The pair exited the Arwing. Krystal was amazed at how big, yet cramped, the ship was. As he led her deeper into the ship, Krystal's curiosity grew. They passed numerous doors until they stopped at an unmarked door.
"This is my room." Fox told her as he led her inside. The room was fairly unremarkable. There was a bed, dresser, closet, and nightstand. The walls were fairly spartan save for a poster depicting an Arwing in space apparently zooming toward the viewer.
Fox opened up his dresser and pulled out some robes.
"We should probably wash up and change into some fresh clothes." Fox suggested as he motioned for her to follow him again. This time, he led her to a door marked "showers".
Inside, Krystal couldn't help but notice how different it sounded walking on the shower room tiles. She followed Fox to one of the shower stalls.
"Everything's labeled after the Slippy incident a few years back." Fox explained as he put her towel and robe on the bench near her stall, "Just ask if you need anything."
Fox walked into the neighboring stall and quickly undressed. Krystal undressed, putting her clothes on the bench, and looked at the knobs. One was labeled "water pressure" and the other "temperature".
After turning the water pressure knob, she was blasted with cold water. She had been quite accustomed to cold water on Cerinia, but decided to turn the other knob until the water was soothingly hot.
After a few minutes, Krystal turned the water pressure knob the other way until the water stopped. She dried herself mostly off with the towel before putting on the robe. She found Fox waiting for her by the door.
"I took the liberty of putting our clothes in the wash machine." Fox told her, "They should be washed and dried in a little over an hour."
"So, what do you do to pass the time?" Krystal asked.
"Train, mostly." Fox told her, "We also have a television, a small library, and a few board games."
Fox led her to the ship's small recreation room. She looked through the bookshelves, thinking how fortunate it was he shared the same language as the invaders of her planet. Eventually, she found a book on the various cultures of the Lylat System. Eager to learn about the places she would soon visit, she grabbed it and started reading on a nearby chair.
She was surprised at the variety of cultures, having been used to being exposed to the cultures of just her village and the invaders. Clothing, customs, and taboos varied greatly between the planets. As her people's sole ambassador to the outside universe, she hoped she'd be able to make a good first impression.
She thought for a moment, wondering if she should stick to her people's traditional garb. Would it be taboo? She'd have to ask Fox.
She then flipped to the chapter about greetings and other interactions. These seemed to be more homogenous, likely due to frequent contact between the groups.
"The clothes are done." Fox announced as he left her clothes on a table.
"I'm a little nervous." Krystal admitted, "As my planet's sole ambassador, a lot can go wrong that can't be fixed with an apology or a blade to the throat."
"Don't worry about it." Fox assured her, "Most people will be understanding and those that won't don't matter."
Krystal tried to find comfort in his words. Maybe she won't inadvertently start a war. What's the worst that could realistically happen?
"I'll let you get changed in the shower room." Fox told her, "There are no security cameras in there."
Krystal carried her clothes to the shower room and wondered what to wear. Her loin cloth was her most comfortable outfit, but the locals seemed more accustomed to more modest dress, at least if the book and Fox are to go by. She had her priestess robe, but would it be too unusual? After a few minutes, she decided on her loin cloth, at least for now. As she left the shower room, she overheard Fox talking with someone.
"I thought you were at Katt's place." Fox said.
"Things were getting a little weird." The other voice explained.
"When aren't things weird between you two?" Fox asked.
Krystal peeked around the corner to find Fox talking with a tall blue pheasant. The bird immediately spotted the blue vixen.
"Who's the girl?" Falco asked.
"Someone I met a few weeks ago." Fox told him, "She's new to the system and asked me to show her around. Don't try to make things weird between you two."
"Just don't 'do it' where we eat." The pheasant warned Fox, "We just got the smell out of the table after Slippy had a little 'friend' over. You have your own bed to get your pheremones all over."
"Hello, Fox's friend." Krystal greeted as she walked into the room, hoping she wasn't butchering the local greeting, "My name is Krystal."
"I'm Falco." the blue pheasant replied, surprised by how little she was wearing. Not even Katt showed that much skin. He felt the unnerving awkward silence fill the room. "Sooo... how did you two meet?"
"He was shot down near my village on Cerinia." Krystal explained, "He helped us take out an Andronian base and we helped him rebuild his ship. He then agreed to show me his home system."
The awkward silence returned as Falco fought the urge to stare at the nearly-naked woman in front of him. He didn't want to risk a demotion or being cut from the team.
"I'm unsure of my clothes." Krystal admitted, "Perhaps I can get local garb of my own."
Falco was surprised to see her get close to Fox without Fox getting awkward. She also came across as a little... friendly.
"I almost forgot to mention your dad's coming over." Falco told Fox, "He said something about getting a physical schematic from Rob."
Krystal was excited at the prospect of meeting Fox's father.
"We should probably think about leaving." Fox told Falco, "I promised her a tour of the system, not a tour of a cramped ship."
"I'd like to meet your father." Krystal told him.
"So, have you two..." Falco began asking,"Mated?"
"That's none of your business." Fox scolded Falco.
"Knowing how you'd answer that, that's a yes." Falco said with a smirk, "I can't say I blame you. Your father would be proud."
"You're lucky you're one of the best pilots." Fox warned, "Otherwise, you'd be fired and replaced the next day."
"Seriously, when you get in the mood, not on the table." Falco told Fox, "Your dad made it 'Slippy Rule #23'."
"Why can't he make 'Falco Rules'." Fox asked Falco, "There had to be a hundred rules that could have been 'inspired by' you."
"Rules don't get inspired by me." Falco explained, "That's not how it works. Arwing maneuvers get inspired by me and rules get inspired by Slippy. We still need to find out what you 'inspire'."
Fox was about to argue when he received a notification on his communicator.
"What's wrong?" Krystal asked when she noticed Fox looked like he was holding in inappropriate language.
"My dad's here."