Data is hunted by Yautja(Predators)

[FaxModem1]

Data, while on some away mission, is stranded on the jungle planet from the movie Predators. The Yautja see him as a glorious hunt, and decide to hunt him. How do they fare? For argument's sake, the Enterprise is a few star systems away dealing with some other crisis while Data is on a solo mission, and will only intervene if Data is somehow able to signal them or hijack one of the Predator ships and get to the Enterprise.

Data has a tricorder, commbadge, and a phaser.

He has to deal with:
A)The Predator from Predator 1.
B)The Predator from Predator 2
C)The Predators from Alien vs Predator.
D)The Predators from the film Predators.

How does the android fare in all four scenarios?

[The Romulan Republic]

I think that if he can detect a predator despite its cloak, he can kill one. I don't recall predators wearing great armour or having any extraordinarily long-range weapons, though I might be wrong. Of course, he better kill it fast because otherwise it might set off a bomb to take Data with it.

But a group will probably take him out.

Edit: But Data might try to negotiate (he is a Starfleet officer). What are the chances of that succeeding?

[generator_g1]

Is Data aware that the Predators are hunting him actively?

[FaxModem1]

We'll say he sees a few unfortunate humans get killed by Predators.

[Ted C]

I suspect that it's the phaser that gives Data a reasonable chance. I don't think he's going to overpower a Predator in close combat, and matching their accuracy at range is probably a challenge, but plausible.

[Tribble]

Would the predator's thermal vision be able to track Data as easily as a human? The closer his body temperature is to his surroundings, the more difficult it will be for them to track him. We know that mud is sufficient to block their readings, so it wouldn't take that much for them to lose track IMO.

If he really needed to hide, he could simply walk into the middle of a major river / lake and keep moving. IMO the predators would not be able to track him while he's underwater. And he could keep moving 24/7 if necessary. Not needing to eat, sleep or breathe does have its advantages.

[Borgholio]

If Data can detect them at range, he stands a good chance. He has excellent aim (being a computer) and can pick them off from a distance. One on one, I'd say that Data would be at least as strong as one of them...not to mention faster and more durable. So he'd probably have an edge there too. If they manage to ambush him in close-quarters, then they'll probably be able to take him down.

[Tribble]

Would the phaser be able to penetrate the armour? We know it usually works like magic on organic tissue, but its record on penetrating hard substances like armour is... spotty, to say the least.

In close quarters comabt, Data is going to get skewered. Literally. There was an episode where some alien of the week was able to drive a pole through his chest, and that alien didn't appear to be any stronger than a normal human. IMO a Predator would have no problems doing the same.

Although perhaps post-FC Data would be resistant, seeing as he shrugged off machine gun fire without suffering damage...

[Borgholio]

Pre-FC data was able to take a headbutt from a Klingon without even reacting. Granted, a Predator would be stronger than a Klingon but even in the TNG series he was already more durable than the average humanoid.

[Me2005]

Pre-FC data was able to take a headbutt from a Klingon without even reacting. Granted, a Predator would be stronger than a Klingon but even in the TNG series he was already more durable than the average humanoid.

IIRC, predators also have huge claw-knives and spears they use to stab things. I'd think a solo, unarmed predator would be close enough to an even match hand-to-hand (they do rip the skulls and spines clean out of humans with their bare hands, I don't think any Klingon ever does that); but give them any of their standard equipment and he'll get wrecked. Data's phaser is probably good at shorter ranges than the predator pulse-cannon, so he'd have to get within their firing range to use it.

[TheFeniX]

The look on Worf's face in Insurrection the first time Data's "off-switch" doesn't work is pretty telling of his chances against Data in a fist-fight.

In close quarters comabt, Data is going to get skewered. Literally. There was an episode where some alien of the week was able to drive a pole through his chest, and that alien didn't appear to be any stronger than a normal human. IMO a Predator would have no problems doing the same.

