"Slave?" Kezal whispered that word to himself. That word tasted bitter in his mouth and the act of simply saying it made him feel uncomfortable. One of the core tenets of Sera'Shuun culture was that everyone, regardless of rank or position, was created equal and thus deserved equal rights. Slavery was thus quite an alien concept to the Kezal. While he had read about the ancient tribes practicing it, it had been centuries since the Sera'Shuun officially outlawed slavery and made it an offense punishable by dishonouring. Still, he supposed that it made sense for the lady to be a slave. That would explain her lack of name or improper syntax; not many slaves were expected to be spoken to or speak.

The fact that she knew the Sera'Shuun language, however, troubled Kezal. It was possible that her previous master was a Sera'Shuun, but then that would mean that he had managed to actually procure a slave without being caught. That was no easy feat, considering the Sera'Shuun enforced strict military patrols throughout its borders. Then again, it was highly possible her master lived outside of civilized space, in one of the plentiful lawless systems.

Kezal shook his head slightly. That was not his concern. At least not currently. Firstly, he had a hostage situation to defuse and the lady had generously offered her help. "I'm not your..." He paused, hesitating to spit that one word out. "Master, and neither is anyone on this station. I am Sera'Shuun. Honour and personal morals prevent me from taking a slave." He said and looked over his shoulder at her. "I promise you that I will spare no effort to find out who did this to you, but first we have a hostage situation to defuse." He cocked his head slightly to the left and extended a hand. He had seen her awkward and slow movements when she first stood up. "That is, if you are still up for it."

---

"Are you sure it's this way?" Arikaz asked, her voice laced with irritation and frustration. Her dark grey armour was much like Kezals, only it was a lot more form-fitting and lightweight; perfect for the clandestine missions she had to perform during her service. She followed close behind her partner - a human male easily a head shorter than her - as they rushed down a dimly-lit corridor. "Marcel Tabatier!" She said sharply when her partner failed to respond to her initial question. When he did not reply again, Arikaz decided to just give up and hope that he knew where they were going. Hostage situations were supposed to be solved quickly, but unfortunately, they had taken an unplanned break when Marcel decided that a shelf of botany equipment in disarray needed to be arranged properly.

She sighed. At least it was better than the alternative. She could be working with Kezal. The Enforcer and Intelligence Corps never seemed to get along and that rivalry had been carried over from their time in service.

They turned a corner and skidded to a halt as they unexpectedly came face to face with the hostage taker and his victim. "Put the damn axe down before you do something stupid!" Marcel shouted, drawing his custom-built and imported electroshock pistol. 

"Just give him a shock and get this over with," Arikaz snapped. "We have better-"

"Ignore my partner, she's always a grouch." Marcel said to the hostage taker and flashed Arikaz a sideways grin. "Just put the axe down, let the man go and come quietly with us. No one needs to get hurt."