w00t! Chapter 2. Man, editing your own crap takes work. And time. Work and time.

Anyways, enjoy de second revamped chapter!

Chapter 2

Pan shook off the sadness that had soaked through her skin and traversed the ship's many corridors, heading towards the turbolift. Her mother, Lieutenant Videl, would be expecting her for dinner soon, and she was not a person to disappoint. The ship Pan now resided on was an impressive one. It was the flagship for the Chikyu-Saiyan Space Fleet (CSSF), employing the finest weapons Capsule Corporation (led by Bulma Briefs, certified genius and self-made millionaire, wife of CSSF Admiral Vegeta) had to offer. It had completed its first flight a mere six months ago, and housed a civilian population of 7583 and a crew of around 300. All residents, civilian and crew alike, were envied their position, for they had access to the finest ship CSSF had to offer.

It was called the Argo. Among other things, it boasted several holodecks, a beautiful arboretum, a well-equipped shuttle bay, and a cozy mess hall that offered home cooked meals. It was a triumph, all in all, and then the writer decided not to bore the reader with all the grimy details, and got on with the story.

Earth had been space-savvy for quite some time. Many different ships traversed the solar system: science ships, medical ships, low-class law enforcers, and, fewest and strongest, the elite Explorers. These were the ships on which the CSSF and Capsule Corporation spent most of their capital. The Explorers were sent into unknown territories to form peaceful bonds with new peoples and find raw materials. Due to the inherent danger of all Explorer assignments, they were equipped with the best weapons, technology, and crew. The Argo had the best of the best.

Its captain, Jason Greco, was considered to be the most intelligent and deductive mind of the elite class. Anyone chosen for his crew was given a great honor; no one refused to board. Pan's mother and father had both been assigned, to their shock; Videl to the bridge crew as tactical officer and Gohan to engineering as CEO of his department. Due to their high status in CSSF, they knew Bulma and Vegeta personally, and Bulma welcomed the couple as friends (we all know how Vegeta reacted to this friendship…). Consequently, Pan was allowed free access to almost all of the wonders and rarities the Argo had to offer, and she took full advantage of the privilege. Before discovering the holodeck, she surrounded herself with information from the archives, learning all about CSSF, Capsule Corporation, and technology in general. Her avid mind was quick to pick up complex concepts and ideas, and she soon blossomed into an intelligent young woman.

With the holodeck came Pan's removal from society. She spent all her spare time training, leaving none to learning more or associating with people in general. She became a person who cared nothing, or very little, about her outward appearance. She lost whatever social graces she had had as a child, and scoffed at refinement. Her parents began to worry.

As Pan entered her family's quarters she smelled the familiar scent of fried fish. &I love fish!& she thought with a grin, and she barreled into the kitchen, nearly knocking her father over in the process. "Honey, PLEASE watch where you're going," he said with mock sternness as he ruffled her hair.

"Dad! Don't do-hey! Don't do--I SAID STOP IT!" Pan leapt back from her father's grip and took up a karate stance. "You wanna fight?" She grinned impishly and bounced up and down. "Not in the kitchen, people," Videl said from the stove, using the same commanding tone she employed when dealing with stupid diplomats (BTW, to a tactical officer, dealing with stupid diplomats equals blowing them to smithereens).

"Until next time, father," Pan said in a comically deep voice, "and remember: your days are numbered." Gohan laughed and wandered past Pan to the living room. "Is dinner ready? Is dinner ready? Is dinner ready? Is dinner ready?" Pan asked once she entered the kitchen, tugging on her mother's uniform sleeve.

"No it is not, and if you don't leave and keep your father from hanging in the doorway and drooling I will withhold from you your birthright!" Videl huffed in a voice that brooked no argument and turned back to her cooking. Every room in their quarters was equipped with replicators, devices that could form various foods from pure stored energy, but Pan's family liked to save up their energy rations, and besides, replicator artificiality held not a candle to actual food.

Gohan sulked away, followed closely by Pan. Videl had obviously been through a rushed and hectic day, and it wasn't very smart to push her to higher levels of anger. Videl was outright scary if you put her up to it. Gohan quaked in fear if she ever got into one of her non-frequent yet memorable 'moods.' On the whole, though, Videl was funny and loving, and it wasn't hard to see why Gohan had fallen in love with her almost instantly. Pan admired their relationship, though she never would admit it. They had something there that Pan had never had with anyone, something she didn't quite understand. She yearned for it.

"Pan, I think we need to talk." Gohan, sitting on a blue sofa, smiled encouragingly at his daughter and patted the seat beside him. Uh-oh. Pan knew that look. Gohan was about to give her some 'advice.' She made an educated guess as to the object of the discussion.

"Is this about the holodeck?" Gohan raised an eyebrow, and Pan knew she had hit the nail on the head. He nodded.

"Your mother and I have noticed that for some time now, you have spent almost all of your free time, which is a lot, training. It isn't healthy." Pan protested, but her father cut her off. "You know it isn't. You don't even eat lunch unless Videl orders you to come home at noon. You don't associate with people your age at all. Can you even name one person your age on this ship?" Pan was silent, a troubled look on her face.

"Yes," she tried. He frowned at her. She sighed. "No."

"I thought not. You see, it is important for you to learn how to converse with other people. People are important. Friends are important. You'll need them later on, I assure you. I don't know what I would have done without my brother or Vegeta."

"Vegeta!" Pan exclaimed. The man was an outright antisocialist. Hold on. She was too, wasn't she? She sighed and continued to listen.

"So, your mother and I have decided…" Pan crossed her fingers and held her breath, preparing for the worst. "to ground you from holodeck use for six months." Pan growled in outrage. Her ready protest was stopped quickly when Gohan talked over her. "The crew has already been informed not to allow you access to ANY holodeck, and if you somehow get past them, the computer won't let you run a program anyway. During your free time, you will take up a position on the crew itself." He paused and grabbed her hand. She pulled it away and refused to look at him. "This is a great honor, Pan, and it was very difficult to arrange. After six months' time has passed, you will be allowed access to the holodeck twice a week, and that is all, for the duration of your stay on the Argo. It that clear?"

Pan knew any protestation would go unheeded. "Yes." She fumed for awhile just to rub in the fact that she was mad before asking her most prominent question. "What position? I mean, what am I going to be working at for these six months?" She just hoped it wasn't anything involving handling the public. She hated associating with people she didn't know.

"We both know that you are very good at handling computers, so you will start out as an acting ensign in engineering. That way I can help you if you have any problems. If you work hard and do well, the captain has said that you have the chance of moving up in rank. But this will not happen unless your mother and I see that you have begun talking with other people. Clear?"

"Yes." She continued to avoid his gaze, and shifted a bit so her back was to him. Gohan sighed, and Videl came into the room. She began to talk soothingly, but Pan heard nothing. She was seething. She was fuming! She was a volcano about to erupt, so the natives had best be running wildly in the general direction of 'away!' She felt herself begin to shake physically and stood abruptly. "Sorry, but I need some time to think." She about ran out of the room, holding her stormy emotions tightly inside, her feet pounding down the corridor. She had to be alone. She sure wasn't going to be able to do that for a long time after today. She blindly sped through the halls, knocking down various crewmen and civilians in her wake, until she found what she was looking for. The arboretum. She stormed in.

Those who were already enjoying the peaceful trees were frightened by her sudden entrance and exited the room promptly, much to Pan's satisfaction. She dove under a thick jack pine, curled into a ball, and cried.

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A/N: There we are! And now, may you feel quite free to review! I promise I won't release the tiger if you do…