In that same episode, Data lifts an anvil off a man (that 3 other grown-men couldn't budge) like it was a cheap prop. That said, I doubt the Predator spear would have many issues piercing Data's torso. The Predator shoulder-cannon is wildly inconsistent. It can blow massive holes out of flesh, but bounces harmlessly off trees and maybe knocks off small chunks of stone off ancient temples. How would it react to whatever data is made of?

And Predators have never shown anything all that fast or skilled in physical combat. Even when fighting Aliens/Xenos/whatever, they fight more like NFL linebackers. I'm sure this has a lot to do with the actors not being able to see shit when wearing the mask. Data doesn't seem exceptionally fast, but even Danny Glover can survive short sprints in slice-n-dice range of a Predator.

The Predator's have a lot of other toys though. The super-frisbee of death and the net gun. There's probably shark-repellant in there somewhere too.

Although perhaps post-FC Data would be resistant, seeing as he shrugged off machine gun fire without suffering damage...

I thought that was a Thompson, but it's a Calico M951. Guess I was thinking of the Holodeck scene. Anyways, that's a 9mm SMG. It doesn't have the penetration of an actual rifle round like a .223 or 7.62. For example, I can shoot my 9mm Carbine at soft steel targets all day and likely not even dent it. However, a .223 would put nice little holes in it easily.

[Borgholio]

I think a more interesting matchup would be a Terminator being hunted by a Predator. T-800 model. Give it a standard issue plasma rifle and standard (Arnie) skin. I bet one of those would give a Predator a run for it's money unless they could blast it apart from a distance.

[biostem]

I think it would go like this:

1. Data sees the humans get killed by some unknown assailant, and starts to formulate some way of detecting them.

2. Data uses the tricorder to somehow detect/track/de-cloak the predator(s).

3. I know it was Worf who did it, but Data should have the same ability to turn his commbadge into a limited use shield like in that one holodeck episode in the old west.

[Tribble]

I think a more interesting matchup would be a Terminator being hunted by a Predator. T-800 model. Give it a standard issue plasma rifle and standard (Arnie) skin. I bet one of those would give a Predator a run for it's money unless they could blast it apart from a distance.

Judging from the OP, I would say that Data's goal is to survive until either he sends out a distress signal and the Enterprise responds, or until the Enterprise decides to search for him when he doesn't return. Killing the Predator(s) first would certainly work, but that isn't the only way Data can survive.

According to the OP, Data saw the Predators kill some humans and knows that he is being hunted. He probably would have guessed that they were cloaked, and either tried to modify his own eyesight or the tricorder in order to detect them. If that works, that's one major advantage they have lost.

IMO what's even more important is if he managed to figure out that the Predator(s) use thermal imaging to track their prey. If that's the case, he could make himself very difficult to track. For example, Data might be capable of modifying his body temperature to match the local surroundings. Or he could simply head into the bottom of a large river / lake. He doesn't need to breathe and and he can walk / crawl along the bottom, so this shouldn't pose any issues for him. If manages to get into deep water without being noticed, he could simply remain there until the Enterprise shows up. Although TNG sensors are notoriously unreliable they should still be able to detect him / his commbadge / the tricorder and beam him over.

And even if the Predator(s) are able to detect Data, unless they manage to completely encircle him he could simply run away. Data is a machine and can keep moving 24/7 if necessary. I doubt even the Predators would be able to keep up him forever.

IMO Data's best option for survival would be to evade the Predator(s) until the Enterprise shows up, and only fight them if necessary or if a good oppurtunity to take one out presents itself.

Of course, the Predator(s) might get frustrated and start using their bombs and/or the ship to hunt him as well...

[PREDATOR490]

Data, while on some away mission, is stranded on the jungle planet from the movie Predators. The Yautja see him as a glorious hunt, and decide to hunt him. How do they fare? For argument's sake, the Enterprise is a few star systems away dealing with some other crisis while Data is on a solo mission, and will only intervene if Data is somehow able to signal them or hijack one of the Predator ships and get to the Enterprise.

Data has a tricorder, commbadge, and a phaser.

He has to deal with:
A)The Predator from Predator 1.
B)The Predator from Predator 2
C)The Predators from Alien vs Predator.
D)The Predators from the film Predators.

