Let's just pretend I thought of a clever title

[NightSister]

Any good friend of Aria's - what few remained - would be able to confirm right away that the former Jedi greatly enjoyed and valued the benefits of combat. She'd been adopted into the Echani culture, perhaps, but it was how she'd been raised nonetheless: while she favoured hand-to-hand, combat of any sort was generally a great source of enjoyment. Not to mention, she hadn't left her hectic lifestyle behind when she'd left the Jedi, and knowing how to pack a punch in numerous ways was all but essential. One way or another, she'd found that she'd accumulated some fairly solid knowledge in the arts of fighting - enough, at least, that she could usually expect not to die when pitted against a foe.

However, it had crossed her mind recently that one method most useful to her had been made moot since her departure from the Order. Lightsaber combat wasn't where her offensive skill lay; really, she was just about average with a saber on good days, but that tended to be all she needed. Still, in such a galaxy as this one, it was fairly imperative that one who dealt in matters of the Force commonly both had and could use a lightsaber. The latter she had down, more or less - in matters of the former, however, she'd run into something of a problem. Any friend of Aria's who'd seen her recently would be able to confirm that she wasn't all too happy with the Jedi, and yet the only saber she owned boasted a gleaming blue blade: the most obvious link to the Jedi that she still had. Though she did have a knack for hand-to-hand, she didn't like her odds if she had to rely on martial arts in a duel against any competent Force-user. The only thing to do? Replace the blade.

That, on the other hand, was not something she possessed the skillset for. She knew how to read a manual, she supposed. She could fit stuff together if there were tabs on the side. And...that was more or less as far as her talent for construction went. It had never really been her thing.

But she needed a new saber somehow. Thankfully, there was a very easy solution: some of her friends, after all, weren't within the Jedi Order. One in particular she knew was very keen on anything that hinted Aria might be inching closer to the Dark Side. It hadn't taken long to figure out that the Sith in question was most commonly found on Rhelg - since evidently, in Imperia's book, this was a perfectly normal way of going about these things - and so, there she was, about to enter the Knight's lair. Apparently Darth Imperia had a lair. How very entertaining.

She knocked, and presently a Hapan came to the door. That got a grin out of her.

"Can I help you, madam?"

"Tell your mistress that Aria Vale wishes to speak with her," she said shortly, and the servant scurried off.

[member="Darth Imperia"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

Darth Imperia didn't often make personal appearances anymore. She had servants and mouthpieces for that sort of thing, and unless something struck her interest or threatened her holdings, she very rarely left her castle. It wasn't befitting a goddess, after all, to appear every time she was summoned - you had to keep your lessers guessing, keep them on their toes. For this and other reasons known only to the woman herself, Imperia was mostly content to lounge about in her lair, surrounded by slaves and worshipers.

None of that applied when Aria was involved.

Aria was Imperia's friend - possibly the only one. Oh, sure. She had slaves of whom she was fond, in the same way one might be fond of a well-trained dog; she cared for them, treated them well, and generally wanted to make them happy. But she felt no respect for them. They weren't her equals in any way. Aria was. She was clever, capable, and rather charming, although Imperia imagined Aria would protest that last part.

The young Knight eventually appeared in front of Aria, leaning against the doorway with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. In terms of apparel, she was wearing a loose-fitting, black silk robe with gold trim...and nothing else, aside from a bit of lavish jewelry. Anklets and bracelets inlaid with precious gems, and a thin, delicate chain around her neck from which hung an amulet with a fiery red gem in the center.

"It's been a while, dear. Did you finally decide to take me up on my offer for a makeover, or is there something else I can help you with? I'll do whatever I can."

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

If Darth Imperia's lair had tickled her to see, the Sith Knight herself brought a wide smile to her face. She'd known the ex-Coruscanti to have a flair for the dramatic, but seeing her drift to the entrance dressed in simply a robe and some fancy jewellery was decidedly amusing. Curious, Aria glanced inwards at the hallways behind the doorframe - equally grand, of course. Evidently Imperia was enjoying her Knighthood. It occurred to her again that she herself had never had a place of her own; at some point, if she chose to do something about that, she'd have to ask for interior furnishing advice. Even funnier.

