Hera picked at her food. "Ezra, maybe they don't really want to talk about-"
"Nah, it's fine. We've got loads of good stories," said Wolffe.
"Oh, yeah. Especially about Commander Tano," Rex joked.
"Puh-leese!" said Ahsoka. "Boy, have I got dirt on you, Rex."
"Yeah? Well, what if I tell them about that time you lost your lightsaber?"
"Hey! How'd you know about that? Ugh, never mind. We should tell them about when we were stuck in that bunker on Naboo with the Blue Shadow Virus."
"Yeah. We almost died. Oh, remember back on Lola Sayu, when we had to extract that pimple Tarkin?" Rex asked eagerly.
Ahsoka bristled. "Ugh, we should've just left him there."
"You weren't even assigned to that mission, if I remember properly!"
"Yes, I was! Master Plo assigned-"
"Yeah, right, I'm sure he did," Wolffe put in. "I was one of Plo Koon's men," he said as an aside to the Ghost crew, who were listening raptly. "Real smart guy. Picked up Commander Tano when she was a youngling. Boy, was she feisty then." Wolffe smiled, elbowing Ahsoka.
"How about the first time you met General Skywalker, when you sassed him right to his face?" Rex asked.
Ahsoka's smile died a little on her lips at the mention of this, but she barely missed a beat before recomposing and replying, "I don't think I've ever seen you laugh harder."
"Oh! I've got a good story!" Rex interrupted. "Let's tell 'em of that time you threw me off of a giant wall on Geonosis!"
"That's right!" Ahsoka exclaimed, stifling a laugh, then she explained. "We planted explosives on a huge wall blocking our path, and we had to get off before it exploded. Master Skywalker and I could jump and land safely because we're Jedi, but we had to throw Rex off and catch him at the bottom!"
"No warning, nothing! I was just flying through the air! Jedi," Rex added, shaking his head good-naturedly.
Zeb huffed into a mouthful of potatoes.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Ezra asked.
"Nothing!" Zeb replied, tucking back into his dinner.
"What about you, Gregor? Which Jedi did you serve with?" Sabine asked the third trooper, who'd been quietly keeping to his meal the whole time.
"Oh, I-" he put his fork down. "I had amnesia, woke up on Abafar. Colonel Meebur Gascon found me and reminded me who I was. Had to fight my way through a bunch of droids, and by the time I got back into Republic space, the war was over."
"Yeah, he missed out on all the fun," Rex said. Hera couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic.
She cast a glance over to Kanan, who was pointedly scowling at his plate. She sighed.
"Hey, I think dessert's almost ready." Hera rose to her feet. "Kanan, would you come help me pull it out of the oven?"
"Hm?" He looked up.
"She made her special," Zeb said knowingly, grinning at Ahsoka, who nodded graciously.
"Come help me for a second," Hera said with a forced smile.
He grunted and followed her into the galley.
Once they were out of earshot, Hera grabbed his upper arm. "Kanan, would you quit sulking? What's the matter?"
Kanan's frown deepened. "I just… Hera, you know what they are."
"Clones? So what?"
"They're responsible for…" he trailed off angrily.
"Just because they all look alike doesn't mean they all behave alike. You served with them, you should know." Hera winced internally as she said the last sentence; it came out much meaner than she'd intended.
Kanan looked up at her darkly.
"Look, I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. But Kanan, they're defectors. They didn't do these horrible things you think they did."
"Doesn't make it any easier," he said, as a roar of laughter came from the dining area.
"I know," said Hera soothingly, releasing her grip on his arm, and dropping her hand down to his. She gave it a gentle squeeze. "We'll talk about it later, okay? For now, let's enjoy dinner. They were kind enough to welcome us in. And they have the first actual kitchen I've seen in months. They're not so bad, Kanan. Just give them a chance."
Kanan sighed. "All right."
"Hey, wait, before you go back in, I really do need help with the oven."
He shook his head, with the first small smile she'd seen all evening. "All right."