Never Wear a Costume to an Arrest

Posted on Thu 29th Apr, 2021 @ 4:59am by Morva & Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark
Edited on on Thu 29th Apr, 2021 @ 7:42am

1,129 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Business Not At All As Usual
Location: Tivoli Gardens, Riverside Village
Timeline: Late, All Hallow's Eve (MD -7)

Great empires are not maintained by timidity. ~Tacitus

A good toga helps, as well. ~Eberstark

As Serena and Andrew strolled arm in arm away from the Addams Family house and toward Riverside Village, a short distance away, the artificial moon shone down full, a sort of golden color with a slightly orange tint.

"Do you know how they do the moon, Andrew? It looks so realistic from what I saw on Earth. Are actual photographs involved, do you think?" Serena asked. "It really does look like a Harvest or Halloween moon tonight."

He shrugged, "That's really a question for the Engineers. I'd imagine it's a combination of a few factors to recreate the feel of it," he paused, "and eliminate some of the features that may take away from the experience, such as the cities." He glanced up at the moon and thought of it and Earth. "It is quite a sight but, and I know this is going to sound cliché, it's just not the real thing."

In truth, Andrew was more focused on his outward appearance as they walked through the village, getting the obligatory stare and whisper from the few people still awake during this hour. Despite the enjoyable stroll and company, he could not wait to change his attire.

Suddenly, an egg flew past the couple, landing just beyond them and barely avoiding covering them in egg yolk. Serena jumped and turned back to see what the object had been. "Is that ... a chicken egg?" she asked in amazement. "Where did that come from?" She was too startled to realize the question was laughable. It came from a chicken!

As the object impacted the surface, Andrew's head swiveled in the direction it came from. Instinctively, he stepped in front of Serena and tried to determine the object's origin. As he looked around, Serena's words finally registered with him. Pausing momentarily after not seeing an immediate threat, he glanced down at the remains, "Hmmm...a chicken egg?" As he spoke, they heard the distinct sound of snickering and laughter coming from the direction Andrew was already investigating. Closing his eyes as he was coming to grips with the situation, he sighed and turned to Serena, "Stay here in the light for a moment. I'm going to check it out."

He anticipated the perpetrator wouldn't expect a confrontation, so Andrew made sure he stepped quickly and forcefully in their direction.

"Uh-oh! He's coming this way! Run," whispered one of the culprits.

"Are you kidding me? Look at him! What's a guy in a dress gonna do to us?" said his partner in crime. "Throw another one of those things at him!"

The first boy looked doubtful, but bent down to the basket of eggs they'd stolen from a coop at the monastery. "Okay, but I still think we should run," he said again.

Squinting, Andrew spotted the pair as they hesitated to make their escape. Closing the gap, Andrew saw one of the bend down and he quickly shouted, "Stop! You don't want to do that!" Assuming his command would fall on deaf ears, Andrew went to evade a possible second egg and, forgetting the clothing he was in, clumsily stumbled to his right.

Both the boys snickered at the man stumbling over his own feet. "Told you," said one of them. "My Pa said never be afraid of a man in a dress."

His friend looked at him. "He did not. You don't even know your Pa."

The boy shrugged, "Well, if I did, I'm sure he'd have said it. Now throw that thing like a bomb!"

The egg tosser shook his head, but drew back his arm for the throw. It seemed a shame to waste good food this way, though. He remembered many a time when he was younger that he would have killed for one small egg to eat.

"Hey," Serena said sternly, hoping to slow the boys in their rush to get into trouble. "Didn't your mother teach you not to waste food?"

The shout from Serena seemed to cause the thrower to hesitate briefly, and it was enough for Andrew to gather himself and make up the remaining ground to the boys. Giving each boy a glare, he saw they were both holding back a smile as they sized him up. He extended his hand at the boy still holding an egg, "Make the smart decision and hand it over." As Andrew stared at the boy, he could almost see the wheels turning in the boy's mind, deciding whether or not to listen to the adult dressed as he was or choose the more mischievous option.

Finally, the boy dropped his arm, holding on to the egg in case he changed his mind. With plenty of arrogance, he said, "Not that your clothes couldn't use the upgrade, but maybe I'll save this for breakfast."

"That would be wise of you," someone said in an extremely dry tone from behind the boy. "What kind of foolishness is this, wasting perfectly good eggs? The souffles I could make! I do hope you plan to clean that up," Chef Morva of the Slug and Grub said to him. She hadn't really intended to get involved, but, well, the group was in her way!

The boy jumped and whirled around, having had no idea someone had come up behind him. Now he was surrounded, even it if was only a Ferengi behind him and his friend. "What do you want?" he asked with a snarl. "Take your nose on home, woman."

"You, young man, have the manners of a watersnake," Morva said. "Put the perfectly good food back in the basket, and go home--both of you. Surely you've better things to do than harass passersby?"

Serena said drily, "You'd think so, yet here they are. Are you going to arrest them?" she asked Andrew, hoping to encourage the youths to head wherever they belonged. "As a Roman legate, I think you have the power to do that." She winked at him.

He folded his arms and remained silent for a few moments hoping to instill some fear into the youth. Even in his outfit, he saw the boy's cocky grin slowly disappear, which was enough for him. Finally, he looked at Serena and shrugged, "At this time of night? Would cause too much paperwork in the morning," looking back at the boys, "I suggest you find your way home quickly, before I change my mind."

In less time than it would take to wink, the boys took off running toward the turbolift. Serena reached for Andrew's hand, laughing. "Police work at its finest," she said, as they nodded at the others gathered to watch the excitement and continued down the River Walk again.

 

RSS Feed