As Sebastian approaches the checkpoint, June suddenly gets out of her seat, steps into the little closet, and closes the door behind her. This happens too fast for Sebastian to question. The checkpoint is a large, illuminated, triangular arch that is designed to be visible from a great distance. The gate is guarded by automated turrets and a small squadron of Lunar Vanguard soldiers. There is one large beam cannon posted on a distant dune that overlooks the entire area.

Sebastian rolls up his sleeve and lets the guard scan his signature. Because of the inherent trustworthiness associated with the tattoo, the guards let him through without much questioning. He pulls the tadpole over to wait for Delphine to get through the gate. Delphine takes longer to get through, but she successfully makes it. He moves the vehicle forward. June quietly steps out of the little closet. Sebastian turns to look at her.

"So…" He starts

"I just had to use the bathroom." June smiles.

"Um…"

Sebastian is aware that the door doesn’t lead to a bathroom. All that’s back there is a small storage room and a hatch that accesses the fridge unit. If June is telling the truth, then there’s now a nice little surprise back there, too.

The next few minutes are silent. June stares out of the passenger window. He clears his throat. She quickly whips her head around to face Sebastian.

"Hm?" Her voice reverberates forcefully through her closed lips.

"Oh, nothing. I just had something in my throat." He smiles politely.

"Okay cool. So…" June attempts to start some small talk, but she trails off.

"Hm?" Sebastian looks over at her, expecting a follow-up.

"How are things going?" She asks.

He chuckles slightly. "Well. The city’s a mess. Have you seen the traffic at the gate?"

"Um. No…" She sounds nervous.

"It’s crazy. The attack really screwed everything up."

"…which attack?" She asks quietly.

"Um. Vento?" Sebastian is now very confused. "It’s why the city’s locked down…"

"Locked down?" There is an odd sense of panic in June’s voice.

"Yup. Mhm. The lockdown… it’s… so crazy," He hesitates before continuing: "Especially considering what’s going on with the union."

"Oh. The union? Yup! Love those guys!" She says confidently.

Sebastian is now both confused and suspicious.

"Y-yeah?" He prods.

"Yup! I’m proud to be a part of ‘em!" She declares.

He becomes increasingly nervous. In hopes that this is some kind of strange joke, he asks: "Really? How long have you uh, been a member?"

"Oh, since way back—since I started working, really. I mean, if you work for the federation, you’d better be part of a union. Otherwise, you’re screwed!" She laughs loudly.

He sort of chuckles to keep up the polite act. At a complete loss of how to respond, he manages to mutter: "...Sure."

June spots his nervousness.

Sebastian now finds himself on edge. How is she completely unaware of what’s happening? She would have to have been off the grid for at least the past twenty-four hours. Like a suspicious union member on the run…

There is a sudden thump from inside the small cargo closet. It momentarily distracts him from his paranoid epiphany.

"Oh! What was that?" He jolts up in his seat.

"Hm? Um. Maybe something fell?" She becomes nervous, too.

"That might have been the fridge. Polard mentioned a malfunction…" Sebastian says as he begins navigating through the dashboard terminal to check for any issues.

"I can go take a look." She’s already unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Uh… cool. Yeah." His eyes return to the road.

June walks back into the supply closet and closes the door behind her. She stays inside for a long time. At this point, Sebastian is completely befuddled. What is going on with her? Maybe she’s just drunk or high off of something. A job like this probably has crazy hours—he’d probably do the same if he were in her shoes. Just as he finds a reasonable justification for her behavior, June suddenly walks out. Sebastian catches an angry look on her face in the rear-view mirror. She sits down with a huff and immediately turns toward him.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" She asks with a pleasant smile, her expression has switched entirely in an instant.

"Oh. No, not at all!" He lies with an obvious falter in his voice.

"Are you sure? You can be honest with me."

"No, really. It’s all good—"

"I tend to have that effect on people. Some people think I’m crazy." She continues to smile.

"Oh. That’s not—"

"Are you an introvert?" She asks.

"Um—" Sebastian struggles to navigate through this conversational whiplash.

"It’s okay if you are. I am, too."

"Are you?" He responds on a whim, not expecting it to be heard.

June stops talking. Her smile remains, but there’s an intensity within her eyes. She suddenly breaks into laughter. Sebastian chuckles a bit, too—relieved that she took the joke well. Her laughter slows and she catches her breath.

"Rude." She says with a deepened tone. Maybe it’s just the abnormal rhythm to her breathing, but she sounds serious.

"Oh, uh, my bad—" His smile quickly fades.

"No, it’s fine! I guess I used to be more introverted. But now, I can’t seem to stop talking. Jokes are good! Not everything has to be so serious, you know?" She laughs some more.

Sebastian smiles politely. This has been an exhausting conversation. He needs it to be over. But, he’s stuck here until they make it back to The Mare. He quickly scans the sky—no traffic drones to be seen. Then, he presses the gas, accelerating the tadpole above the speed limit. June watches the speedometer tick up. As the engine’s rumble increases, as does the intensity in her eyes.

"…Is everything okay?" The concern in her voice is obscured by the loud hum of the tadpole.

"It’s fine. It’s just been a rough day so far. I think the faster we get back, the less of an ass the boss will be."

"Ah. Yup. We definitely don’t want to get on her bad side." June nods.

"Mhm." He responds calmly as he grows more suspicious.

"So, the attack in Vento sent everyone here into a panic?"

"Mhm."

"But it’s so far from here. They didn’t need to lock down the city!"

"I guess if it could happen there, then it could happen anywhere, yeah?" He shrugs.

"Sure. So… Who exactly attacked Vento? Like, what’s the news claiming?" June asks.

Again, he wonders how she hasn’t heard about any of this. However, in an effort to match her strange vibe, Sebastian decides to take a risk with a joke.

"Well… you destroyed it." He quips.

"What?"

"Yeah, I guess, you guys blew it up yesterday, right?" Sebastian smiles to match hers.

However, when he looks over at her, he finds that June’s smile has completely disappeared. He scrambles to fix whatever unintended damage he’s done.

"You know, because of the union. And uh…" He trails off nervously.

The expression on June’s face is almost blank, but the intensity within her eyes could pierce through steel. They zip back and forth, scanning Sebastian thoroughly. He stops talking and looks back at the road. Now extremely uncomfortable, he accelerates the vehicle even more to get this trip over with as soon as possible.

"Won’t we get pulled over if you keep going this fast?"

"Uh. I mean, maybe—"

"Then slow down." She commands.

"…Alright." He shrugs begrudgingly as he taps the brakes.

There is a long, awkward pause. Sebastian just stares forward, avoiding looking to his right. It’s bizarre that this situation has happened twice within the same day—though this time, he can concede that it’s his fault. It was a stupid joke.

"How did you know?" She asks out of the blue.

"…How did I know what?"

"About Vento," She leans a bit closer as she whispers. "How did you know we were there?"

"Wait… what?" He turns to look and see if she’s being serious.

As soon as they make eye contact, June quickly reaches into her jacket and draws a handgun. She points it at Sebastian’s head with a steady precision, then asks again:

"How did you know?"