As the day wore on, I was at last discharged from the medical bay, and we set forth towards the hangar bay, our destination Sorgan, a world of verdant forests and untamed wilderness. But fate, it seemed, had other plans for us. As we walked, Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared at our side, his eyes grave with concern.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you two are needed on Malastare," he said, his voice low and urgent. "Master Windu requires your assistance."

I sighed, feeling a pang of disappointment, for I had been looking forward to our journey to Sorgan, to the freedom of the hunt and the solace of the wild. Anakin, sensing my distress, placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"You'll get another chance to hunt when we've done this," he said, his voice soft and gentle.

I gave him a broken smile, feeling a sense of resignation wash over me. But Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed in curiosity.

"Hunt?" he asked, his voice tinged with puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

Anakin turned to his old Master, my Master now, and explained the situation. "Nyx has been wanting to get some real food in her belly," he said, his voice low and serious. "It seems our food here isn't enough to fill her belly."

Obi-Wan's jade green eyes landed on me, his gaze piercing and inquiring. "Nyx, is this true?" he asked, his voice firm but gentle. "Why haven't you come to me with this concern? I am your Master, after all."

I felt a flush rise to my cheeks as I met Obi-Wan's gaze, feeling a sense of embarrassment and shame. I had not meant to hide my struggles from him, but I had not wanted to burden him with my problems either.

"I...I didn't want to trouble you, Master," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I thought I could manage on my own."

Obi-Wan's expression softened, his eyes filled with a deep understanding. "Nyx, you are my Padawan," he said, his voice filled with a sense of responsibility. "It is my duty to ensure your well-being, not just your training. You should have come to me with this concern."

I nodded, feeling a sense of gratitude towards Obi-Wan. I knew that I could always count on him to be there for me, to support me and guide me on my journey as a Jedi.

"And I appreciate that, Obi-Wan," I said, my voice filled with sincerity. But then I stopped, my gaze drifting towards the ship that awaited us. "But this is something I need to do on my own," I continued, my voice firm but gentle. "I only agreed to Anakin coming along as an escort, or he'll be here pulling out his hair."

Obi-Wan snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Who's saying I won't?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "We care about you, Nyx, more than you know."

I felt a warmth spread through my chest at his words, a sense of gratitude and affection towards my Master. I knew that he was trying to protect me, to ensure my safety and well-being, but I also knew that I needed to do this on my own. I needed to prove to myself that I was capable of taking care of myself, of hunting and feeding like a normal being.

"I know, Master," I said, my voice soft. "But I need to do this. I need to prove to myself that I can do this."

Obi-Wan's expression softened, his eyes filled with understanding. "I know, Nyx," he said. "But promise me one thing: you'll be careful, and you'll come back to us."

I nodded, feeling a sense of determination wash over me. "I promise, Master," I said. "I'll be careful, and I'll come back to you."

I nodded at Anakin, and together, we boarded the negotiation, or rather, the ship that would take us to Malastare. As we settled into our seats, I felt a sense of excitement and trepidation wash over me. I was eager to get to Malastare and assist Master Windu, but I was also aware that this mission would be a challenge.

Anakin, sensing my unease, reached out and took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, Nyx," he said, his voice low and reassuring. "We'll face whatever comes our way together."

I smiled, feeling a sense of gratitude towards him. With Anakin by my side, I felt a sense of confidence and security that I wouldn't have otherwise. Together, we were a formidable team, and I knew that we could overcome any obstacle that came our way.

As the ship lifted off and soared into the sky, I felt a sense of exhilaration wash over me. We were off to Malastare, and I was ready to face whatever lay ahead.

◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

As I emerged from the ship and onto the dusty, barren landscape of Malastare, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The hologram transmission from Master Windu had seemed straightforward enough - assist the native Dug inhabitants in their struggle against the Separatist droid army. But as I looked around at the chaos unfolding before me, I realized that I should have been more prepared.

The Dug, it seemed, were in more trouble than they had let on. Their usually stoic faces were etched with worry and fear as they scurried about, trying to evade the hail of blaster fire from the droid army. I coughed, covering my mouth with my arm as I dodged under a blast from a droid, ducking under a nearby rock where Rex and the others were huddled.

"Well, then," I muttered, my eyes scanning the battlefield for any sign of our objective. "Where are the prototypes of our bomb?" Anakin asked, turning to face a harried-looking doctor who was crouched behind a nearby crate.

I growled under my breath as I looked at her, my focus split between the conversation and the battle raging around us. I had no time to be distracted by petty details - I needed to be on the battlefield, taking out those stupid clankers and giving our allies a chance to regroup.

"Tell me, doctor," Anakin pressed, his voice firm but urgent. "Where are the prototypes? We need to get them out of here, now."

