Chapter 5 - (part four)

Daesti and Lina sat in silence for the remainder of the ride, each trying privately to make sense of the absurd situation in which they now found themselves.

"Well, here we are," said the officer at last, guiding the vehicle into a small docking bay in a courtyard that opened up to an ovaloid modular building. He tilted his head back to look at his two arrestees. "Will you come along willingly this time?" he asked in a gently exasperated tone.

Lina glanced at Daesti, as if seeking guidance. Daesti simply nodded. Though by all rights they should have been easily able to flee, the law enforcement in this strange city--though perhaps not themselves physically up to the task--seemed well-prepared enough with gadgetry to handle any such escape attempt. Besides, with their ship in disrepair, Lina and Daesti were stranded in this place, and even if they could manage to escape, they would make for the most conspicuous of fugitives, sylphs as they were amongst an obese population. And they had no way of knowing whether they would meet with outright hostility from the other denizens of the city, who probably would turn them right back over to the police. It seemed a ridiculous endeavor, only a needless new hindrance to getting the Luna Moth repaired and getting on their way.

"Look, sorry about before," said Daesti, diplomatically. "We sort of panicked back there. We really just want to get this all over with."

"That's more like it," said the officer. "There's really no reason to resist. We here in Fatropolis have got just about the most hospitable police department in the known galaxy."

Lina balked at Daesti's seeming complicity and flashed a betrayed-looking pout, but Daesti winked reassuringly.

The officer pressed a button on the console of the vehicle, and they were freed from the restraint mechanism. The officer struggled a bit just to extricate himself from the vehicle, and huffed and puffed as he disembarked. Nevertheless, he gallantly offered his arm to to steady each of them as they too stepped down out of the vehicle.

Though they were no more than ten paces from the entrance of the station, the officer nonetheless boarded a motorized hover-scooter that was parked in the bay. "Offer you a ride?"

"We'll walk, thanks," said Daesti.

"Suit yourselves," replied the officer. "Once you've been in Fatropolis for a while, you'll learn to do things the easy way."

The station, they soon discovered, was not at all the usual drab and dingy affair. The interior was plush and welcoming, with warm decor and a veneer of newness, a facility that obviously had not been host to an abundance of action. It seemed more of a lounge than a police station. Overstuffed waiting chairs lined the perimeter of the lobby. There was a torpid hum of activity behind the intake desk as the staff (each one as fat as the others) went about its work. Whatever its other glaring idiosyncrasies, Daesti supposed that Fatropolis boasted a low crime rate.

"Well, I'll be! Look what Sal brought in!" said another officer behind the desk as Daesti and Lina and their arresting officer came through the automatic door. There was some chatter as others stopped what they were doing to see.

"What have we here?" asked another uniformed man.

Daesti and Lina were uncomfortably aware of being gawked at. As two beautiful young women, they were accustomed to attention, but this was of a different kind. They were not used to being regarded as grotesque oddities.

"Let's have a look at you," a female officer chimed in. "It's been a long time since we've seen any new skinnies. Much less two skinnies at once."

Sal--which, they had just learned, was Officer 67302's given name--gestured to his two wards. "Someone'll be with you in just a minute to get you measured, ladies. Meantime, feel free to take a load off."

"Can I interest you ladies in some doughnuts?" said the female officer, producing a tray from behind the counter of the intake desk.

"That's a new one," Lina quipped sidelong to Daesti. "Even the perps get doughnuts here."

But Daesti relented. "Actually, you know what, I am sort of hungry. Why not! Nothing makes being arrested go more smoothly than a nice snack." She grabbed one of the over-sized sugar-coated baked goods and took a generous bite. It was a jelly-filled confection...fresh and still warm. Her face lit up with delight as she plopped down on one of the plush seats, munching greedily. "Hey, not bad! Delicious, actually!"

Lina scoffed as Daesti gulped down the rest of the doughnut. "I can see you're going to fit right in here."

The lady officer tipped the tray towards Lina. "And you, miss?"

"No thanks. I'm trying to watch my weight."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of that for you," said the female officer.

Daesti broke off a piece of doughnut and waved it tantalizingly under Lina's nose."You're seriously going to pass up free food? If this is what getting arrested is like in this town, we should thank our lucky stars."