The ramp of the Starshine descended slowly in a fog of depressurization and mechanical venting, Nar Shaddaa greeting the three Jedi. Satele audibly sighed when she reached the bottom and found no welcoming party. [i]Small miracles.[/i] Looking out over Nar Shaddaa from their docking platform was a sad thing. Satele had spent her fair share of time on the moon, and no happiness had ever truly come of it. Not for long, at least. But from this distance...even Nar Shaddaa could twinkle pretty in night. That was the danger was Nar Shaddaa and everyone on it. 

This time, however, it wasn't the only danger. In her head as they walked down steps and towards the entrance of the casino every imaginable danger presented itself as warning. The Sith presence she had felt wasn't even the biggest concern. The criminals of Nar Shaddaa were. Only when the three Jedi came close to the doors did the doors open by themselves, and two guards present themselves. 

"You already checked us for weapons."

Never once did Satele stop moving. The mind trick took advantage of both, their minds fumbling with reactions just in time to step out of Satele's way and allow her entry. The Padawan followed close. The Jedi Knight Balthasar lagged behind a few steps, smiling, hands folded casually behind his back, his dark black hair threatening to become unruly in the vortex of hair where casino interior met docking platform exterior. Inside the carpet beneath her was thick, lush. The aesthetic was classy for a Nar Shaddaa casino, Satele found herself admitting as she began to move through. 

Where docking corridor met descent for casino floor the ceiling opened up into a dome of impressive and ambient lighting, music soothed soft in the background of nearly every moment, and the gentle echo of chatter within the audiciously open space reverberated through Satele's mind for a few moments of silence. Casinos were designed to invoke certain responses, a fact Satele could admire in that moment, even if their ultimate goal left a bitter aftertaste to every pretty thing she saw. Finally she turned and found the Padawan and the tall dark haired Knight. 

"You two go find Roana. I don't know how many are with her."

Dread that casino security would be called into a brawl including Mandalorians and Jedi danced about in the back of her mind as the backs of her Apprentice and the Jedi weapons expert got further and further away in the crowd of the casino. Venturing alone was fun, at least through the corridors of the casino lined with high end shopping. The clothes made her chuckle, and one store nearly made her blush--instead she just walked away wide eyed and blinking. The only real disappointment was that a rare books and antiquities shop was closed and under some sort of remodeling.

The casino's main floor was a matter of a large floor divided into sections by everything from fountains to bars to tables with dancing girls. Lots of dancing girls. Lots of greed, lots of lust. If the Force was truly universal, it was in casinos, in brothels, and in every dark corner of the galaxy and life itself. The thought was little comfort to the Jedi, though there was a surge of amusement as she rounded the corner and found him: Airus. Jedi Knight. 

They had never met, but she knew his mission. She knew he was in the area. And she knew what the Force was telling her. The table the Jedi sat at had only three others present, and all three looked up at the woman that sat down at the table, went back to their cards, before all three slowly crept their eyes back up to the woman that had sat down. "Hey. You're Satele Shan."

"Indeed she is." The robed male with the voice Satele couldn't misplace even if she wanted to sat across the table from both Satele and Airus.

They would've felt the presence as plainly as a person could see a solar eclipse, as opposite as Satele as a person could be. Darth Marr, Jedi Master Shan. Satele would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the excitement of the moment. Or if she didn't enjoy seeing Marr in a setting other than openly trying to kill one another. This was Marr simply not-so-openly trying to end her. Fair enough, Satele thought. 

"Credits to play," the dealer at the table made a valiant effort, but the dealer shrank the moment Marr's masked head turned and focused on the dealer. It was the last time the dealer would speak while in Marr's presence. 

"You're showing off."

"I'm intolerant of nuisances," he said it casually, with a slight sigh.

Satele Shan smiled. "[i]I'm[/i] still here."

"Not for our lack of trying. Who is this?"

"Jedi Knight Airus Vel Aath. Airus, this is Darth Marr," Satele caught the eyes of the dealer, now, and her smile stayed.

Marr regarded the Jedi Knight for a moment. After that moment he moved on back to Shan. "I heard you've been up to things. Did Revanites actually try to recruit you?"

"One of them lunged themselves onto my lightsaber. Elated at dying by my hand."

"They're mad fools, but killing a Sith never seemed to bother you before."

It wasn't that simple, she wanted to say, but she didn't. Not to him. She and Marr always danced, in battle, in a casino chatting--it was always a back and forth, it was always give and take, and it was always a game that was never really any kind of game. "They don't normally commit suicide by my saberstaff. It was grotesque."

Marr chuckled. It was dry, it was just ever-so-superior, and it was very genuine, "They are a collection of grotesqueries. To think, something as silly as a Shan exciting you. Have some dignity."

"Have some professionalism," Satele snorted, playfully, her gaze a heavy if playful thing. Marr and Satele kept speaking, they just did so beyond prying ears, and around them there were many. Many. Half the casino floor was now a spy or opportunistic eavesdropper, starting with the dealer. She was almost certain he was working for someone, and Marr had a similar feeling. 

"Revan?" Marr hooted aloud, breaking the wordless communication. "That is quite the tale. Do I believe it?" 

His masked eyes stared at her, as if he were trying to make a decision on trust. There was no decision. Not right here, not right now. His chuckle returned, though deeper than before, more animated. Less genuine. Satele smiled big and shrugged small. "What if it's true? What's that say about your people? What's that say about you if you don't know?" Her body rearranged weight, from leaning back into the chair to scooting forward in the seat and leaning forward.

She smelled like wild flowers and sun.

"You don't know him."

Marr stood. Satele swore she could [i]feel[/i] him smile, or smirk, or grin. But there was nothing; just the mask. "We will talk again, Satele Shan."

Satele was raw. Marr was too, hard as he pretended not to be. Satele's expression when she looked at Airus after the Sith walked away was anything but happy. The exchanged lasted maybe five minutes, but the conversation that happened outside of words went much faster, and far deeper. She was eager to move. She trusted Balthasar and Brye. She even kind of trusted Grim; but Roana was a wildcard. Mandalorians were wildcards, and Satele was feeling all out of Aces.