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"I remember it being cold. Extremely cold. Even inside of the transport on the way in I could feel the cold. Those icy winds touched deep. While everyone else had their blood boiling hot ready for the fight, even then I felt a chill that made me uneasy." – S-Man

-Time In Hoth System – 19 Hours

- Time On Hoth – 3 Hours

The rumbling didn't stop, not even for a moment as the massive HAVw A5 Juggernaut rolled over the ice and snow. Though it ran parallel to many other transports, some of which were directly in front of them breaking the ice up and blazing a trail it didn't seem to help at all. They just left tracks for the A5 to ignore as it tackled the frozen terrain.

The immense wheels on the A5 Juggernaut crushed everything that stood before them as they rolled their way to the object. They were flanked by several AT-ATs and a dozen AT-STs. They all were working a convoy on their way through the oddly light breeze before them.

Initial weather reports had suggested that the weather would be much worse. But luckily the weather had cleared and it was a bright crisp day. You could see bright blue sky over head, which greeted the battalion that was conquering a mile a minute.

Inside the transport it was cramped however. Three hundred Stormtroopers, dressed in all white. Their heads all covered by long masks that protruded from their helmets, they all looked the same. The only differentiation between them was the weapons they carried. All with the exception of a hand full of Scout Troopers.

The Scout Troopers wore armor that looked almost standard compared to the others. The rest of the troopers wore specialized armor, ready to tackle the snow. They had well worked internal heating systems and insulation, so that they wouldn't even notice the snow. The Scout Troopers however had a different set of armor which met their needs. It looked almost exactly like their usual armor, though it was slightly bulkier. The helmet was reinforced to prepare for the weather. But that aside they all looked like they did on any other world.

S-man looked cold though. Unlike the others, who seemed to be taking the climate much better then he was, he shivered a little bit as he kept his back against the wall. In his hands he kept a tight grip on his E-11s Sniper Rifle, and in his helmet he breathed fairly hard.

"Yo S." A voice called out through a helmet communicator near by. "You alright, you're shaking."

"S shaking?" A different voice asked, it was a little deeper then the first voice. "No way, he's never scared of a deployment."

"I'm not scared." S-man replied. "Just cold." He replied rather gently. He didn't want to waste too much energy on a long reply.

"You know, being cold a sign of being a scaredy-rakk." The sound of the second voice came in. It was UC-199, though they referred to him as Upper Cut. He got that name because he always seemed to be on the attack, and he participated in a number of after hours fighting rings which a lot of the troopers would bet on when they were off duty.

"It's also a symptom of being on an Ice World." S-Man replied still shaking a little bit.

"Well get a hold of yourself S-Man, its not gonna be any better when the doors open." The first voice spoke. It was NR-262, generally referred to as Nak. He was the oldest one of them, and the superior amongst them, holding the rank of Corporal.

Together S-man, Nak, and Upper Cut formed fire team Beta of fourth squad. They were not the best marksmen in their platoon, but they weren't the worst. As far as Scout Troopers went the three of them didn't stand out too much. Aside from Upper Cuts after hours fighting, and Nak's affinity for minor electronic repairs they were pretty normal.

S-man stood out in his own way, simply because of that nickname. It was common for troopers to give themselves nicknames within their own platoons. Imperial protocol frowned on the use of a Stormtroopers birth name, since it got in the way of the orderly image they wanted to give. But many of them had trouble remembering everyone's individual number, and when you fought with someone long enough they felt like giving each other something more personal.

The nickname S-man was given to SJ-481 since it was very close to "Yes Man" which was his title for a very brief period. He was called that since he never argued with an order. He never opted for a different route of attack, a different deployment, never complained about a command. He would simply give a "Yes, sir" and carry it out. Most others would have at least some opinion about it, but S-man never gave it. Thus the name stuck.

"How bad's the fighting up there?" S-Man asked Nak, who was standing beside him.

"Who knows?" Nak replied with a shrug.

"It's a real bad kicking of some rebel ass, that's what I hear!" Upper Cut tossed out. "And were gonna make it even badder when we get there."

