"Now this is what I call cold!" Luke Skywalker's voice broke the silence he had

observed since leaving the newly established Rebel base hours earlier. He was

astride a Tauntaun, the only other living being as far as the eye could see. He felt

tired and alone, and the sound of his own voice startled him.

Luke as well as his fellow members of the Rebel Alliance took turns exploring

the white wastelands of Hoth, gathering information about their new home. They all

returned to base with mixed feelings of comfort and loneliness. There was nothing

to contradict their earliest findings that no intelligent lifeforms existed on this cold

planet. All that Luke had seen on his solitary expeditions were barren white plains

and ranges of blue-tinged mountains that seemed to vanish in the mists of the distant

horizons.

Luke smiled behind the masklike gray bandana that protected him against Hoth's

frigid winds. Peering out at the icy wastes through his goggles, he pulled his

fur-lined cap down more snugly about his head.

One corner of his mouth curled upward as he tried to visualize the official

researchers in the service of the Imperial government. "The galaxy is peppered with

settlements of colonizers who care little about the affairs of the Empire or its

opposition, the Rebel Alliance," he thought. "But a settler would have to be crazy to

stake his claims on Hoth. This planet doesn't have a thing to offer anyone except

us."

The Rebel Alliance had established an outpost on the ice world little more than a

month before. Luke was well-known on the base and, although barely twenty-three

years old, he was addressed as Commander Skywalker by other Rebel warriors. The

title made him feel a bit uncomfortable. Nonetheless, he was already in the position

of giving orders to a band of seasoned soldiers. So much had happened to Luke and

he had changed a great deal. Luke, himself, found it hard to believe that only three

years ago he was a wide-eyed farm boy on his home world of Tatooine.

The youthful commander spurred his Tauntaun. "Come on, girl," he urged.

The snow-lizard's gray body was insulated from the cold by a covering of thick

fur. It galloped on muscular hind legs, its tridact1 feet terminating in large hooked

claws that dug up great plumes of snow. The Tauntaun's 1lamalike head thrust

forward and its serpentine tail coiled out behind as the beast ran up the ice slope.

The animal's horned head turned from side to side buffeting the winds that assaulted it

shaggy muzzle.

Luke wished his mission were finished. His body felt nearly frozen in spite of

his heavily padded Rebel-issue clothing. But he knew that it was his choice to be

there; he had volunteered to ride across the ice fields looking for other lifeforms. He

shivered as he looked at the long shadow he and the beast cast on the snow. "The

winds are picking up," he thought. "And these chilling winds bring unendurable

temperatures to the plains after nightfall." He was tempted to return to the base a

little early, but he knew the importance of establishing the certainty that the Rebels

were alone on Hoth.

The Tauntaun quickly turned to the right, almost throwing Luke off-balance.

He was still getting used to riding the unpredictable creatures. "No offense," he said

to his mount, "but I'd feel a lot more at ease in the cockpit of my old reliable

landspeeder." But for this mission, a Tauntaun-despite its disadvantages-was the

most efficient and practical form of transportation available on Hoth.
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