The doctor hesitated, her eyes darting back and forth between us. "I-I don't know," she stammered. "The Dug were supposed to be guarding them, but...but I think they've been compromised."

I cursed under my breath, my hand tightening on my blaster. This was not going well. We needed to get those prototypes, and fast, or risk losing the entire planet to the Separatists.

I leaped out of the way just in time, avoiding the falling clone by a hair's breadth. My eyes locked onto the Super Battle Droid that had been about to deliver the killing blow, and with a fierce cry, I launched myself at it. My body crashed into the droid, sending it crashing to the ground beneath me. My black scales shimmered in the sunlight as I cut it open with my razor-sharp claws.

"Commander!" Rex yelled, rushing to my aid as another Battle Droid took aim at me, trying to shoot my tail off. I let out a yip of pain as I leaped off the fallen droid, my tail stinging from the near miss.

But I didn't let that stop me. I smirked, a fierce glint in my eye, as I slammed my talons into the ground, sending a shockwave through the earth that took out several of the droids. "Whoops," I muttered, wincing as I realized I might have taken out some of my own clones with the blast.

I leaped to Rex's aid, hunkering down beside him as debris and stones fell around us. "You okay, Captain?" I asked, my voice low and urgent, as I shielded him from the falling wreckage.

Rex nodded, his face grimy with dust and sweat. "Yeah, I'm fine. But we need to get out of here, now. We can't hold out much longer."

I nodded, my eyes scanning the battlefield. We were outnumbered, outgunned, and running out of time. But I wasn't about to give up. Not yet.

Then, overhead, the bombers came, their thunderous roar shaking the ground beneath my feet. I gasped as they dropped their payload, and a blue tide wave came crashing towards us. "All hide behind stones or anything you can get your hands on!" I shouted, my voice carrying above the din of the battle.

I hunkered over Rex, digging my claws into the hard, stony ground as the wave washed over us. I winced as it passed, the energy crackling over my still-healing wounds. It didn't do anything to me, of course - that was the plan. The wave was designed to take out the droids, to disable their systems and leave them vulnerable to our attack. But it still stung, a sharp, biting pain that made my scales prickle with irritation.

"Commander...are you alright?" Rex coughed, his voice muffled beneath me. I looked at him, cocking my skull to one side as I took in any scent I could. The air was thick with the smell of ozone and smoke, but beneath that, I could sense Rex's faint, human scent.

"I'm fine," I said, my voice low and reassuring. I was fine, of course. I was a warrior, a hunter. I had been through worse than this. But as I looked down at Rex, I could see the concern etched on his face, and I knew that he was worried about me.

I stepped off Rex, shaking myself to remove the dirt and debris that had accumulated on my scales. Feeling a bit more spry, I reached back and licked the nearest scar, trying to soothe the stinging sensation. Rex's voice cut through my moment of self-care, and I turned to him with a hum.

He pointed, his eyes wide with alarm, and I followed his gaze to see the ground shaking beneath our feet. A massive sinkhole had opened up before us, its edges crumbling as the earth gave way. I swore loudly, my heart racing with fear.

"Kriff!" I exclaimed, springing into action. I grabbed Rex and pulled him as hard as I could, leaping to more secure ground just as the sinkhole's edges collapsed. The sound of crashing and screams filled the air as the ground dragged many clones down into the depths of the sinkhole, but more of the Separatist army followed them into the abyss.

I landed hard on the new ground, my scales scraping against the rough surface. I looked back at the sinkhole, my eyes wide with shock. That had been close. Too close. I turned to Rex, who was staring at me with a mixture of fear and gratitude.

"Thanks, Nyx," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "I owe you one."

I nodded, my expression grim. We weren't out of this yet. We still had a mission to complete, and I could sense that the Separatists were far from defeated.

"Nyx, get back to the main capital, I need to talk to you" Anakin's voice crackled over the comms system, his words piercing the din of the battlefield. I had a faint ache in my forearm, a souvenir from the earlier explosion, and I sighed as I pressed a claw to the button on my wrist-mounted comms device.

"Yes, sir," I replied, my voice firm and obedient.

I turned to Rex, who was still dusting himself off from our narrow escape. "Gather your troops, we're going back," I said, my voice carrying above the sound of blaster fire and explosions.

Rex nodded, his expression grim. "Roger that, Commander," he said, his voice firm. "Let's get out of here."

I nodded, my eyes scanning the battlefield. We had accomplished our mission, but at what cost? The Separatist army was still out there, and we had taken heavy losses. I knew that Anakin would want to debrief us, to discuss our next move and plan our next strike.

I fell into step beside Rex, my claws clicking on the hard ground as we made our way back towards the main capital. The sounds of battle grew fainter, replaced by the hum of speeder bikes and the chatter of our troops.

As we walked, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was far from over. The war was far from won, and I knew that we would be facing many more battles in the days to come.