"Badder? Shavit Upper Cut, you aughta get your head checked out when we get back." Nak commented on Upper Cuts poor vocabulary.

"His heads all together, it's his education that's missing. If you wanna help Nak, you could start by teaching him his ABC's and then see if he retains any of it." S-man joked.

"Frell you guys." Upper Cut said with his deep tone, waving them both off.

S-man and Nak both shared a laugh. Even still S-Man was shaking.

"60 Seconds Troopers! Load up! Zone is hot!" The voice over the intercom seemed more concerned then any of the troopers. It was the A5 Juggernaut Driver who had just finished speaking. Though he was safer then all of the troops in the back, since he was going no where, he could still see what they were about to be running towards. All of the Stormtroopers in the back were in denial however.

Not but three seconds after the driver spoke, the three hundred troopers all began to take notice of heavy turbo lasers striking the armor of the troop transport. It pelted hard and was like a denting screech every time. They couldn't see any damage, but the noise was enough to make weaker men cry. These however were men and women of the stormtrooper corps. Every one of them had all notions of fear driven out of them. They were ready to do their duty to the Empire and crush the rebel scum before them.

S-Man checked his E-11s once more, ensuring it was ready. He reached down and made sure that his boot blaster was ready, as did Nak and Upper Cut.

"Should we grab a standard E-11? You know just in case?" Asked Upper Cut. Now would be their last chance if they were going to.

"Its just extra weight. Besides… were not charging up close like the rest of the Snowmen." Nak replied, pointing a thumb behind him towards the other troops.

"We heard that tree dodger." One of the Snowtroopers standing behind Nak announced.

The three scouts pretended they didn't hear that, and just continued checking their gear.

S-Man had all his gear checked out. Thermal detonators, extra battery clips, and a small R-1 Reconnaissance Droid attached to his belt. He was ready, all equipment was in place, and by all accounts he was prepared to do some serious damage, as were they all.

But still S-Man felt cold, and he hated that. He didn't typical feel as bothered by the environment. After all he was trained to handle a wide variety of them. But this one was just getting to him. At that moment he envied the regular Snowtrooper armor, which was much better fitted for the climate. It was better insulated and had a better heating system. His own was rather thin by comparison, but it didn't seem to bother the others as much as him.

"10 Seconds!" The Driver called over the intercom again.

"Ok guys." Nak said. "Lets go zap some rebel heads."

"Yes, sir." S-Man said.

Behind them the other troopers were all in a rustle and getting ready to charge out of the exit ramps. Just as they all began to move an officer yelled out.

"For the Empire!"

And all at once every trooper echoed his statement.

"For the Empire!" S-Man yelled out with the others.

And then the side doors opened and the troopers all began to run down the ramps on either side of the A5 Juggernaught. The exit was going surprisingly quick and orderly. Everyone was eager to fight, there was no fear. And everyone knew what they needed to do to help that fight.

S-Man clutched his rifle tight and moved forward with the others. The group made its way out faster and faster. He was still in the dark transport though. But in a matter seconds it was his turn to disembark out into the bright light. And when he got there he charged out behind the others.

There was a crunch when his feet hit the snow as he came off the metal ramp which led from the A5 Juggernaut.

He looked up immediately to see a pair of snowspeeders zooming over head. They dove down at the disembarking troopers, and opened up on the white troopers with rapid firing blasters.

S-Man ducked his head, but the shots weren't close to him. Still he could hear the screaming of troopers that had exited the craft moments before he had. It did not bother him however. That was what a battle was and it wasn't his first one.

He looked right and saw a column of AT-ATs and smaller AT-STs marching beside them. Loud metallic clunks were heard every other second as they continued to pound forward through the snow. Behind them the percussion of blasters from their own guns pelted rebel positions far on the other end of the battlefield.

But now it was time to go to work. The rebel base was far ahead of them, hundreds of troops lined in trenches manning guns attempting to stop their advance. But S-Man would do his part to make sure that didn't happen.

Soon these rebels would be crushed. Soon Hoth would be there's.

But still as S-Man charged forward, he felt cold.