Battle of Hoth (2 ABY)

Following a fierce power struggle with Clan mother Gethzerion, the Nightsister Kyrisa was banished from Dathomir and ultimately crash-landed on Hoth. Seeking shelter within the frigid caverns, she employed her mastery of the Force ability known as animal bond to dominate wampas and other indigenous creatures. She forged a new legion of minions that obeyed her every command, both telepathic and verbal. Her manipulation of the wildlife was so profound that it drew the attention of multiple galactic factions. A Dark Jedi named Namman Cha intended to enlist the Nightsister into the service of the Emperor. Discovering that her starship had crashed on Hoth, he embarked on a mission to locate her. The Imperial Security Bureau leader Blackhole also took an interest in the Nightsister, envisioning applications of beast mastery in espionage. He dispatched a small ISB detachment led by Captain Jeffren Brek to assist Cha in his search. Cha's involvement also came to the attention of his old adversary Rachi Sitra, a Jedi Knight aiding the Rebel Alliance. Sitra learned from the Dathomiri Witches of the Singing Mountain Clan about the danger Kyrisa posed and, determined to prevent her capture by the Empire, journeyed to Hoth with the objective of finding her first.

Around this time, the Alliance to Restore the Republic had located the remote planet of Hoth and established a modest outpost there, assessing its potential as a site for a larger base. The Alliance High Command began to consider Hoth as a possible location for the Alliance's next major base. Eventually, the various parties searching for the Nightsister on the planet's surface began to encounter resistance from Kyrisa's beasts, as well as from each other. While on Tauntaun patrol, Han Solo and Col Serra encountered an Imperial searching for the Nightsister, but were unable to capture him due to a sudden snowstorm. Simultaneously, a squad of snowtroopers under the command of Jeffren Brek stumbled upon a group of Alliance Special Forces members and engaged them in battle until the storm made further combat impossible. Brek, not expecting any Rebel presence on the planet, dispatched a scout to investigate their outpost, which at the time consisted of only a few temporary structures and several stacks of supplies. Before he could transmit any holovids, the scout was spotted by a Rebel patrol led by Leia Organa and was forced to retreat.

Upon confirmation of the outpost's existence, the Imperial forces requested reinforcements to engage it. At the behest of Maximilian Veers, they received heavy weaponry and even a few light walkers. Colonel Adrick was placed in command of the operation and soon led one AT-ST, two AT-PTs, and a squad of snowtroopers toward the small outpost. However, Han Solo spotted the detachment during his patrol, prompting him to return to the outpost and inform the chief of security, Bren Derlin. Derlin swiftly initiated a well-practiced defensive plan, and the troopers assumed their positions along the outpost's perimeter.

The initial assault, carried out by a squad of snowtroopers escorting the AT-PTs on foot, was met with intense blaster fire, forcing them to temporarily withdraw. However, the AT-ST soon arrived to provide support and began unleashing fire upon Rebel positions. Eventually, the SpecForce's heavy weapons managed to disable the walkers. Despite this, the snowtroopers continued to fight fiercely, and the Alliance suffered significant casualties. The battle concluded when another blizzard descended, engulfing both armies and rendering further combat impossible. The Rebel forces retreated back to the temporary shelters within the outpost.

Approximately an hour later, after the storm subsided, the Alliance forces emerged from the outpost perimeter and began to survey the battlefield. They discovered a few Imperial corpses and found that one of the light AT-PTs had been carried away by the wintry blast. Several patrols were dispatched to reconnoiter the surrounding area, but no trace of the Imperials was found; with nowhere to take cover, they had been 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 also eventually departed the planet after Dark Jedi Namman Cha managed to track her by following her beasts and, after a fierce lightsaber duel, convinced her to join him.

Unknown to the Rebels, a few Imperials, including Brek, survived the mission to Hoth because they had not participated in the final battle. Several days later, they boarded 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 insignificant as Hoth without irrefutable evidence. Dismissing the mission as a ridiculous adventure from the start, he deleted the reports, leaving the Empire unaware of the base that the Alliance was constructing on Hoth until it was rediscovered by a Viper probe droid over a year later.

This battle was first depicted in The Nightsister's Revenge, an expansion for the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, and it occurs more than a year prior to the well-known Battle of Hoth initially presented in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. While the existence of this battle may initially appear to be a continuity error, it does not contradict the established canon, because at the conclusion, the Rebellion believes their outpost remains unknown to the Empire due to the perceived elimination of all Imperial forces, and the few survivors are not believed upon their return.