Sebastian notices the numerous warning signs and legal disclaimers placed all over the pump, accompanied by a detailed instructional diagram that shows the refueling process. He quickly reads through it, getting to the end where there is a long list of potential hazards. Apparently, these pumps store LOX or liquid oxygen—a substance that Sebastian recognizes as rocket fuel.

This is his first time ever using a fuel station, so even though every step of this process is designed to be understood by the layman, the casual handling of cryogenic liquid oxygen makes him uneasy. He looks around and watches as others refill their vehicles, completely unbothered by the hazardous material they're handling. What a wild planet.

Sebastian scans his signature tattoo when the fuel machine prompts him to. It asks him which grade of fuel he would like. There is low, standard, and space grade. He looks behind himself nervously. June and Dusty are still having their conversation inside.

Are they going to notice the difference?

Would they kill him if he picks the cheap stuff?

Can he even afford this?

Sebastian begins to sweat as he over-thinks the situation. He picks the space grade fuel. His wounded bank account is going to suffer for this decision.

He unlocks the large fuel nozzle connected to the pump, then re-locks the clunky plastic apparatus onto the intake port on the left side of the tadpole. The nozzle itself is about the size of a football, with large handles on either side to make it wieldy. There is a hissing sound as a small burst of chilled vapor sprays out from a little vent at the top of the nozzle body. The fuel line is thick and heavy—it slumps to the ground under its weight, moving slightly as fuel is pumped through.

Once the vehicle is full, he moves on to the large fuel tank attached to the tadpole cargo rail behind the fridge unit. As he passes between the two units, he notices that several thick, chrome tubes have been jury-rigged to connect them together. He touches one of the tubes and immediately recoils—it's freezing cold to the touch. It looks like they're using the air conditioning from the freezer to store the liquid oxygen.

The tank is so large that he has to use a built-in ladder on the tank’s side to access the cap. The cap is covered by an industrial-grade latch lid. Sebastian struggles to unlatch the lid but eventually gets it off. He locks the nozzle to the port and begins filling the tank. As he watches the numbers rise, he realizes that this transaction might just put his poor bank account out of its misery.

He thinks about climbing down but realizes that this is the first time he’s been out of danger since he was kidnapped. He takes a moment to sit peacefully atop the fuel tank. He breathes steadily and lets his mind wander.

Where is Delphine?

What happened to her? Did she just keep driving back to The Mare?

Vehicles of all shapes and sizes buzz around the fuel station, but Delphine's is nowhere in sight. Sebastian peacefully observes the bustle around him. He notices a crow flying past on its own. As he pans across the scenery surrounding him, following the flight of the little black bird, he catches someone staring at him from the next fuel pump over.

A pale man with a wide-brim hat stands and stares with an uncanny stillness. The underside of his hat's brim is pitch black; so dark that it seems to absorb any light around it, obscuring his eyes entirely in shadow. His suit jacket is a faded ochre while the rest of his clothing consists of various dark shades of blue. The compact hovercraft he drives has a dust-covered industrial stainless-steel finish. It’s hard to tell if this man is trying to be inconspicuous or stand out. Sebastian nods his head towards the man as a sign of friendly acknowledgment. The man nods back. Sebastian then looks away, avoiding a staring contest with this stranger. However, he can still feel the man watching.

Once the tank is full, Sebastian shuts and locks the lid, climbs down, returns the bulky nozzle to its compartment, then approaches the driver's side door. The stranger continues to stare. He nods again—except this time, his head notions to the side. It's almost as if this stranger is signaling for Sebastian to leave. Until now, he hadn't really considered that option. The station is busy enough that he could easily slip away into the crowd. The stranger continues to stare in stillness. The crow caws overhead.

Sebastian looks around carefully, trying to find the best route to run. A large tadpole pulls into the station and parks at the pump behind his. A perfect spot for cover. If he's going to get away, this is the best time to do it. This is his chance to act. He takes a step forward, ready to break into a sprint. Suddenly, the driver's side door pops open. Looking into the darkened interior, Sebastian can just make out the gleam of Dusty's revolver. Its barrel points directly at his chest—center mass. He freezes in place, scared to move another inch.

"Lune..." Dusty's textured voice echoes disappointment.

Sebastian remains still.

"Get back inside." She commands.

He hesitates. He can still feel the rumble of the idling vehicle behind him. Dusty pulls the hammer of her revolver back, priming it with a loud click. The vehicle behind him cuts its engine, the idling goes silent. Sebastian resigns to his fate and begins stepping toward the door. He looks over at the mysterious stranger one last time . The stranger continues to stare.

Can he see what's happening?

The stranger then smiles slightly before turning around. He unlocks the fuel nozzle from his vehicle, gets in, then drives away. Sebastian climbs back into his seat and closes the door behind him. The cabin is silent for a moment. June stares at Dusty with one eye covered. She brushes her hand over the handle of her machete. Dusty shakes her head aggressively.

"Nothing's changed." She says.

"I disagree," June shrugs. "But, he's a decent driver, so…"

She walks over and leans close to Sebastian.

"I’m gonna need your phone." She orders.

"Oh. Um. Okay." Sebastian quickly hands June his phone.

She takes it quickly, then walks into the supply closet in the back of the cabin. She closes the door behind her.

"Um…" He externalizes his confusion.

"Yeah… we don’t see smart phones often. They’re more of a lune thing. Not many people on Earth fancy carrying around a tracking device in their pockets." Dusty says. "Anyway, we’re running on limited time, so get us out of here, lune."

"Um. Okay." He responds as he hurriedly buckles up.

Sebastian drives the tadpole away from the fuel station. Dusty taps away on the dashboard terminal. She plugs a brass colored device into one of the terminal's ports. The user interface goes blank, cycles through several rapid-fire sequences of code, then loads a rough, homebrewed interface. She taps through a few menus. Suddenly, the freezer unit begins to hum louder. A diagram on screen shows both the freezer and fuel tank's internal temperatures simultaneously as well as the percentages of diverted power. The fuel tank draws most of the power since its internal temperature needs to be much lower than the freezer.

"Looks like the meat will survive. Lucky us." Dusty pats the terminal as she gets up and walks away.

The drive out of the city is surprisingly smooth. They have no issues getting past the gate again and out onto the desert freeway. Sebastian watches as Oasis shrinks away in the rear-view mirror.

There it goes.

Further and further.

His bubble of safety slips away into the horizon.