The line. Boundaries. Whatever happened to

Gasp. Cough. Varus was shaking. The dream was gone again, replaced by nightmare.

"We have to leave," Qei rasped. "Now."

"Master, he tried to kill us!"

"I know."

"Is he-"

Qei helped Varus to his feet, placing a hand on the wounded shoulder. "Dead?" the Jedi master guessed. "I should think so. That device that you were staring at was a thermal detonator. Nasty weapons. Good for killing slow padawans." He closed his eyes and relaxed his grip on the shoulder. "Next time you see one.." The healing power of the Force flowed into the wound. " Don't forget that smoking ruin over there." He gestured at what remained of the Mandalorian, no more that a few yards away. "Understood?"

"Yes, master." Varus was still dazed, trying to grasp what exactly had gone through his head just a few minutes ago. Should he tell Qei about the dream?

"We'll still need to get that patched up," Qei indicated, tracing a finger along where the burn had cut a gash through the skin. "Hurry, back to the study. Get your things and I'll find some kind of bracer. Now go."

"But-"

"Questions will be answered later," Qei assured him. "We've not much time." Thunder echoed in the distance. Another storm grew closer. "Move, now!"

Shaken but still sensible, Varus bolted over the dune and ran inside the study. The winds were picking up everywhere, whistling quietly with a grim kind of promise. This storm would be big, they seemed to say. Terrible and different. Varus tried to steady his hands as he rooted through his belongings, caught in some post-adrenaline rush of fear and sweat. He'd never done anything like that. What was he thinking? He could've been killed! Everything was happening so fast now..

"Varus, forget those books! We'll get new ones. We need to travel light!"

Qei was already inside, somehow. His voice echoed down the hall. Varus couldn't stop shaking, so he grabbed one the blankets from his bed and draped it around him, a makeshift cloak. The padawan brushed a bead of cold sweat from his forehead and grabbed his only bag. Travel light, his mind echoed. "Master, why are we leaving so soon?" He stepped out into the hallway. "I feel sick."

"Here, show me your arm." Qei was there, pulling the blanket aside so he could tend the shoulder. "This wound needs to be treated by professionals. The Force and bandages only go so far."

"You mean we don't have anything better than that?"

"I'm just an old hermit, Varus. Remember?"

The padawan grimaced as his master finished with the bandages. They itched profoundly. "Then we're leaving?"

"Yes," Qei answered. He looked strangely at Varus. "Come now, padawan. Cheer up. Isn't this what you've been waiting for?"

Varus was silent.

"I sense fear in you. Don't let it fester. Feel the Force; steady your heart." Qei grabbed his good shoulder and smiled lightly. "You did well with the Mandalorian. You were reserved in your defense, humane in his defeat. He was a coward, a pawn of the dark side. You are stronger than him."

Varus nodded quietly. Qei, subduing his concern, turned and lead them down the hall. They passed many doorways, many memories. Rooms and discussions and jokes and quarrels. The storm rose outside. Why do I feel I'll miss this place?

"Padawan, here."

They stepped into a dark place, a room that had no floor but sand. Varus had never noticed it. Is this a dream?

Varus heard Qei press a button on the wall.

Dream...no, I just awoke from a dream. That dark man on the cliff. I should tell Qei..

"Master-"

"Surprising, isn't it?" A small hangar door opened on the opposite end of the room. Gray light poured in, strafed in flashes of lightning from outside. There was a two-passenger swoop bike in front of them. "This is what brought us here, back when you were no more than a child."

"What is it?" Varus was suddenly in awe at the simple elegance of its design. It was something he'd never seen before, yet it...made sense. It felt familiar, somehow.

"It's called a swoop," Qei explained. "It's a popular form of transportation on barren worlds like this." He studied Varus' expression. "Don't worry, my young padawan. It's safe. I used to be quite the vigilante...some years ago. Climb aboard."

Curious but still shaking, Varus followed suit as his master climbed on the front end of the thing. It didn't feel safe at all. He noticed there were handles for his seat as he lowered himself on the back. How fast did this thing go? Could it fly?

"Hold on tight," Qei began. "If you fall off, try to stay low. I'm not very good at turning around. Oh, and if you start to feel sick, make sure you turn your head the other way! These things can get in nasty wrecks.."

Varus blinked. "Master Qei."

The engine roared to life.

"No time, Varus."

"But Master Qei-"

The swoop rose off the ground. "I said no time, Varus! Just hold on."

Thunder beckoned ahead. "But Master-"

"Here we go!"

"-Qei!"

The swoop shot forward like lightning. They were gone, into the storm.