Ben Solo

It wasn't the first time that Maz had sent him on an artifact collection job, but this one was considerably more complicated, as the artifact in question was a grimoire that had been split into multiple pieces, which meant that it was going to be a more long-term job, and that he was going to be able to use his manuscript restoration skills and his art history degree, neither of which had seen much use as of late.

It also meant he was going to have to find a place to stay for at least the next six months, in a city he'd only visited on overnight or weekend trips before. Which wasn't a serious problem, he knew how to look for someone wanting a temporary roommate, and he could stay in a hostel for the first few days, even a week or so, but the longer he didn't have a stable base of operations, the longer the job was going to take and the greater the chance he had of getting caught. Not that the Knights were anywhere nearby, last he heard they were still looking for him in Argentina, which was, not entirely coincidentally, where they'd last seen him, though even he knew they would get wind of him again before long.

He'd lucked out in finding an ad for a room to let in the right area, still recent enough that it had only taken a brief email exchange to set up an interview with the owner the day after he arrived, so that he wouldn't be jetlagged as all hell and could actually believably pass as a normal human being. He didn't dress up, but was definitely putting on his best threads and his best behavior, scuffed gunmetal gray Doc Martens, well-worn dark jeans, a plain t-shirt instead of one of the many he had with sarcastic statements on them, as well as a dark blue gingham-check button down over it, unbuttoned and with the sleeves rolled partway up, resting at the middle of his forearms. It was enough to cover the tattoos, as he knew even the simple ones had a tendency to put some people off. His hair was tied back at his nape in a low tail, aside from the lock that always escaped at the front no matter what he did with it, and he hesitated only briefly, double-checking the address and the time before heading up the front step to knock twice.

Ben didn't particularly like this idea, mostly because it meant that he was going to leave the safety of Luke and the academy, but also because it was -as far as he was concerned- a stupid way to ensure peace between the New Republic and the First Order.

He was also expecting that the Order would offer some simpering Omega princess from one of the Rim worlds they controlled, probably one who was all for this union. Both sides had already promised to offer their best. Ben understood, of course, why that was him. The General's only son, the last son of fallen Alderaan, and a fledgling Jedi to boot, he was definitely one of their best allies, though he'd never considered himself fully on board with the New Republic as it was.

It had been decided to let the pair speak to each other via holo first, to make sure there were no obvious personality clashes and in an attempt to suss out any potential sabotage on the other's side, and Ben's traditional Jedi tunic had been traded out for black and gray, something more somber and less recognizable, no sense giving himself away just yet since his location was going to be masked for the call anyway. Luke knocked on his door frame, looking as tired as he looked concerned, asking: "Ready for this?" Ben, who was just finishing weaving the silver thread and irregular red seed beads through the ceremonial trio of braids across his crown just shook his head, "Not really. But we might as well get it over with."

He wound the last tail end of the thread around his fingers, looping it over the end of the center braid and straightening in his seat. Luke, he knew, would be out of range of the holocam, but on hand if needed. Ben didn't smile, but he did, at least, try to school his expression into something less sullen.