"Maybe afterwards," Aria grinned. Her, entertaining the idea of a makeover. She'd really come a long way. "Well, we've got plenty to talk about-" goodness, so much had happened since Imperia had brought her apprentice to Aria for some conditioning, "-but actually, I realised the other day that I need a new saber. You know, like a not blue one."

"Can't say I have much to offer in return, of course," she added as an afterthought. "But I'll owe you a favour. I do repay my debts."

[member="Darth Imperia"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

As Imperia listened to Aria speak, her grin grew. A new saber was good, very good; not only did it mean that Aria was shedding the last trace of her time with the Jedi, no, there was an even more important reason for the Knight to be pleased. Aria's saber was absolutely horrid looking. Clunky and bland, not at all suitable for its intended wielder. No, Aria needed something with far more grace and elegance.

"Dear, I'd be thrilled to help you - a saber should be a reflection of its wielder's personality, and an extension of her body." Imperia grasped Aria's hand gently in her own, and then, still speaking, pulled the ex-Jedi inside, should she allow it. "As for payment, you needn't worry about that; I'm helping a friend along her path, and that's all the payment I need. I know you'd come to my aid just as quickly, should I require it." The first half of that statement was true; the second, Imperia wasn't quite so sure, but she sincerely hoped it to be. Although she wouldn't admit it, even to herself, it was entirely possible that Imperia was vastly overestimating Aria's investment in this admittedly strange relationship.

The workshop to which Imperia guided her friend was just as lavish as the rest of the castle, although in a different way; whereas the other chambers might be decorated with lavish tapestries of beautiful sculpture, this particular room was blessed with the best in modern-day crafting equipment. Plasma Lathe, Crystal Forge, crates full of circuitry and various lightsaber suitable materials; if the Forge didn't have it all, it came fething close.

"First, of course, I need to know; have you ever constructed a lightsaber by hand?"

---
[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

The Knight's enthusiasm was uplifting and infectious; Aria's grin only grew wider as Imperia tugged at her to enter the luxurious castle. Silly Jedi. Sith could perfectly well be nice people.

"Course I would," she replied cheerfully, not missing a beat. In part because of Imperia's help in bringing her away from the Jedi and in part because she simply liked the Knight, she was certain that should she need it, Imperia could count on Aria coming to her aid. It was perhaps the strangest allegiance she could bring to mind, but that was fine. Aria was used to strange by now.

"Wow, nice place." Aria wasn't one to fawn, but the impressive size and furnishing of the workshop she was led into definitely merited it. Although she could recall Imperia's sabers to be efficiently and elegantly designed, she wouldn't have guessed that the Knight would equip her workshop so thoroughly. On the other hand, the vast size of the castle did allow for it. Aria wouldn't put it past her to have made the cupboards lavish and well-decorated.

"Um." Aria thought back. It had been ages since she'd made her Jedi blade - before she'd even come to Voss, in fact. "I made my old one by hand, yeah, but I had a lot of help. Still lived with my parents back then - Jedi, obviously." The slight note of dismissal in her tone when she mentioned her parents and their alignment caught even her by surprise.

[member="Darth Imperia"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Aria's dismissive remark may have shocked the girl herself, but Imperia was quite pleased by it - it meant that Aria was beginning to adjust quite well to her new path.[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt][/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]"That's perfectly alright, dear; I did offer to help you, after all." With a warm smile, the Sith guide Aria over to the small, surprisingly unobtrusive workbench pushed against the back wall of the room. "The first thing you need to decide is general style; brutal pragmatism is something of a common style for those who walk the Darker paths, but you seem to me to be the sort of girl who'd want something more...elegant. Refined. Perhaps a one-handed blade, but we’ll see." With a gentle hop, Imperia sat herself atop a clear space on the workbench, kicking her feet in the air a few inches above the ground.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"And of course, you'll need to decide on saber color - I assume red, but it's hardly mandatory." Imperia offered her friend another warm smile, and gestured towards the surplus of supply resting in the room. "Whatever you decide upon, I'm sure there's something here to fit your taste."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]---[/SIZE]

[member="Aria Vale"]