"It is true," said the short adjutant, whose name was Lar'nix'va. "These
are rank beginners and have never fought Hard Meat before. It is not fitting
that a few feints be made by the Blooded-especially when the Blooded is said
to have fought the Hard Meat bare-fisted."
"And torn off its head!" spat Nat'ka'pu proudly. "Very well. But mark my
methods, for I will leave the final killing to you, my students."
That said, the Leader turned and walked jauntily. He'd weaken the thing so
that his charges could dispatch it easily.

Seated in front of the sensor array on Ne’dtesei, Yeyinde watched the alien ship dwindle in their wake. He was Leader; his very name meant “brave one” but he knew the warriors called him “Dachande” when they thought his ears too dull to hear them. That name meant “different knife,” and it referred to his left lower tusk, broken in a bare-handed fight against the Hard Meat, the kainde amedha, they of the black armored exoskeletons and acid blood. He smiled inwardly at the name. It could be considered an insult, but he was proud of it.

Gkyaun howled the war cry and jumped. He landed amid the
hissing drones and moved among them like the setg-in, deadly and
quick. So easy! He spun and slashed, burned and cut at the same
time. Two bugs fell with one slice of his spear.
A drone from behind lost its head; he gutted yet another.
He was Paya, the conquering warrior! Thwei ran at his feet, the
Hard Meat shrank in terror! More came at him, a relentless flow of fury and sound. He pivoted,
Hunted, his every movement was an arc of doom and pain.
Noguchi gulped air and pushed herself backward, toward the top of
the shield wall. The warrior was a dervish of wild energy and
prowess-the nightmare creatures fell all around him.
But more monsters flooded toward him. And despite the fighter's
speed and strength, he fought poorly; he hadn't allowed for no
outcome other than victory. It was as if he were a karateka who had
mastered kata, but had never faced an opponent in actual combat.

Dachande heard the Hard Meat and spun around. He sprinted past
the two ooman strangers toward the threat, staff forward.
They came in a single-file stream, flowed from around a structure,
ten, maybe twelve. Dachande leaped to greet them.
Two arrived first, angled in from the sides. Dachande spun, swung
completely around, cut them both through their midsections in one
strike. He didn't watch them hit the ground; there was no need-they
were dead and all he need do was avoid the throes.
He extended his kicti-pa and slashed through the throat of the next
drone nearest, to his right. The drone's death cry was garbled through its own thwei.
A split second later, he jabbed the staff point through the jaws of
another, twisted the sharp blade and dug a hole through the top of
the skull. The weapon's metal was proof against the Hard Meat's
thwei, but there was no time to hesitate and enjoy the kill-when you
fight the ten thousand, you do so one at a time, but you also have to
do so quickly He thrust the spear's butt back, hard, and knocked one behind him
down, then turned and slashed its gut. Digest this, foolish creature!
The kicti-pa blurred again, jammed backhand into yet another Hard
Meat chest. The drone howled, fell, did not die but did not rise again.
Acid pumped into the dark air, pooled, smoking. Dachande jumped forward, stabbed the throat of yet another, and
then spun to meet the next. Death fell all around his feet as he and the Hard Meat danced.
. . .
[from the human protagonist's perspective]
Several of the bugs streamed from behind the shed and toward
Broken Tusk. He stepped in to battle without hesitation. Too many of
them, ten, twelve. She aimed at one of the bugs - and it was dead before she fired. She took aim again-and again,
her target had fallen already. She took a step back, transfixed by the swift movements of the
giant warrior. Here was no inexperienced novice; every step was measured,
every strike timed and sure. Within the space of a few seconds, most
of the bugs were down, dead or dying. She had enough training to
recognize a Master when she saw one. This one's skill had been
gained in battle, against deadly enemies. Broken Tusk whirled and jabbed, crouched and slashed with
precision and confidence. Never a misstep, never a hesitation. He was no dojo tiger, covered in padding and
fighting for points. Wherever he had come from, they had a martial arts more complex and dangerous than any
she'd ever seen. It was like a choreographed dance.

A growling sound and then it had happened – so fast that even though Horia thought he had been firing as soon as Peake had turned, caution be damned, he must have been slower than that.
The creature [Predator] took a white metal ring from a waist loop, tossed it over Peake’s neck – almost contemptuously Horia thought – and disappeared.
A split second later, Peake turned into a perfect white skeleton. One moment he was there pissing his pants and struggling with the collar and the next he was just an upright skeleton, bones fused together, all of his flesh and blood just sloshing into the grass, foaming over the dirt.

Then suddenly the spaceship door opened . . .
The Predator shot out from the open door atop a grey hovering surface that looked like a sled . . . With the Predator came light, an event horizon of light, radiating swiftly from the groove around the side of the spaceship. A circle of light golden and light green, mixing and hissing. Streaming out on all sides, traveling a few inches off the ground. It kept coming and coming, the Predator riding over it like a surfer . . .
Not a defensive weapon, an offensive weapon.
Gustat heard a cry . . . and another sound above the hum of the deadly light, the sound of trees and bushes splintering, vaporizing, and crumbling, and then he was looking both at the edge of the light coming at him, like a phosphorescent horizontal buzz saw, and the flat surface of that light, striations like rings in a redwood . . .
Wearily Gustat climbed out of the mud to a scene of utter devastation. The light radiating from the spacecraft had singed, burned, or just pulverized anything three inches above the ground . . .
For all Gustat knew, the entire island had just been destroyed except for the spaceship and the area immediately around it.

