Private Home Invasion: An Unexpected Visitor

[Dax Krueger]

The Vulptex

Dax was enjoying himself. Walking past a set of old Jedi Temple Guard robes on a mannequin. One of the many trophies he had acquired over his career as a thief. Though this wasn’t the story of a heist. At least not one of Dax’s heists.
Instead, Dax was in a bath robe, dancing along to the music he had playing in his apartment as he cooked dinner. Swaying his hips to the music as he took a sip from a beer bottle before placing the bottle down and continuing to finely slice the ingredients for his dinner omelette. Which granted, was a weird choice, but while it was technically the evening, he had just gotten back from an off world business trip, so his body clock was thrown out of whack. So while it was later in the night, it was effectively morning for Dax.

 

[The Vulptex]

Unbeknownst to the theif, another was nearby. Opening a locked door unnoticed was practically childsplay to the Vulptex. But they weren't here just to steal from Dax. In fact, they were here on a mission. A recruiting mission.

Slipping into the apartment, suddenly the lights, and everything else, cut to the apartment. The sound of muted footsteps rang into the room, allowing the theif of thieves to approach Dax quietly. They just wanted to talk, but on their terms...

 

[Dax Krueger]

If Dax was anyone else, the intrusion would have gone unnoticed. The sound of the music easily covering any sound the intruder would make. However, when your apartment had more art pieces and items of cultural significance than some museums, you tended to remain on alert. With senses, finally tuned to the Force, he felt the intrusion into his domain. Not that he particularly cared. Law enforcement wasn’t this subtle, and he didn’t really care if someone was stealing from him. If he really wanted whatever was stolen from him, he would just steal it back.
Dax didn’t steal for the credits, he did it for the thrill.

His eyes didn’t move from their task. Still finely dicing vegetables. “You looking for anything in particular?” He called to the intruder in the other room.

The Vulptex

 

[The Vulptex]

"You." A modulated voice came out of the masked figure. IT sounded male, but it could be female. Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't the original users. "I have a proposition."

 

[Dax Krueger]

Dax slid the chopped ingredients into a bowl. “Is it going to interrupt my breakfast?” He said as he cracked an egg into the bowl.

 

[The Vulptex]

"Only if you say no." They said, casually sitting down. "You're a thief. I steal from thieves. Simple as that. But you're different. All this wealth, and yet you don't spend any of it." They made a gesture to everything in the room. "You steal for the thrill, and yet you don't do anything with it. It's wasteful. Temple Guard Robes? Art pieces? The world should be able to see those things. But steal from The Family, from the Hutts? That's a heist. That's a challenge. You know?"

 

[Dax Krueger]

Dax did like a spectacle. Though he didn’t like the implication that just because he kept the things hidden away in his apartment, they were going to waste. There was an argument to make, that by taking these ones off the market, he made the others more scarce, and as such, more valuable.

Stealing from criminals felt cheap. The Hutts were largely unorganised now. With most crime families too busy fighting each other and watching out for law enforcement that you could walk away with large sums of credits for relatively low effort. Sure the crime syndicates had some big ticket items, but they tended to react poorly, and Dax would rather not find himself in a dead in a ditch somewhere.

He cracked a second egg into the bowl and began whisking. “I do know that those who break the law for a living are a lot more likely to kill over stolen goods.” He said as he whisked his breakfast. A cast iron skillet floated over and seated itself on the stovetop. “And I prefer not being dead, a lot more than whatever thrill you think I get from stealing.”

 

[The Vulptex]

"And you think the jedi aren't? If you were worried about dying, you wouldn't be doing this in the first place. You wouldn't have temple guard robes in your front office. You want this for the adrenaline just as much as I do. So here's my offer. Join my little gang. If we work together, we can make the world a better place by undercutting the folks who make it a worse one. Unless you don't want your name attached to the biggest scores of the century."

 

[Dax Krueger]

“I didn’t steal those robes.” It was the truth. The Jedi Robes were probably the only thing in his apartment he didn’t steal. The pair of traditional Wookie Ryyk blades mounted on the wall? Stolen. The Kalikori sitting on the coffee table? Stolen. Hell, even the coffee table itself was stolen from a Senator’s apartment not too long ago.
The robes however, were the last remnants of his time actually working for the Jedi Order. A time in his life he put behind him.

He turned on the stovetop to allow the skillet to heat up. “You talk a big game.” Dax poured a dash of oil into the pan. The oil hissed as it contacted the hot metal. “Every thief, ever has claimed to have a plan for the biggest score in the galaxy.” He swirled the pan, allowing the oil to coat the surface.

Truth be told, he was a little offended. This person had come into his home, and assumed they knew everything about him. Admittedly, he wouldn’t say no to a good plan, but he was standing in his kitchen in his bath robe, while this intruder wouldn’t even show their face. Besides, having your name attached to a score meant you got caught. A fate Dax was desperately seeking to avoid.

 

[The Vulptex]

“Every thief, ever has claimed to have a plan for the biggest score in the galaxy.”

"Of course they have." The masked figure couldn't help but smirk under the mask. "But that's the beauty of what I'm pitching. We made the galaxy a better place, and we keep all the reward for it. And if the GA wants to arrest us, I just tell them who my boss is."

 

[Dax Krueger]

Dax poured the egg mixture into the now hot pan. Cooking his breakfast. Truth be told, Dax couldn’t care less about making the galaxy a better place. People have been trying for thousands of years, and yet, crime continued to happen. Evil continued to sprout. So what did it matter?

As he cooked, “So, I’m not one to blindly follow.” He figured they new that already, but it was worth saying. “What’s the pitch?”

 

[The Vulptex]

The thief's casual demeanor fell, a frown forming under the mask. Reading body language said a lot about a person.

"Nevermind." The thief stood. "This isn't going to work out. I had made the assumption that, deep down, you were a good person. I was wrong..."

The thief went towards the balcony, not saying a word as their scarf wiped in the wind as the door opened.

 

[Dax Krueger]

Was Dax a good person? That was a question that kept him up at night. Truth be told, there’s only so many times you can try and do the right thing. A limit to how many times you can try and help someone only for it to amount to nothing.

The door slammed shut with a flick of Dax’s wrist. He was acutely aware there wasn’t anything he could say that would make this masked individual think he was a good person. He didn’t even think he was a good person. At the very least, a neutral person with copious amounts of self loathing. “Look, whoever you are,” He moved the now cooked omelette to a plate. “I’ve been accommodating to you, arriving unannounced in my home.” If word got out he let something like this go unanswered, he would be in real trouble. “You understand I have a reputation to uphold.” He held his arms out to his side. “So if I’m really a bad guy, you’ll have no qualms shooting me.”

 

[The Vulptex]

"If you really cared about your rep, you'd have taken me up on my offer right away. I'm not interested in being a murderer." The figure said, looking Dax Krueger dead in the eye. "And you couldn't stop me if you tried. Next time you see me, I'll either be on the holonet as a headline or never at all. Have a good life Dax. Hope you finally find that score that makes you proud of yourself enough to stop looking out for only yourself."

And with that, she leapt off the balcony, her scarf whistling in the wind as she fell.