Leader (Yautja Rank)

Rank	Blooded (Elite)
Superior To:	Un-blooded Young Blood Blooded/Adjutant
Subordinate To:	Clan Leader[citation needed]
Next Rank:	Clan Leader(Presumably)

"Hunt well, be brave, always respect your Leader..."

― Dachande's dying sentiments to Machiko Noguchi, his best student.

In Yautja society, a Leader, also known as a Commander, Hunting Captain^{[citation needed]} or Pack Leader, is a seasoned Blooded warrior tasked with leading packs of Un-blooded and Young Blood hunters down the path of the warrior. Sometimes, even Blooded Predators of sufficiently high rank and status will train newly blooded Yautja in a particular area of the hunt, be it methods or weapons. They are accompanied by Adjutants.

Though similarly titled, they are not to be confused with Clan Leaders, a superior rank. However, there is some suggestion that these ranks could be interchangeable. They appear to be a specialized sub-type of Elite hunters, as a Leader could be raised to higher levels, such as a "leader of leaders".

Overview

Dachande's mark, a lightning bolt

Once a hunter has reached a certain level of prestige and skill, he is eligible to take up duties as a leader of younger, inexperienced, unskilled hunters. Leaders are first Adjutants, or second-in-commands, who are chosen from and learn at the feet of an existing Leader.^{[citation needed]} A Leader is charged with teaching large groups of students the basics of hunting and fighting. To this end, Un-blooded are meant to spar against one another and practice with weapons. Occasionally, this sparring can be lethal for the students.

It is in a teacher's best interest to properly train his charges, as their prowess and skill reflects back on himself. Yautja teachers run the gamut from hard-but-fair to using threats and humiliation to whip their charges into shape. According to Dachande, a leader can became a "Leader of Leaders" and this was something both he and his brother Nei'hman-de had aspirations for since they were pups. Particularly good leaders who come under the scrutiny of the clan's Elders could be raised to the rank of Clan Leader.

Vk'leita's mark.

Leaders may or may not be Clan Leaders; some take orders from higher sources and it has been known for leaders to outrank to other leaders. For example, V'kleita was dispatched to learn the fate of his fellow leader Dachande by more superior predators. This could be because he did not also jointly hold the title of Clan Leader in addition to his Leader title. Meanwhile, Dachande did not appear to have any superiors to answer to.

Leaders are known to be very popular with females; Dachande sired over 73 offspring before his death and Nat'ka'pu was said to have a harem of wives waiting for him after every hunt. One of Lar'nix'va's main interests in being a Leader was siring many pups, something his short stature was impeding his success with. Leaders are also expected to be obeyed and respected, even if disobedience produces better results. However, given how tiresome young males are to train and how inevitable it is that they snap and challenge at the slightest provocation, most teachers will overlook insubordination a certain degree.^{[citation needed]}

Leader Xenomorph chest peices.

Leader are physically distinct from other Yautja castes. All of them have a chest-peice on their breast plates that resembles a warrior Xenomorph. These Xenomorph heads will often carry the mark of the particular Yautja teacher on it's cranium. They can be dislodged from the armor. It is unclear if these are real Xenomorph heads, or some kind of decorative piece.

If a Leader dies in his duties, the title and responsibilities will fall to one of his Adjutants. One of those responsibilities is the blooding of all students who complete the Blooding ritual.

Teachings

Dachande training his students.

According to Dachande, many leaders focus on the importance of hunting with the assistance of a Cloak and proficiency with a Burner. However, others emphasize things such as the natural prowess a hunter has from using his body's natural weapons alone. A Leader may have a Queen Alien captive on his ship with the purpose of seeding a world so that his students may hunt her offspring. A Leader is measured by how many of his students are still alive and hunting; Dachande was said to have trained hundreds of young males and only lost a few dozen, most of whom died due to disobedience.

Dealing with overconfident, bloodthirsty males dumb enough to challenge a vastly superior Blooded warrior is par for the course for Leaders. Even so, Leader tolerance varies. Some use violence or threats and humiliation to maintain control on aggressive young males. Others will even go so far as to kill their students if they cross a line too far. Sometimes, it isn't about disrespect. If a Unblooded challenges his leader and loses, the Leader is within his right to slay the student. This is not an unreasonable outcome in the eyes of the Yautja.

Queen Hunting

When a Queen is needed in order to seed hunts in the future, a Leader will select among the strongest and most skilled of his Un-Blooded warriors to participate in a high-dangerous Queen Hunt. This is said to be a great honor, even to be placed at the bottom of that particular hunting pack.

Known Leaders

• Dachande (Deceased)
• Tichinde (Unofficially, deceased)
• Stone Heart (Formerly, deceased)
• Vk'leita
• A'ni-de
• Top-Knot
• Light-Stepper
• Nat'ka'pu (Deceased)
• Lar'nix'va (Deceased)
• Bakuub
• Hunter Captain
• Celtic (Unofficially, deceased)
• Tli'uukop
• Berserker (Deceased)

Trivia

• Dachande's mark is a lightning bolt, similar to clan who hunted in Antarctica in 2004. However, while their mark holds possible religious significance, Dachande's may not be so.

Appearances

• Aliens vs. Predator: Prey
• Aliens vs. Predator: Hunter's Planet
• Aliens vs. Predator: War