Kanan stands at Ezra's side and wields his lightsaber as well.
"My fingers are so cold I can barely feel them," says Ezra.
"Mine, too."
"I wish they'd hurry up and try to eat us, I could use a nice warm hairy coat."
The creatures remain standing at the cave entrance.
"Why don't they attack? We're pinned down and outnumbered," Kanan remarks aloud.
"No complaints from me – the longer they want to delay it, the better I feel," says Ezra.
"Maybe the lightsabers are scaring them. You guard, I'm gonna take a look at these rocks in the ground – they look more malleable," Kanan walks away and gets down on his haunches to examine the rocks.
Ezra says to the creatures, "Sorry, I'd let you guys in, but I don't wanna get eaten alive today. Not that tomorrow is any better."
"Ezra, these rocks appear to be heavily deposited with metal and iron ore. I think if we stick out lightsabers into them for a few minutes, they'll heat up and stay warm for a while. I'm going to dig some out and make a pile."
The creatures continue to stare at them from the cave's entrance.
"We should totally put a rumor out there's a secret rebel base on here and let the Empire make new friends."
"The Empire will slaughter them, Ezra."
"So? They're just a bunch of monsters that want to eat us."
Kanan looks at Ezra and points at the creatures, "They're innocent life just trying to fend for themselves during a harsh winter. Being hungry and less intelligent isn't a reason to die. When cut, they no doubt feel pain like you or I would."
"Sorry, I guess I didn't quite mean it like that."
Kanan piles rocks. Halfway into the pile he stops. He reaches over for the hatch and places it with the convex side facing up. Kanan then places the rocks inside in, thinking the rocks might melt and would collect in the re-entry heat-resilient hatch and be heated back up.
"Ezra, use this broken rock to dig a convexed hole to set the hatch in so we don't get scolded by hot spilling rocks."
"What about them?"
"We'll have to chance it; if we don't get some heat going, our body temperatures are going to drop and we'll go into hypothermic shock. Then they will eat us."
Ezra de-activates his lightsaber, looks at the creatures, then backs up steadily and turns and runs over to Kanan. He grabs the rock and furiously starts digging as Kanan continues filling the hatch. Ezra repeatedly looks up, keeping a watchful eye on the creatures, who maintain they their position at the entrance.
"I think I figured it out," says Ezra.
"Figured what out?"
"Why they haven't entered yet – they're waiting for re-enforcements."
"Or they're waiting for dark," Kanan adds.
"Oh, crap – I forgot about that. Great, as if sleeping wasn't going to be difficult enough as it is. Unless the Ghost finds us."
"Find us how? There's no distress beacon, no message sent about our whereabouts. Ezra … we may die here."
Ezra goes silent upon the realization. Kanan stands up and activates his lightsaber. He plunges it down into the rock pile and holds it.
"Work your lightsaber into the cave wall and leave it. We'll sleep against that wall tonight once it's heated up. It's cold now, but the temperature will plunge once the sun sets."
After Ezra does as he's told, he continues watching the unmoving creatures, "You know, we go on so many dangerous missions, get shot at, and fight Inquisitors, yet I never really think about death. The whole time it's just like this natural idea that I'll live to be shot at another day. You think about death?"
"Every time. It keeps me on my toes. And when you get older, you think about it more."
"If I go out, I want it to be in a heroic blaze of glory, taking as many Empire ships with me as possible, not freeze to death on some nameless planet. Back on Lothal these was this guy who'd take cabellas and klimes, squeeze 'em into molds and put wooden sticks in them and freeze them. He'd go around town selling them. Called them icesticks. And now here I am, facing the very real possibility of being a Jedistick."
Kanan takes his lightsaber out once some of the rocks are glowing red, then plunges it into others which are not.
"Consider it a change of pace."
"Ha. Ha. Ha," Ezra laughs sarcastically.
