An Avian's Past #7

        Sledge took a step forwards, hammer in hand, but stopped when the monster shifted Cobalt in its grip to hold the claw a millimeter closer to the avian's undefended throat. Even an involuntary twitch could end his life at that distance.
        “Does it know our language?” Emjay wondered aloud.
        Mute set down the grenade launcher and pushed past Sledge, who took a step backward in surprise. The monster did likewise, shying away from the approaching soldier, but didn't slit Cobalt's throat. The team behind Mute stood in silent tension, every muscle ready to move.
        To everyone's consternation, Mute gave a small wave to the creature in a friendly gesture, then beckoned for the monster to come closer.
        Of course! Sledge thought. If anyone is going to be able to communicate without spoken language, it's going to be Mute!
        The monster sidled closer, turning to present a smaller target and keeping Cobalt in front of it. It was curious. Mute slowly put a hand forwards and placed two gloved fingers on Cobalt's exposed abdomen, feeling for a pulse, then nodded and took his hand away.
        The creature tilted its head. Nothing had come forwards with no weapon, and so calmly, too. This new figure didn't speak either, and wore a black hood and helmet instead of a white mask like the first ones.
        Mute made a sign with his hand that none of the humans present understood, but the monster clearly did, as its reaction was one of surprise. A key component of sign language—the face and its expression—was hidden, but it didn't seem to matter.
        Mute made another sign, and the beast nodded, drawing backwards again. Seeing that the monster understood what he was saying, Mute launched into a series of signs, often using his arms as well, that melted into one another so fluidly it seemed the silent soldier had been speaking it his whole life.
        “What the hell?” Sledge whispered.
        The monster dropped Cobalt, but quickly placed a bladed foot on his neck to continue the pressure. It quickly became apparent that the creature wanted to use both arms and hands for signing when it said something in silence.
        Mute said something else, and the monster seemed to consider it for a moment, then reached forwards. The human and monster shook hands, and the creature stepped back from the prone avian. Emjay aimed her rifle, but Mute stepped into her line of fire, blocking the monster from being shot.
        “Did they just make a deal?!” Peach asked, thoroughly baffled.
        Mute took off his helmet and handed it over to the creature, who fumbled with the straps for a moment, then slipped it on and buckled the strap under its chin. The talons were withdrawn from Cobalt's neck, and Mute stepped forwards.
        Mute threw Cobalt over his shoulder and trudged back to the speechless group. Sledge took the limp avian from him, and Mute retrieved his RPG. He continued his retreat, walking away down the hall as the monster watched them silently from behind. The rest of the humanoids followed in various feelings of surprise and confusion.
        “What happened? Did you eliminate the threat? I still see eight life forms on my monitor.”
        “I think Mute just made a deal with the monster. He just traded his helmet for the avian.” Cherry said.
        Mute gave her an upturned thumb.
        “Make that a certainty. Apparently the creature knew some form of sign language, which Mute knew as well.” Cherry confirmed.
        “So it's intelligent?” Dasker asked.
        “Extremely.”
        “Let's hope there aren't any more of them. The second squad is bound in two hours, then we can hunt the thing down and retrieve the station. The Apex can't be very happy their space station had been massacred.” Dasker said.
        For an absurd moment, Crystal wanted to reply “No, don't do it!” because of the surprising degree of humanity that the creature had displayed. It could take a hostage, use sign language, and could even make a deal, which was a big part of any humanoid life.
        But the thing had slaughtered the entire population of a space station, apparently, and had even tried to kill her multiple times. Her sympathy was quickly battered away under layers of fear and anger.
        “Right. How are we going to do it? With grenade launchers?” Crystal asked.
        “Bullets didn't work, so I'd say either fire or explosives is our best bet.”
        “Electricity might work, too.” Emjay said.
        “Let's get to the teleporter. We can ruminate this later, when we're sure the monster doesn't know we still mean to kill it.” Sledge said, pulling ahead of Mute.
        They reached the lobby without incident, and teleported out a moment later.
        They all landed in the Umbra, and Cherry and Peach immediately carried Cobalt away with Crystal in tow. The three with medical knowledge would be able to handle it, Sledge knew. Mute sat down on a bench near a table and took off his vest, looking tired.
        “What did you tell it?” Sledge asked, curious.
        Mute produced a pen from his vest and a pad of paper from the desk, then wrote in neat, clear capital letters: “I DIDN'T TELL IT ANYTHING.”
        “Oh, because of the hostage situation. Why'd it want the helmet?” Sledge asked.
        “ITS EYES WERE THE ONLY VULNERABLE PLACE ON ITS ENTIRE BODY.”
        Sledge's mouth fell open, “And now it has a goddamn quarter inch of bulletproof Plexiglas in front of them, along with a gas mask to filter out any airborne toxins. Shit.” he dropped his hammer with a heavy thud on the metal floor.