A dream is just the beginning...

Part 14

Hoth turned out to be an unfriendly planet. Mona had trouble acclimatizing. The nights were so frigid that Han allowed her to temporarily sleep in the warm Falcon, where Han specially kept the temperature just right for her, until the construction and development of the glacier area was completed. She had everything she needed there. A warm blanket, food and clean sheets of paper. 

Days she was left alone , as everyone with the right equipment , built tunnels , put in proper unites for medical staff , ,quarters for officers , crew , pilots and others. The work was moving forward every day although the glacier was not easy to tame. However, before they began to adopt it as a base, a powerful ion cannon and half generators were placed near it. 

So that the enemy could not penetrate the cover and could not detect the base. A huge glacier lay in the middle of the ice plain, hollowed out spaces for a command center, and natural caves for hangars for all fighters and ships, including transports belonging to the fleet. 

Echo Base, so named because of its excellent acoustics in this adverse climate, was also equipped with the best medical center along with modern and specialized droids. So that all its residents do not have to worry about their health.

In the wilderness, strange creatures called Tauntauns with a gentle and docile disposition lived in clusters. A group of rebels managed to tame and saddle them. They were used not only for patrols around the base, but also became a very good means of transportation. They were adapted to low temperatures and could traverse long icy expanses. Especially when strong winds blew on Hoth, snowstorms came, or drastic temperature drops occurred.

During the coldest period of the year on the planet, a snowstorm happened. The wind blew at 160 km/h. And the snow covered the entire area where the desert was in no time, icy isthmuses between the hills , creating giant heaps of snow.

In this weather phenomenon, so unprecedented until now, the rebels, for the first time, tried powerful bulkheads. To protect the base from snow, frost and wind. Those three nights during which the hurricane hit full force were the worst for the entire base. Surviving outside in such conditions was a miracle. At the base, everyone sought shelter, wrapping themselves more tightly in warm, heat-retaining clothes. Without this, it would have been impossible to survive in such low temperatures.

When the storm passed and morning came, the sun showed for the first time over the land, not a hospitable ice desert. It became beautiful, fabulous and windless. This heralded the end of the most dangerous period on the planet. Of course, temperatures here never went above -15 degrees during the day. But it was still a difference when they could drop to - 40 in a storm.

So when the sun warmed the temperature a bit, Mona, who had long been tempted to go outside, wore very warm gloves, boots with non-slip soles, a light down jacket with a hood and a hat. She also took, a wrist communicator. When she stepped out of the Falcon, she headed toward the open massive bulkheads.