The Clone Wars: Cold Snap

Serving in the Grand Army of the Republic, a clone cold assault trooper, whose nickname is "Shiv", is in the process of composing a letter on a datapad. The recipient of this letter is Flanker, who is both a fellow clone trooper and a hatchmate of Shiv's. The content of the letter revolves around Shiv's experiences while stationed at the Glid Station outpost located on the ice world of Orto Plutonia. Shiv includes a humorous anecdote about how he and Flanker had always anticipated being stationed on a water world, given their extensive desert training. Instead, Shiv finds himself on Orto Plutonia, a location he considers to be even colder than space. Shiv informs Flanker that his squad is currently engaged in testing various pieces of subzero gear, with some items proving to be ineffective. Furthermore, the clones' food rations were not transported in insulated containers, resulting in them freezing solid due to the extremely low temperatures. Consequently, the clones are forced to boil their food, which further diminishes the already limited flavor of the rations. Shiv also mentions to Flanker that, while his squad has not encountered any Confederate battle droids, they have maintained their combat readiness by constructing snowmen and using them for target practice.

Shiv continues his letter by describing a significant turn for the worse when his squad began to encounter a highly dangerous and mysterious species, which they have dubbed the "ice men." He notes that all of the station's patrols that have reportedly encountered the "ice men" have been killed. Shiv shares with Flanker that his current situation is not favorable, revealing that he is on patrol with his commander, Mag. The CK-6 swoop bikes belonging to Mag and Shiv have frozen, leaving them stranded until daybreak, at which point Glid Station will dispatch a gunship to retrieve them. The two have established a small camp and erected a tent. While Shiv is inside the tent, finishing his letter, Mag enters and questions why Shiv is not resting in preparation for his turn to stand guard. Intrigued, Mag takes the datapad from Shiv's hands and, after reviewing it, inquires about Flanker's identity. Reluctantly, Shiv informs Mag that Flanker perished during the Battle of Christophsis. Immediately after Shiv reveals this information, the "ice men" launch an attack on their camp, tearing open the clones' tent and killing Mag. As Shiv reaches for a blaster pistol, the "ice men" also kill him, leaving the now-destroyed camp—along with Shiv's letter—to be buried under the accumulating snow.

"The Clone Wars: Cold Snap" is a six-page webcomic that belongs to the Star Wars: The Clone Wars webcomic series, and it is connected to the television series that shares the same title. "Cold Snap" directly precedes "Trespass," an episode from the first season of The Clone Wars television series. The comic introduces the "ice men" and their attacks on Glid Station, both of which are further explored in "Trespass". The episode reveals that the "ice men" were, in reality, a peaceful tribe of Talz who had been attacked by Separatist battle droids stationed on Orto Plutonia, and the Republic base was inadvertently caught in the crossfire of the resulting conflict. "Cold Snap"—along with all other The Clone Wars events—is set in 22 BBY.

The comic was made available on StarWars.com on January 29, 2009. Pablo Hidalgo served as the writer, Jeffery Carlisle was responsible for the drawing and coloring, and Grant Gould handled the lettering. Special acknowledgments were also given to Leland Chee, the custodian of the Holocron continuity database; Sue Rostoni, the executive editor at Lucas Licensing; and Dave Filoni, the supervising director of The Clone Wars TV series.