"The sun is setting. We don't have much longer," Kanan removes his lightsaber. Now the whole pile is glowing red. He and Ezra warm their fingers for a minute. Ezra keeps an eye out on the creatures, who still haven't budged.
"There are some here in the ground where we're sleeping tonight. I'm going to run my lightsaber into them and heat them up. It'll have to do – it's all we got."
"That's it – next mission, I'm packing some super thermal B-long underwear."
Kanan motions to the wall, "You're lightsaber is slipping – change spots."
"got it," he pulls it out and runs it into another part of the cave wall close to it and leaves it again.
"Tomorrow we look for food. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a lake and go ice fishing."
"Kanan, look," Ezra nods to the creatures.
Some of them begin digging into the snow and working their way back under as they had been when Kanan and Ezra crash landed.
"Hum. They might be setting in for the night," Kanan speculates aloud.
"What if they're tunneling in and grab us from underneath while we sleep?"
"Stop – I can't think about that."
"A nice warm midnight snack," says Ezra.
"As long as they eat you first, I'm okay with that."
.
The Ghost drops out of hyperspace.
Hera presses some buttons and speaks up, "Cannonball, this is Ghost, come in."
She hears no reply.
"Ghost to Cannonball, please copy."
Sabine walks into the cockpit and stands aside Hera.
"Ghost to Cannonball – do you read us?" she awaits a reply.
"Maybe their communications were knocked out," Sabine suggests.
Hera looks over at another panel and presses some buttons, "Scanning for another other vessels in the area."
"One of us should have gone with them."
"Our source said it was a two-seater, an extra person would been no good. It's bad enough we trusted Chopper to fly the skiff back."
"BUAH BAH BA!" they can hear Chopper say somewhere outside the cockpit.
Sabine comments, "Chop's got very good hearing."
"Scanners aren't showing any other vessel in the vicinity."
"Maybe they're running behind. It's not like most of our missions ever go according to plan anyway."
"Maybe…"
.
Kanan finishes kicking sand over the heated rocks in the floor.
"I feel much better now," Ezra says, his back against the heated cave wall.
The sun has set and they only light in the cave is provided by Ezra's green lightsaber and glowing rocks, which bathe the surrounding area in a soft fuzzy red.
Kanan speaks up, "All right. I'll stand my lightsaber up in this hole I melted into the wall, to deter the creatures. You're on lightsaber watch; if any come in, you go first. I'm better with Force push anyway."
"Ezra, cover me; Ezra, fly co-pilot. Ezra, let me throw you. Ezra, battle the creatures first. Why do I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick here?"
"Okay, next time we're surrounded by creatures, you throw me to safety and you can fend for yourself."
"Well, maybe not that one," Ezra replies.
"Um hum. If you wake up in the middle of the night, check the rocks. Heat them back up if necessary. Okay, now like down and cuddle up with me."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I like being your friend, but not that much."
"To preserves body heat, Ezra. We'll lose body heat more quickly apart. It may get into the twenties here tonight."
"Oh. Didn't think of that," Ezra says, taking one last look at the entrance of the cave; all the creatures have dug back into the snow.
Ezra lays aside Kanan, who is up against the heated wall. They both close their eyes and slowly drift off to sleep.
.
Ezra wakes up in the middle of the night, shivering. He looks at the hatch and sees the rocks have significantly cooled off. He gets up, trying not to disturb Kanan, and activates his lightsaber, sticking it into the rocks. He quickly looks at the cave entrance and sees nothing. He closes his eyes and puts his free hand in a pocket, trying to get his fingers warm. He dozes off and leans forward, starting to melt too far into the rocks and possibly damage the hatch. He opens his eyes and re-adjusts himself.
He looks out into the blackness of the save, barely glowing from the blue and green lightsaber blades. He quickly becomes more alert and opens his eyes fully. In the back of the cave where it curves, he can see eyeballs lit up from the reflections of the lightsaber blades and hears menacing snarls.