Homecoming

[Darth Imperia]

Presumably Somewhere in the Galaxy
The Midnight Cathedral​

​

What did it mean to be Sith?

For a long, long time, Darth Imperia had been certain that she knew the answer to that question – it hadn’t mattered that her answer often changed at the drop of a hat, she was simply always correct. It was about bringing glory to the Dark Side, of course. And the next week, it was about building an empire and ruling with an iron fist. Then being Sith simply meant ‘doing whatever the feth I want.’ Most recently, being SIth was about the accumulation of power, pure and simple. And while she had never held these beliefs, she had often been told by respected members of her Order that to be Sith was to be a creature of pure conflict, and conversely that being Sith meant advancing the Greater Good above all else.

Every last one was a childish notion, held by people who should have damn well known better.

To Imperia, being Sith meant one thing and one thing only – freedom. The freedom to pursue whatever desires one wished, without consideration for the burdens of morality or the opinions of those around you. The freedom to love and hate in equal measure, to create and destroy as one pleased. Freedom, even, from rash and thoughtless action, for slavery to one’s own impulses was slavery nonetheless. In short, to be Sith was to reach for godhood. This suited Imperia just fine.

It would have been easy (and intensely gratifying) for Imperia to convince herself that she had come to this revelation all on her own, that is was her intellect and insightfulness that allowed her to, rather ironically, see the metaphorical light. But in truth, she owed this insight in large part to the influence of another – someone who she cared deeply for, and who, in recent times, Imperia had rather dreadfully neglected.

The Midnight Cathedral, in all its grandiose and ludicrously expensive majesty, dropped out of hyperspace, next to a rather humble freighter. Imperia couldn’t help but smile as she flicked on the comms system and delivered her message.

“This is Darth Imperia, Ave Domina of the Midnight Cathedral. I’ve missed you, Aria.”

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

They were so different, Aria Vale and Darth Imperia, but for all the world Aria couldn't imagine a galaxy without the blonde Sith Knight, smiling that brilliant smile as she chased the darkness down. The Echani had few friends all things considered, few people whose company she ever preferred to solitude; Imperia remained the only one she'd ever met who she could talk to for hours without ever growing tired. In the years since they'd met so much had changed so rapidly that if Aria paused even a moment to think about it she wound up reeling. Imperia was her constant. It was comfort just knowing that the Coruscanti thought about her now and again.

Nobody who knew her well could say that Aria hadn't felt Imperia's absence. Though she'd stayed in contact at least enough to ward off extreme concern for the other woman, it was far from what it had been in the beginning, in those golden months of staying up late just talking, laughing, of fighting together, cutting down whoever they pleased because they both knew there was no reason not to, of simplicity and carelessness and perfection. But it was enough to at least prevent Aria from spiralling into perpetual fear. She trusted Darth Imperia knew how to handle herself.

Her day before that perfect moment had been the most mundanely normal day she could imagine. She'd been on Maena generally enjoying the freedom of a flexible work schedule before she'd taken to her starship. Aria liked to think she had good intuition, but then she supposed Imperia had always loved to make a statement. Regardless, when she soared off Maena, ready to shoot into hyperspace, her mind was on where might be a nice place to go out for dinner - though she thought frequently about Imperia's whereabouts and wellbeing the Sith was, at this time, far from being at the front of her mind.

There was a buzz from her comms system signalling an incoming message.
She flicked a switch.

"This is Darth Imperia, Ave Domina of the Midnight Cathedral."

Her breath caught in her throat.

"I've missed you, Aria."

For a moment she could only stare at her com, hardly daring do anything else.
And then her face slowly broke into a grin.

She leant closer to the control deck, hitting a button.

"And I've missed you."

Hands flew across buttons as she set the ship into place, adjoining to the Cathedral by the hatch at the ship's side in moments. The side door slid open cleanly - Aria flicked a final switch and rushed there, eyes alight.
She was already there waiting.

Aria closed the distance with tentative footsteps, stopping barely a foot from the other woman.
"It's been too long," she murmured, smile small but unmistakably genuine.

Then she held Mala's head as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss her.

- [member="Darth Imperia"] -​

 

[Darth Imperia]

Imperia had experienced little in the way of joy for a long, long time. Toying with a ship full of obedient worshipers passed the time, but, well, that wasn't really something Imperia did for fun. It fulfilled a need, the same as eating or drinking. It was satisfying, but it wasn't fulfilling. Imperia's existence since sneaking off had been a hollow one, centered around survival - but survive she had, and in her time alone, she'd learned to be (almost) content with that pitiful state of being.

When those doors slid open and Imperia saw Aria, it was like the night beneath the tree all over again. Her heart fluttered, her icy facade wavered, and the fire in her chest flared back to life. She wanted to make some witty remark, to crack a joke or even say something sweet.

Then Aria kissed her.

And for a few minutes, nothing else even existed. Just the two of them in their perfect moment. Imperia couldn't tell you how long it lasted - there were far more important things on her mind than keeping track of time, after all - but however long it did, it ended about an eternity too soon.

And when that tragic ending came to pass, Imperia grinned, arms wrapped around Aria, and murmured a few words of her own.

"Far, far too long, my love. And I'd rather burn the galaxy down than leave again. Maybe for our anniversary?"

