Krystal walked into the dining room wearing a red dress and matching heels. She wondered if the facial make-up was necessary, but Fara assured her it was essential if she wanted to look "fancy".
"Today's lesson is how a proper lady eats in a fancy restaurant." Fara told her, "Cornerian society has a few strict rules that are the result of millennia of cultural evolution. The first thing is the male typically helps the female into her seat as a sign of 'chivalry'. Since Fox is busy at the moment, I'll be acting as the male."
As Krystal sat down in the chair, Fara moved her seat closer to the table.
"You see the utensils in front of you." Fara told Krystal, "Forks on the left and knives on the right. A proper lady, or gentleman in Fox's case, holds the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right. When holding them, place your pointing fingers on the back of both utensils to achieve the best leverage for cutting your food. Remember that most foods are eaten with utensils. There are very few exceptions."
Krystal grabbed and held the utensils in the manner instructed and began trying to cut the slab of meat on her plate. She struggled for a few moments, but eventually got the technique down.
"During the meal, you can expect a conversation." Fara explained, "The best conversations involve a topic that interests both of you, but should not involve religion, politics, sex, bodily functions/ fluids, or anything else that might upset and/or disgust the other party or the other people in the restautant."
"What would be a good example?" Krystal asked, "The last thing I need is to embarrass Fox publicly after he agreed to help me."
"Let's try a practice conversation." Fara suggested, "You should be able to find the right topic after a few questions. Anyway, I heard Fox agreed to train you. How is that going."
"Okay, I guess. Before I can fly a proper craft, I need to get used to the controls in the simulator first. Then I'll ride inside his Arwing to get used to the forces I'll experience. Once he's satisfied I've gotten used to the forces, I'll be allowed to pilot a craft for further training."
Fara nodded.
"I've had some training in the Cornerian military myself." Fara told her, "Some trainees had a little difficulty adjusting to the forces, but everyone eventually passed. Of course, standard military training isn't as difficult as Star Fox training. The military focuses on producing as many competent pilots as possible while Star Fox focuses on producing the best of the best... and Slippy."
The pair laughed. Krystal had still yet to meet this mysterious "Slippy" and wondered if he was even real or just a fictitious character created to serve as an example of what not to do.
"Lastly, we'll discuss what to do when the meal is finished." Fara explained, "As a general rule for the fancier places, the male pays for the meal and tip. There are a few exceptions, but this is the general rule."
"Krystal, please report to the simulation room."
The sound of Rob over the intercom interrupted Krystal's lesson on fine dining ettiquette.
"Don't worry about memorizing all the rules." Fara told Krystal, "I'll be there with you two to help you out."
"Thanks."
As she left the dining room, Krystal briefly contemplated returning to her room to change. She chose instead to head to the simulation room, wishing to show off her outfit to Fox.
"The simulator is ready for you." Fox told her as he led her into the room, "Any particular reason for the outfit?"
"Fara was teaching me fancy restaurant ettiquette." Krystal explained, "Plus, I wanted your opinion on the dress."
"Looks nice." Fox told her, "Luckily, it shouldn't interfere too much with the simulator training, especially since we're only going through the basics."
Fox opened the simulator door and helped Krystal inside. After making sure she was properly seated, Fox closed the door and turned on the program on the computer.
"This lesson will be fairly basic." Fox explained over the intercom, "We'll go over a few of the controls as well as taking off and landing in ideal conditions."
Krystal nervously looked at the controls. There were so many buttons, switches, and dials. The only controls she was familiar with was the control wheel.
"The controls you'll need to worry about will light up." Fox told her, noticing her visible distress, "For this first lesson, a lot of the important things are already taken care of. First, you'll need to get the craft to hover. Push the lit-up throttle to the lit-up number."
Krystal looked around and found a lit-up throttle on her right. She pushed it to the lit-up number just to the left of it. The screens simulating the cockpit canopy showed her simulated craft lift off the ground.
"Good. The landing gear will automatically retract in this simulation. Now move the throttle to the right of the previous throttle forward and move the throttle from earlier forward all the way."
Krystal did as she was told, causing the simulated craft to leave the simulated Great Fox.
"Moving the control wheel steers the craft. For now, just move the wheel around to get a feel for the controls."
Krystal turned the wheel to the right, causing her simulated craft to turn in that direction. A few more tilts had her craft moving up, down, and left. After a few more tilts, Krystal got a general idea of how to steer the craft.
"Now it's time to land the craft. A series of rings will appear in front of you. They'll show you the optimal path for beginners. Fly through them to land back on the simulated Great Fox."
Krystal steered the craft through the fairly large rings, nearly missing a few. Before long, the simulated Great Fox was in front of her craft.
"Pull the lit-up throttle down to the lit-up number."
Krystal pulled the throttle down, slowing the craft noticeably. Before long, her craft was back in the landing bay.
"The landing gear will lower automatically. Pull the right throttle back to the middle position and then pull the left throttle down all the way."
Krystal followed the directions, causing the craft to stop and then float down until it was on the ground. The screens then went blank and the simulator door opened.
"You passed the first lesson." Fox told Krystal as she helped her out of the simulator.
"The controls looked complicated." Krystal told Fox.
"Flying's not as complicated as all those buttons and switches make it look." Fox assured her, "Once you're used to the controls, it's just a matter of focusing on what you need to do. You'll only ever need to use no more than a few things at any one moment. A few more lessons and you'll have it down to muscle memory."
"Thank you for the lesson."
"No problem. Let's get something to eat. Tomorrow, we're getting you a new uniform."