Vanguard
Description
A clan's most seasoned close combat veterans become Vanguards. The Vanguard has both the honor and the responsibility of leading the clans melee assaults. Unlike other melee Predators, the Vanguard is well armored and carries an advanced weapon of awesome potency: the plasma scythe. The scythe's energy blade cannot be stopped by normal matter - a crucial attribute - given that the Vanguard is honor bound to directly engage the clan's most dangerous enemies.
Default Weapon - Plasma Scythe
According to Predator law, this eminently dangerous weapon can only be wielded by those who have earned the right to bear it. When it strikes, its blade leaves wounds filled with seething dark plasma. Dark plasma triggers a controlled energy reaction that causes damage in proportion to the mass of the target, enabling the weapon to kill any enemy, regardless of its power, with no more than four hits.
Upgrade - Killscreen Generator
Given its duty to lead the charge against even technically advanced enemies, the Vanguard requires a defensive system to protect against enemy fire. That system is the killscreen generator. This projection spines on this weapon emit unstable streams of dark plasma particles that vaporize incoming enemy projectiles. The killscreen can only vaporize so much mass per unit time, however, enabling enemies to overwhelm the system with large numbers of projectiles.

The Vanguard is best used to attack large or heavily armored targets like purebreed Aliens. Regardless of strength, no enemy can withstand four closely timed plasma scythe strikes. Hence, four Vanguards make for a particularly lethal heavy assault force, since they can kill any single enemy almost instantly. When upgraded, the Vanguard additionally becomes an excellent defensive choice, shielding other Predators from enemy fire and even leaping Facehuggers.

Hydra
Description
The Hydra is a military-grade heavy assault Predator, designed to wade into fierce engagements and methodically crush enemy resistance. Because its guided electroshock missiles are particularly damaging to enemies with advanced sensors, the Hydra is an excellent shock trooper, in that it excels at killing enemies that counteract Predator cloaking.
Default Weapon - Electroshock Missile Battery
The Hydra's weapon is its back-mounted personal missile battery, which rapidly fires guided electroshock missiles at enemies within a 360 degree arc. These missiles unerringly seek their target before delivering an armor-penetrating electroshock plasma warhead. This warhead jolts the sensory systems of whatever target it hits, causing extra damage to non-Predator enemies with particularly advanced detection capabilities.
Characteristics - Hydra Shock Barrage
If a Hydra is engaging more than a handful of enemies, it may determine that it is necessary to unleash a full-scale missile barrage. When this happens, the Hydra fires a missile at every target within its visual range, frequently resulting in a truly overwhelming storm of projectiles. Given the energy requirements it places on the Hydra's systems, this maneuver can only be performed periodically, and even then, only when the Hydra is not cloaked.
Characteristics - Tactical Supremacy Armor
Like all military-grade Predators, the Hydra wears tactical supremacy armor. This widely feared protective suit provides its wearer with substantial defenses against kinetic, fire, and acid damage. Its exceptional hardness also deflects outright any projectiles not specifically designed to penetrate armor. Consequently, enemies must make a concentrated effort to defeat any Predators possessing this defensive system.
Upgrade - Warhead Swarm
When upgraded, the Hydra fires electroshock missiles with multiple warheads. When a missile nears its target, it checks to see whether other enemies are within range of its warheads. If so, the missile splits into as many as three separate sub-missiles, each capable of independently striking a different target. This upgrade can cause a Hydra shock barrage to release a mind-boggling number of independent warheads.

The Hydra is a dangerous combatant in most circumstances, though it excels at attacking groups of tough enemies from range. Its tactical supremacy armor gives it excellent staying power when outnumbered, and its shock barrage naturally inflicts tremendous amounts of damage in these situations. The Hydra is also an excellent shock trooper, using its electroshock missiles to destroy cloak detectors and thereby enable other Predators to engage in a sustained, invisible assault.

Blazer
Description
The Blazer is a military-grade heavy support trooper capable of rapidly turning its surroundings into a raging firestorm. Its arcing inferno beam ignites most enemies it touches, causing severe fire damage. No other known personal-scale weapon system has the ability to achieve the overall damage output of which the Blazer is capable.
Default Weapon - Blazer
The blazer is a shoulder-mounted energy projector that fires a sweeping inferno beam. Hotter than many stars at its core, an inferno beam works by instantly heating objects it touches to the point of spontaneous combustion. Given this ability, the weapon is designed to hit as many enemies as possible by sweeping in large arcs across its primary target. Since it does not need to be aimed with much precision, the Blazer can continue to fire even while on the move.
Characteristics - Tactical Supremacy Armor
Like all military-grade Predators, the Blazer wears tactical supremacy armor. This widely feared protective suit provides its wearer with substantial defenses against kinetic, fire, and acid damage. Its exceptional hardness also deflects outright any projectiles not specifically designed to penetrate armor. Consequently, enemies must make a concentrated effort to defeat any Predators possessing this defensive system.
Upgrade - Dual Blazers
When upgraded, the Blazer Predator mounts a set of two linked blazers, one on each shoulder. The dual blazers coordinate their fire in order to maximize the damage they inflict, by keeping as many enemies on fire as possible. With this upgrade, a single Blazer Predator can set an entire enemy platoon on fire in seconds.

