When they found him, Zeb and Skywalker had started a Dejarik game on the holochess table. Hera had taken over flying the Ghost, so Chopper was watching intently and grumbling comments about Zeb's strategy.

The room was silent for a minute, then Skywalker waved one of his hands and motioned a monster forward. It moved into a new spot on the board and started attacking one of Zeb's players. Chopper smacked Zeb on the leg.

"What?" he said defensively, pointing at the Jedi. "It was a good move, what was I supposed to do?"

"Question," Sabine announced, hopping on the counter and leaning forward on her elbows. "Did they train you with blasters as Jedi, or is this stuff you've had to pick up since then?"

Skywalker sat back while Zeb decided on his move. "Not as a Jedi, no. I got to practice sometimes once the Clone Wars started, but not often. I still didn't use a blaster back then, though, so it's mostly been in the past five years or so."

"Seriously?" Zeb asked, trying to stall his next play. "Not even like...just aiming practice?"

He shook his head. "In the words of my master, 'Blasters are far too uncivilized for a Jedi.' Of course, then the war started and just about everyone else was shooting at each other, so we had to figure it out too."

Kanan leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "I always thought it was something we were supposed to learn on the side. Was that not a thing until the Clone Wars?"

"Not really," Skywalker remembered. "At least, not that I can think of. Maybe there was a blaster class or something."

"What kind of missions did you go on?" Ezra asked, watching as Zeb moved one of his monsters. "I mean, I'm guessing you didn't do supply runs or things like that."

He shrugged. "Well, we did have to deliver supplies to Republic bases from time to time, but we didn't have to fight for them. It wasn't like the supply runs you go on, where the Rebellion steals the supplies and sneaks them into enemy territory. Most of the time, nothing interesting happened. Those were usually the boring missions."

Sabine narrowed her eyes. "Boring as compared to what?"

Laughing, Skywalker looked up and tried to think. "Battles, defenses, stakeouts, infultrations, duels, you name it."

"What was the craziest mission you ever went on?" Ezra asked, letting his imagination run a bit. "Like...what was so insane that no one would ever do it again?"

That didn't really narrow it down very much in Anakin's head. There were some missions that he didn't really want to take half an hour to explain, like Mortis or Zygerria, or some that he didn't want to think about, namely Order 66. Even without those, he still had plenty to choose from.

"Ever heard of Mon Cala?"

"Uhh...no."

"It's a planet that's completely under water. I got involved in a civil war there about halfway through the Clone Wars."

Nearly everyone in the room was looking at him with wide eyes. Ezra was the first one to speak. "How...how do you fight a war underwater???"

"Diving suits," he explained simply. "Fun fact: lightsabers and blaster bolts can be used in water."

"I had no idea that happened," Kanan admitted, grinning a little bit. "Who went on that mission?"

Anakin made another move while he answered. "Do you remember Master Fisto?"

"Sure."

"His species can breathe underwater, so his battalion teamed up with mine for the fight. The only reason I remember is because he was the only one not wearing a suit."

Chopper groaned again, having noticed that Zeb lost another one of his players. Anakin grinned as Zeb kicked the astromech away from the table. "Shut up, you're not helping." Focusing again, he asked, "They didn't give you chess lessons as a Jedi either?"

He shook his head again. "Nope, but a friend of mine is really good. She taught me while I was in hiding."

"Of course."

"Did you ever have battles in space?"

"Ezra, we have battles in space. All the time."

"Yeah, but like...not in a ship. What if you wore a spacesuit and you had to fight in zero gravity?"

Anakin racked his brain. He was almost sure he had at one point or another, but he couldn't recall a specific example to mind. "Probably. I don't think we held any major battles like that, but there was probably a stunt or two we pulled that fits the description."

Off to the side, Kanan was trying to think of stories he remembered from his Padawan years. "Didn't you freeze yourself in carbonite for a mission once?"

"Oh, yeah," he laughed, grinning to himself. "Good times."

"How is that even possible?" Sabine asked, curious. "Wouldn't you die from not breathing?"

"I'm alive now, aren't I?" he asked, gesturing to himself. "I'm not completely sure why it worked, I just know that it did."

Zeb shook his head. "What kind of maniac freezes themselves?"

Pointing to himself, Anakin claimed the title. "Maniacs who were trying to slip by a lifeform detector. And for the record, it worked."

"Of course! The frozen carbon would hide your heat signatures," Sabine realized, explaining it to the others. Her mind began reeling with the possibilities. "I kinda want to try that."

"See, now you're giving her ideas," Zeb complained, pointing to the Mandalorian. "And you're beating me really badly, how are you doing that?"

"Practice. Checkmate," he announced, making his final move. There was no way for Zeb to win the game now.

He growled and muttered something under his breath. Anakin just laughed and held his hand out over the table. "Good game."

Zeb shook it a little begrudgingly, much to the amusement of everyone else. Maybe Skywalker was a carbon-freezing maniac, but he was good at holochess.

"What about Mandalore?" Sabine asked, folding her hands under her chin. "If you've fought a battle underwater, you've had to have gone to Mandalore at least once."

"Actually, my friends got more involved with Mandalore than I did. I assume you've been taught about Dutchess Satine Kryze?"

She shrugged. "A little bit. The Empire dictated what we were taught about our history growing up. I think I know more from stories my parents told me than what I was officially taught."

"Now there's a lesson for you. History is always written by the victors," he muttered sternly before clearing his face and going on. "My teacher, Obi-Wan Kenobi, went on missions with the Dutchess once or twice. He was her protector for about a year during the Mandalorian Civil War, over ten years before the begin of the Clone Wars. From what I can gather, they were good friends." Very good friends, he thought to himself.

Thankfully, his face didn't give away his true thoughts as he kept talking. "Up through the Mandalorian Civil War, the government of the system was typically pacifist. Dutchess Kryze was especially true to the trend even into the Clone Wars. I think it was one of the reasons Death Watch and other warrior factions wanted to overthrow her: they valued the traditional warfare Mandalore used to engage in. They teamed up with Maul and his allies, which I'm sure the Empire taught you against, and destroyed the old government."

"Oh, yeah, I've heard all about it," Sabine assured him. "Apparently Emperor Dooku really hates that guy because they teach a full semester about the crimes Maul committed against Mandalore."

"Nothing new there." Anakin shook his head. "Sith rivalries don't fade over time, as far as I've seen."

Ezra picked up the story from there. "After that, doesn't that story you tell us all the time happen? The Siege of Mandalore?"

She nodded, proud that someone had paid attention. "Yep. Lady Kryze, the Dutchess' sister, overthrows Maul with the Republic's help and was regent until the Empire forced her out of power."

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard the story a hundred times," Zeb complained. "I think I can say it in my sleep now."

"As long as you know your own story, there's nothing wrong with that," Anakin advised. "Always remember where you have come from."

And with that little nugget of wisdom, Hera pulled the ship out of hyperspace and the rest of the crew tried to figure out what the Jedi Knight meant. Anakin just smiled. They would know, eventually.