In a Senate session last month, the Galactic Senate voted to begin colonizing the planet Hoth from the system of the same name. This decision was in debate for many months within the Senate as they decided which barren planet would offer the most potential to the Republic. Last month they came to an agreement that while Hoth was a floating block of ice in space it held the most promise. The ice could be potentially mined, new farming techniques could be developed, and it would host an excellent military training platform for the Republic Army.

A month later I find myself standing on Hoth. I'm both impressed by the work underway to colonize the planet and by the frightening cold. If you find yourself wondering how the Galactic Senate got anyone to relocate to this frozen world, the answer is fairly simple. Based on the suggestion of Princess Leia Organa, the government offered a substantial stipend to architects, doctors, scientists, teachers, and the like. It comes as no surprise that Princess Organa is the strongest voice behind the colonizing of Hoth. The planet and the princess share a history.

While here on Hoth, I took the time to ask some of the questions we've all been dying to know the answers to. I started with with a very important question to the chief architect, Kaul Veir. “How are you building homes and structures that are habitable on Hoth for everyone?” Architect Veir didn't hesitate to answer. “We're building homes, a school, a hospital, and a community building off site. We bring them in by ship and emplace them.” To most people at home, this would probably seem like a waste of time and effort to build off site, but standing here in the cold I can assure you that the Galactic Senate made the right choice in hiring chief architect Kaul Veir. Building off site is not only time efficient but safer for the workers. Before talking to some of the locals I had one more question for architect Veir which he was all too happy to answer, “How do you plan on protecting the buildings from the extreme cold and storms?” Rubbing his hands together Kaul Veir answered, “Ice. We're cutting the ice and lining the outside of the buildings. Then we melt the ice together. Looks real pretty and it protects the buildings.” So there you have it Galactic citizens; to fight the cold, use the ice.

The vision that chief architect Kaul Veir and the Galactic Senate have for the planet Hoth is extraordinary. He described it to me in such a way that you can only picture an icy wonderland. Once the immediately necessary buildings are completed, chief architect Kaul Veir hopes to begin construction on a palace using donated funds. The design for the palace? A replica of Princess Organa's former home on the planet Alderaan. Kaul Veir says, “It would be an honour to build such a tribute for our Princess.”

Before leaving Hoth to return to Coruscant I took the time to talk to some of the Humans, Wookies, Twi'leks, and others already living on the planet. The most consistent comment and complaint that the Humans had to give was, “it's cold.” Naturally that's not surprising given the fact that Hoth is an ice planet. The Wookies had few complaints and really only commented on the hunting. It seems in the last week or so our Wookie friends had been called five times to deal with a Wampa situation. The Wookies didn't mind except for their fur freezing. As for the other new inhabitants on Hoth, they agree it's cold but they're looking forward to settling in and beginning a normal way of life once the buildings are substantially completed.

As for me? I look forward to returning to my home on Coruscant! The snow and ice is lovely to look at but I'm already way over being cold.

Thank you to my loyal readers as always; until next time!