The Blazer excels at spreading large quantities of damage across multiple targets. This works particularly well against ranged enemies, since they often arrange themselves in ways that are easy for the Blazer to strafe. The Blazer's ability to fire on the move is critical for attacking melee enemies, since it enables the Predator to run from them while continuing its strafing. Finally, tactical supremacy armor ensures that killing even a single Blazer requires sustained, coordinated effort.

Spear Master
Description
Among Predators, the Spear Master is recognized for its superior combat agility, mental focus, and dedication to craft. A Spear Master is one with its weapon, wielding it with a sublime grace seemingly impossible in the imperfect world of practical reality. It can keep a single enemy at bay indefinitely, send a horde of attackers hurling backwards with a single blow, or assassinate prey by surprise with a single, perfectly placed impalement attack.
Default Weapon - Spear (Combistick)
The Spear Master wields a single weapon - its spear. It is exceedingly sharp and resilient, though it does not have the armor-cleaving abilities of a wrist blade. The spear's advantage is that it can parry melee attacks, smacking aside claw and tooth as if they were hardly relevant. This only works on less skilled or smaller opponents, however - a sweeping Ravager hull blade simply cannot be stopped by a creature as small as a Predator no matter how skilled it might be.
Characteristics - Whirlwind Battle Method
When a Spear Master is surrounded by attackers, it executes its whirlwind battle method. This sweeping, spinning attack lands a blow on each enemy around the Spear Master - a blow of sufficient strength to parry most attacks and send smaller targets flying. However, it requires a fair amount of room to execute without causing collateral damage, so the Spear Master refrains from performing it when too close to more than a handful of allies.
Characteristics - Impalement Battle Method
If the Spear Master attacks an enemy while undetected through cloaking, it is able to deliver a critical strike of unmatched strength. The Spear Master relies on its extensive training to deliver a deep, impaling blow in a way that sidesteps its opponent's armor entirely. Whether through an eye slit or a soft juncture between chitinous plates, this blow often kills its opponent outright.
Characteristics - Phoenix Armor
As a rite of passage, every aspiring Spear Master must kill a Vy'drach (Phoenix) with only a spear. This winged beast lives in the infernal deserts of the Predator homeworld, surviving hear and radiation strong enough to bake most life forms. If the Predator kills the Vy'drach, its hide is fashioned into armor its nemesis wears for life. Like the Vy'drach itself, this armor is uniquely resilient to fire, energy, and radiation.
Characteristics - Conductive Recharge
A special armor-working process applied to the conductive vessels in Vy'drach scales enables the Spear Master to recharge its energy supply when struck by fire or energy-based attacks.
Characteristics - Lightning Reflexes
The Spear Master is quick enough to strike leaping Facehuggers mid-flight. This knocks the Facehugger away and often kills it in the process. While a Spear Master's reflexes are quick enough to protect it from any number of uncoordinated Facehugger attacks, they cannot protect the Spear Master from being overwhelmed by multiple Facehuggers attacking simultaneously.
Upgrade - Plasma Glaive
Veteran Spear Masters acquire the deadly plasma glaive as a symbol of their status. This double-bladed weapon seethes with white hot plasma that burns through enemy armor, giving it greater penetrating power than a standard spear. The plasma glaive automatically increases its power output in proportion to the number of enemies it is striking. During the execution of a whirlwind battle method, this power output calibration can add significantly to the overall damage inflicted.

Disc Master
Description
Predators gifted with exceptional intelligence and focus become Disc Masters, warriors that mentally command their discs to strike multiple targets simultaneously. When basking in the full glory of battle, a single Disc Master routinely keeps three discs aloft at once, each of which can attack three targets before returning home. While other Predators are attacking a single target, the Disc Master is attacking nine, a feat that does not go unnoticed by its fellow clan members.
Default Weapon - Disc
The Predator disc is dangerous because of its capabilities against large numbers of enemies. It has a razor sharp edge, unerring mental guidance systems, and the ability to continue flight after its initial impact. Because of these attributes, a competent Disc Master can be expected to quickly damage many targets, no matter how agile they might be. Moreover, the disc is initially thrown with sufficient force to drive back those opponents without substantial armor or large size.
Upgrade - Nanovibronic Edge
When upgraded, the Disc Master gains a set of nine nanovibronic discs. These discs possess a high-speed molecular chainsaw around their circumference that can tear through even hardened composite armors. Worse, each Disc Master is trained in the art of Ka'Ri, or "death from within". This involves embedding three nanovibronic discs in an armored opponent and activating each disc's "haywire mode". Needless to say, few enemies fare well with berserk ripping machines embedded in their internals.