Anakin and Padmé found themselves sitting in a totalled ship surrounded only by the glistening snowflakes that whirled around them and the crude outline of some mountains in the distance.

"Ani are you okay?" Anakin nodded but his eyes told her that he wasn't even listening to a thing she was saying. "Where are we? I didn't see this world when we came out of hyperspace."

Anakin messed with a few controls and buttons trying to bring even a hint of life back to the engines. Nothing at all. Everything seemed to be as dead and lifeless as the wilderness around them.

"We should contact someone. I don't like being out here," she said.

Anakin groaned. He really wished that he had enough common sense to bring Artoo along for this. But no, he had been so anxious about going there and getting things done that he neglected to even think about bringing the little droid along. That meant they were on their own for getting a message across, hoepfully it would be met without difficulties.

A few moments later and still nothing. It didn't seem like any communications had been intentionally jammed but for some reason the world out here wouldn't allow anything to go through.

Anakin knew better than to waste his time, so with everything exhausted he went to the battered door of the ship and cut his own opening with his lightsaber. Padmé stood up and prepared to follow him.

"Where are you going, Ani?"

""First some way to keep you from freezing, second to find a way off of this iceblock."

"Wait I'll come with you."

"No!" That came out a bit more forceful than Anakin had intended. He instantly felt a slight pang of guilt. "I mean no, I don't know what's out there. It's best if you stay here in the ship.

Padmé nodded and sat down feeling a bit shaken. She didn't know why, but suddenly she felt like this was all her own fault. The worst part was that she knew Anakin secretly thought that too. All she could do now was wait, or was it? Padmé thought of how nice this would have been if things had worked out as planned. All she really wanted was to spend time with her Jedi. No, she couldn't allow that to go unchecked.

Of course they'd still be able to spend time together. And she would make the very most of it, so much so that even Anakin would have to acknowledge it and brighten his own spirits.

It was near dark when Anakin returned with the materials he could find for a fire. It had been a considerable walk over to the base of the mountains. What he saw when he walked back into the ship made him want to walk right back out again.

"Hello Ani, any luck?" Padmé smiled as sweetly as she could manage. She had gathered all her suplies for their temporary stay on this world and hoped that it looked warm and inviting enough. Maybe even enough to make her husband almost glad to be with her again.

Anakin threw down what he had collected and grunted an inaudible reply before starting work on a fire.

"So did you have any luck? Find anything that could be our ticket out of here?"

Ani shook his head. "I'm afraid its going to be some time. Too much time."

"That's okay Ani. We can make the most of it. As long as we're together - "

"That's it Padmé!" Anakin stood up and faced her this time not even attempting to mask his honest feelings at the moments. "I'm getting sick and tired of your fun and your idea of what we should be doing. Sometimes I don't think that you even realize that I have other priorities in life besides you!"

Fearing that he would do something that he might regret, Anakin chose to go outside and pretend that he was doing something constructive, like fixing the ship. When he did return it was past dark and Padmé was curled up in thick blankets with an extra pilow by her head.

He saw right past what she was trying to do. It didn't soften his heart in the least. In his own protest he snatched up the pillow and went to find someplace better to sleep, like maybe a closet.

Padmé pulled her cloak tighter around her neck as she stepped out into a far harshed world then she recalled when they had landed. The snow was falling faster and the wind was harsher. None of this was going to be enough to deter her now, she decided. If Anakin was really so upset by her and her being her then she would leave. She was not going to be the cause of his anger anymore. She'd find her own way off this frozen world.

The Force had always been the Jedi's lifeblood. The passing years had only made him all the more sensitive to even the slightest change in the galaxy around him. So when something changed that he knew had an immediate effect on him he awoke. The chill from the hard floor below made him want to stay put and not move. But his soul was aching for something so he dragged himself to his feet and went out here Padmé was sleeping.

Gone. She was gone. Anakin's anger flared up so much that for a moment he could no longer feel the cold. He stepped out and called her name but it was useless. The winds carried it in every direction. Now he would have to rely on the Force to find her and hope that everything would be alright.

Echoing howls seemed to come from all directions as she approached the mountains. It wasn't a chilling feeling, it was more of a mournful cry. Almost as if many wolfen voices were telling a story of sorrow and pain. If there were other creatures out here, Anakin made up his mind that they would be the very least of his worries. It was now a battle between nature and finding his angel. Yes, even if she was an irritating and irrational angel at times, she was still his angel.

Suddenly she was close. The sensation hit Anakin so suddenly that it surprised even him. He sprinted a head a bit and saw her silhouette blurred by the snow. He felt a wave of relief until he sensed that she wasn't the only thing nearby. Then he saw a few more blurred images approach her.

The wolves had also found her.

With a few powerful Force leaps Anakin was by her side with his blue blade humming in the night air.

"Anakin - "

"Not now Padmé! Let me get us out of this." He was tempted to mention exactly why they were out here like this but he refrained from it.

The next few moments that passed were nothing but a snowy blur of fangs, fur, and saber slashes. Such a thing should have been child's play, Anakin knew. He had slaughtered many savage creatures before. Mere nature and brute strength were no match for the Force and a Jedi lightsaber. The more Anakin told himself that, the harder it came to believe.

There were more of them than he could have ever anticipated. And they were all strategic and precise with their every move. These weren't just animals. That was self evident. Even with Padmé joining in with her blaster fire it still wasn't enough. Anakin wasn't planning on them losing this battle though. What would everyone back home think of their amazing General Skywalker if he couldn't even handle an ambush of wild animals?

In a split second Anakin felt several pounds of muscle crash down on his back. He was forced into the snow and felt a grip of pain hold his neck. Before he could make use of his lightsaber something else clamped down on his wrist forcing him to drop it.

"Anakin!"

Padmé tried to rush over but wolves immediately cut her off. Ammunition was running low now and she really didn't want to use more than she had to. The wolves were snarling and growling as if they were hungry, but for some reason none of them dared to lash out.

Anakin continued to struggle to stand and get his face out of the snow but the weight on his back was too much for him to throw off. That, and he could sense only more wolves closing in on him by the second.

After some work he pulled up his head and tried to call out to Padmé and reassure her. When he did he only started coughing and bringing up blood. He then realized that all around where he laid was patches of scarlet on the snow ground and he could still feel something at his neck.

A wolf pulled out ahead to face Padmé. This one was by far the largest and the others seemed submissive to him. He barked a few times as he faced Padmé. Then Padmé saw the flash of light gleaming against the wolf fur and then nothing.