on such a worthless planet?"

- Nevar

About an hour later, when the storm was over, the Alliance forces returned outside the outpost perimeter and began to examine the battlefield. They found a few of the Imperial bodies and discovered that one of the light AT-PTs was carried away by the wintry blast. Several patrols were formed to reconnoiter the immediate area, but no signs of the Imperials were found: with nowhere to hide, they were swept away by the full force of the storm. The Rebel outpost on Hoth remained concealed from the Galactic Empire and eventually evolved into the well-equipped Echo Base. The Nightsister Kyrisa had also eventually left the planet after Dark Jedi Namman Cha eventually to track her by following her beasts and, after a fierce lightsaber clash, persuaded her to join him.

Unbeknown to Rebels, a few Imperials, including Brek, survived the mission to Hoth due to not having participated in the final battle. Several days later, they made their way aboard the Devastator and presented their report to their superior, General Nevar. However, the incompetent General refused to believe in the Rebel presence on a planet as worthless as Hoth without solid evidence. Stating that the mission was nothing but a ridiculous adventure from the beginning, he deleted the reports, leaving the Empire oblivious about the base that the Alliance was building on Hoth until it was rediscovered by a Viper probe droid over a year later.

Behind the scenes
This battle first appeared in The Nightsister's Revenge, an expansion of the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game and takes place more than a year before the well-known Battle of Hoth first shown in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Though at first glance the existence of this battle may be viewed as a continuity error, this battle does not contradict the canon, because at the end the Rebellion believes their outpost to remain unknown to the Empire due to all Imperial forces being wiped out, and the few survivors are disbelieved at their return.