=Secondary Classroom=
=Starbase UNITY=
Rick kept his concentration on the small open hatch in front of him next to the main door. He was attempting to counter the attempts of those outside, who were trying to manually override the locks on the door. It wasn't too difficult, a surprise considering Rick recognized a couple of those trying to open the door were two of his engineers.
On the monitor next to the hatch, and out of the eye site of the children in the room, were images from outside in the corridor. A couple of dozen people ... if you'd still call them that ... were hovering around the door waiting for it to be opened. So, Rick had to reprogram the locking mechanisms to prevent this from happening.
The good news was that, once he reprogrammed the locks, he had a half hour before they were able to figure out a way to counter-counter his efforts. One time, they had even managed to crack open the door before Rick was able to seal it shut again. Because of this, he had set up an alarm of sorts that would let out a chime when they were close to opening the door.
This gave him a little time to rest. Unfortunately, there was a second door leading to the other classrooms. These infected people were now on the other end of that door, so Rick had to double his efforts. This meant that every 15 to 20 minutes, he had to go back to work.
The problem was, they had been in here for twelve hours and Rick was feeling a little weary. The good news was that they had replicated at least three days of food before the replicator went down. They also had access to a small lavatory that was attached directly to the classroom. This provided them not only with waste receptacles, but plenty of drinkable water.
It was late now and most of the children were asleep, taking up most of the deck space. Rick saw Rachel tossing and turning, obviously having nightmares. No doubt ignited by today encounter with the infected.
More good news was that Rick had learned that Mai and the baby were safe. That made it easier for him to focus on taking care of Rachel and the other children.
"There, that should do it for another few minutes," Rick said, leaving the hatch open so he could easily access it.
"How long can you keep them out?" Mrs. Collinsworth asked.
"If I was an android, I'd say indefinitely. But since I'm not..."
"A little tired, are we?" Mrs. Collinsworth asked.
Rick responded with a yawn.
"You know, if you teach myself or one of the other instructors how to do this, that would give you some time to get some sleep," she said.
"None of you are remotely trained for this," Rick said as he took a seat next to where Rachel was sleeping. "I doubt many people on this base are."
She took a seat next to him.
"We're fast learners."
"It's not that," Rick said, then turned to face her. "I'm doing everything I can just to counter what they are doing. Anyone could open that door, overriding my codes, given time, but keeping it closed is another matter. I just simply couldn't teach you how without giving you lessons on a wide variety of topics, which would take weeks, maybe just a few days if I didn't have to go into some of the basics."
They were quiet for a moment. Rick closed his eyes for a minute or so.
"Can I at least get you some coffee?" she asked.
Rick smiled, with his eyes still closed, "Coffee would be great."
She stood and walked over to a pot of hot coffee already made. Rick opened his eyes and watched her pour him a mug.
"By the way, you've been Rachel's teacher for a year and a half now and I don't even know your first name," he said.
"Ophelia," she said, returning with his mug, handing it to him.
"Well, Ophelia, thank you. This will get me through the next several hours, maybe longer," he said, taking a sip of coffee as she returned to her chair.
"My son didn't want me to teach here," she said. "He felt it was too dangerous here."
"What does your son do for a living?" Rick asked.
"He's a foreman for an asteroid mine on the edge of the badlands. Anyhow, he hates the idea of me being here. He just doesn't understand. I need to be here."
She pointed to one of the older children, a 12-year-old boy, on the far end of the room, "You see him. His father is a chef at one of the eateries at the promenade. When the base was evacuated during the Romulan attack at the beginning of the war, he stayed. He didn't need to, but stayed behind because he felt that those defending the base needed someone to cook for them and do whatever else was necessary to keep them focused on the fighting. He asked me to help take care of his son before we were evacuated."
There was a long pause before she continued.
"These children, Rachel included, are like family to me. That's what my son doesn't quite understand. I will not only teach them, but I'll care for them and protect them if necessary. Even if I have to protect that boy from his own father."
"I ... I don't follow," Rick said.
"That boy's father. I recognized him. He's one of those ... things out in the corridor," she said with some sorrow. "In fact, I recognize a few of their parents out there."
Rick took another drink of coffee to think for a moment. He could easily be one of those infected, trying to get in here and kill his own daughter. He wondered how long they would have lasted trying to keep the door sealed. He hated the thought.
"Most people think that my father is ... was ... the biggest influence in my life," Rick said, trying to change the subject. "And when it came to me joining starfleet and being an engineer, he was. But my teacher on the Dunkirk was as big of an influence when it came to wanting to learn about everything else. She was a wonderful lady. She taught on the Dunkirk because her husband was the ships barber. When he died, she remained behind a couple of years longer. It wasn't until shortly after I went to the academy that she finally retired.
"But you know what ..." Rick again turned to face Ophelia. "... she attended my graduation from the academy. What impressed me was that she had retired on Vega, so it was no easy trip for her. What was even more impressive was that, less than a week before my graduation, she had attended another former student's graduation from the Vulcan Science Academy, if you can call it a graduation. She had to go through several kilometers of red tape with the science academy to attend, but she did. Since she retired, she has made it a point to attend the graduation of all of her students from either Starfleet Academy, college or whatever vocational institution they may have attended.
"Until tonight, I never understood why. But, thanks to you, now I know."
Ophelia smiled, "I suppose you're never to old to learn, are you?"
Rick smiled back, "Teachers living on starships and starbases don't receive nearly enough credit, especially during times of war. You should all receive medals."
"Not necessary, but thanks," she said.
A few minutes later, the alarm on the door leading to the other classrooms went off.
"Well, I guess it's back to work for me," Rick sighed, placing the now empty coffee mug down as he stood and headed to the door in question.
Commander Rick Rodgers
Chief Engineering Officer
Starbase UNITY
and
Ophelia Collinsworth (npc by Rick)
Civilian Teacher
Starbase UNITY
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