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

It had been months and seemed longer.

The thing about someday was that it never came closer until it arrived. Maybe it would be weeks away. Maybe six months. Maybe six years. The thing about someday was that you never really knew.

And a blank timespace was a long time to wait. Aria knew that she would survive waiting for Imperia to come out of hiding - she knew that she'd survive if she never got to lay eyes on the other woman again, although she'd never pretend that reality wouldn't hurt. Her absence had been a painfully obvious contrast in the beginning; Aria had grown accustomed to it by now, and if she'd lived the rest of her life how she had in the past months she could easily call it a success.

Aria would never let herself need somebody again - but Force, she wanted Imperia.

She happily would've let those next moments last forever, let nothing else exist but the two of them, but their bubble had to break and when it did Aria found herself hard pressed to stop smiling. Eyes alight, she nestled into Imperia, grinning through laughter at the blonde's words.

"Rain check," she agreed, entertained. "You need to catch me up on what you've done since you disappeared off the face of the galaxy. I'll make tea?"

| [member="Darth Imperia"] |​

 

[Darth Imperia]

Imperia thought of herself as a talented woman (surprise surprise). A skilled deceiver, a proficient duelist, a powerful force user. But even she, with her many skills, could not think of a way to spin sitting on a ship for several months as interesting. The most interesting thing that happened was Imperia's identity crisis, but even that just consisted of her sitting alone in a dark room and thinking. Hardly an enthralling story.

So she didn't bother. Instead, she simply shrugged and took a step back, (reluctantly) releasing Aria from her embrace. "Nothing worth mentioning, my dear. My life - if you can call it that - has been dreadfully boring since I left. Running, hiding..." Imperia scoffed, then took a deep breath when she noticed the arcs of crimson lightning dancing along her fingers. "I was cowardly, and I feel that it was rather unbecoming of me."

Imperia took a few seconds to compose herself, then continued. "But, yes. I think I'd like some tea. Dantooine Mint, if you have any. And then? I have a lot of lost time to make up for. The Galaxy needs to be reminded that I exist, and there's no one I'd rather have at my side."

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

With a nod, she moved away from Imperia - somewhat - back past the airlock into her ship. Aria would surely have Dantooine mint somewhere, or if not then something similar. The Knight took tea very seriously.

"Here you go," she announced cheerfully, offering Imperia a mug - Dantooine Mint, just as she'd asked - and with a gesture for the blonde to follow suit, she sat down.

She didn't suppose it was a great surprise that the other woman hadn't found her isolation very interesting. The purpose of her trip into deep space had been safety, after all - and safety was so very dull. Aria went to great lengths to avoid finding herself in such a state, convinced that between boredom and danger the latter was always preferable.

At one point before Imperia's departure she had even suggested she'd do better to fight those sending her into hiding, offered her own help. But the latter Sith took danger more seriously than Aria did (and if she was being honest, it was probably smarter of her), knew she had too much left to do to risk carelessness killing her early. Certain as she was that Imperia would've escaped with her life, she understood it perfectly. Her absence had hurt, but her death would've hurt so, so much more.

"And you know I always will be," she said, smile less now of joy and more of anticipation, satisfaction. "How will you remind them?"

But she was back now, set on telling the galaxy she wouldn't be going anywhere.
And Aria would gladly stand with her, no matter what it meant.

| [member="Darth Imperia"] |​

 

[Darth Imperia]

Lover at her side, favorite tea in hand, sat in a cozy little freighter...all of Imperia's anger melted away, at least for the moment. Life was good. There was no need to go throwing lightning around.

It was a bit early to start with the foreplay, after all.

"I'm not quite sure yet," the Knight began, pausing only to take a sip of her tea. "But there will be blood, and there will be fire." She paused once more, looking up to Aria with a playful smile on her face - one that by normal standards, didn't really match the topic at hand. "I was thinking of razing a city, but that just seems so...Zambrano. Let them engage in their mass slaughter and their artless chaos. I'm going to make my mark with style."

She leaned back and sipped her tea again, fiery yellow eyes fixed on the hull plates above.

"What about - no, no, too cliche. Maybe - ugh, no, I've done that before." Imperia glanced back at Aria, the smile creeping back upon her face. "Any suggestions, darling? This is our first date in months, after all."

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Strange as it seemed, Aria couldn't help but grin at Imperia daydreaming her return to the galaxy. It was so very like her in the way she would never even think of without having missed the Knight a good while, and it was trying indeed not to be cheered at how little she'd changed.

Laughter escaped her unbidden as the blonde turned to her to ask for advice, but she pondered a moment, considering the question. They both knew that between them both Imperia was the one with a penchant for grandeur; that wasn't to say Aria didn't enjoy helping. There was something to be said, after all, for the fun of scheming and splendor - even the type that promised blood and fire.

(Some might say especially the type with blood and fire. Aria was one of those.)

"Well," she mused aloud, eyes alight with mirth and faint excitement, "you're right, forcing cities to kneel is completely overdone. Making them want to kneel - you can have more fun with that."

"Or you could always cause some scandals that start a war," she added cheerfully. "That's always exciting."

She'd be the first to admit her idea of excitement was rather unusual.

[member="Darth Imperia"]​