Little Pritchards, Part 2

"Athena! Stop harassing Archimedes!" Artemis shouted as he herded his children back to his quarters.

The Missus nipped at Athena and scolded her, the Cyan Skutling hung her head in shame, before knocking into little Archimedes, getting another nip from her mother.
Artemis picked up the tiny crimson Skutling. "Picking on your little brother like that....you can't do that unless he acts like your Uncle Percy!" The group passed the ISL and Phil's lab. The Missus had to rope Artie Jr. back in after he was mesmerized by the two labs. She promptly told him not until you're older!

They arrived at the elevator and proceeded up to the officers' quarters. The cookie-cutter quarters were interrupted by the newly renovated 'Pritchard Residence', which had been redesigned as an actual home. The neighboring quarters, fomerly occupied by the Geologist and a JMC executive (both dead), had been converted into extensions for the home. There was a welcome mat in front of the door, a mailbox (the robots added it as a nice touch), and a quaint wooden sign above the door that read The Pritchard Residence

Inside, the rooms had gone from "Starship Quarters" to "Contemporary Home". It was a nice touch. Artemis and The Missus felt that their children would be happier being raised in a home that felt more like a quiet home in a subdivision than some metal tomb on a giant mining ship.

Immediately, the children scurried off to pick their rooms and start making "improvements". Artemis set Archimedes down, the Skutling proceeded to whine. "Come on, you have to pick your room. You can't share a room with me and your mother" Artemis said.

Archimedes sighed and trundled away.

"That boy needs a backbone" Artemis commented. The Missus objected, claiming that he was fine, and his innocence and frightfulness was "regular" for his age.
"Eh, I still think we should try toughing him up a bit"

Later

Artemis headed down to the promenade to enroll the kids in school. The rodents had a decent enough curriculum for primary education (most of it was from Human books to begin with. The kids were smart enough to know if something was being misconstrued, they could easily find the right answers on their own). Considering the lack of universities on Blue Dwarf, finding a good college once all of the children were grown up would be a bit harder to find (Artemis was sure there was a mechanoid colony or something that could work). That could come later, right now he needed worry about actually getting them in first.

He arrived at the elementary school, which had been built into what Artemis believed was once the adult video store and the bookstore (Artemis wrote at least 27 letters the JMC complaining that the Bookstore wasn't getting enough attention, being next to a 'smut den').

"Greetings rodent" Artemis said to the she-mouse at the front desk. "I am Dr. Artemis K. Pritchard VI, I would like to enroll my children in this institution"
"What?"
"Can you teach my kids?"
"Yes, fills the forms"

The mouse plopped a clipboard down on the table, there was a crudely drawn form on it.

Artemis took it to the nearby waiting area. He read the form. There were two fields, "do childs want learn?" and "what childs called". Artemis sighed. At least the teachers were somewhat more competent. Artemis filled out the form "Yes, the children want to learn. I suggest you do the same, heathens" and "Artemis K. Pritchard VII, Archimedes Pritchard, Plato Pritchard, Nikola Pritchard, Athena Pritchard, Mary Pritchard, Rosalind Pritchard, Helena Pritchard. Memorize them, because I'm pretty sure that if you get them wrong they'll form a mob and try to destroy you. You've been warned"

Artemis handed the form in. The she-mouse crumpled it up and tossed it into a bin with dozens of other "applications"
"Childs are schools now"
"...okay" Artemis said, slowly backing away. He hoped that, for the love of all things science, this was a good idea. It was either the rodents or Holly.

Artemis performed a few other minor duties, such as registering them to the ship's roster, filling out some 'medical forms' (for the robotic repair system), buying some odds and ends, etc. He then returned home to find the children gathered in the living room to find toys strewn everywhere, and all of the children gathered in front of a TV watching Pokemon. The Missus was in the lazy boy resting her head on the arm, completely exhausted from trying to control the mob (the TV was her last resort).

"Go rest, I've got it from here" Artemis whispered. The Missus groggily made her way to the bedroom. Artemis took her place at the chair and joined the children in watching the odd show....

---