How does the android fare in all four scenarios?

A) Data Dies
B) Data Dies
C) Data Dies
D) Data Dies

Data 'detecting' a Predator will only result in Data trying to establish 'First Contact' which will end with his head mounted on a wall.

If you be nice and let Data see the Predators are 'hostile' his options are rather limited. Predators have other vision modes on their masks which they are likely to switch to if they identify Data as not being human. If a vision mode exists that allows them to pick up an Android then Data is at a severe disadvantage.

Could Data detect the Predator - Yes, even with the cloak they are not subtle and Data should have decent enough senses to be able to hear / see them moving about.

Could Data take a Predator in melee: Data has the super-strength but he has little to no finesse in using it assuming he uses it at all. Lore literally knocked Worf out with a bitch slap so I would see Data as more than capable of hurting a Predator. However, Data is fairly benign to the point that even if he could rip a Predator's head off he would not think of doing it. The closest we got was Data getting angry and hurling a Borg against a wall. A Predator will not be so forgiving as to wait for Data to say "Stop it" repeatedly before tearing his arm off.

Plasmacaster vs Phaser - Plasmacasters vary widely. I suppose you could argue they have settings like Phasers and at maximum output Data would get fragged easily. Same with the Phaser vs a Predator. Phasers have literally been dodged by humans and they have limited to no penetration unless you crank up the setting to insane levels. If Data decides to put the phaser on the 'vape mode' then the Predator is likely to die just as easily as Data will die to the Plasmacaster.

A and B) These Predators were pretty much out for thrill hunting. A had less toys to play with and B pretty much brought the whole store with him.
C) If you are referencing the young Predators then... they have little to no toys and limited experience
If you are referencing 'Wolf'... This Predator did not mess around
D) The Super Predators brought a whole new rack of toys into the mix with traps, hunting dogs, spy drones and being more than willing to play 'unfair'


Even if Data managed to detect the Predators, I find it likely he will try to evade rather than engage them. Data's survival largely depends on writers fiat of Predator mentality.
They might get bored and leave... or decide to nuke the planet out of frustration because Data was not 'sporting'.
Even if Data IS sporting and engages, his life largely depends on Predators being indulgent to give him an opening.

[Tribble]

If you be nice and let Data see the Predators are 'hostile' his options are rather limited. Predators have other vision modes on their masks which they are likely to switch to if they identify Data as not being human. If a vision mode exists that allows them to pick up an Android then Data is at a severe disadvantage.

I guess it boils down to whehter or not the Predators have a mode in their masks which can detect him, and whether or not the vision mode can be disrupted by the tricorder. If they can detect him and the tricorder can't block their vision mode he's going to have to directly engage them, and the chances of winning that are pretty small. If on the other hand the Predators do not have a mode which can track him and/or he can mess with it via his tricorder, I'd say he has a pretty good chance of evading them long enough for the Enterprise to show up and beam him out. Unless they nuke the place.

[Elheru Aran]

Predators still have to breathe, don't they? If it comes down to hide-and-seek, Data can simply attempt to find a large enough body of water before they nick him and walk to the bottom. He might have to use his floatation devices to rise up above the water for Enterprise to beam him up (have we ever seen them beam anybody from underwater other than the whales in STIV?), but other than that, that's a viable option for him to hide.

Fighting is a more tricky question there... he has a distinct lack of initiative in using hand-to-hand combat, but against a stronger opponent he may decide to drop his inhibitions. He's capable of switching off his emotion chip for greater efficiency in fighting, so I think he *may* have better results fighting a Predator than he would other humans. That's only hypothetical, though...

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Could Data take a Predator in melee: Data has the super-strength but he has little to no finesse in using it assuming he uses it at all. Lore literally knocked Worf out with a bitch slap so I would see Data as more than capable of hurting a Predator. However, Data is fairly benign to the point that even if he could rip a Predator's head off he would not think of doing it. The closest we got was Data getting angry and hurling a Borg against a wall. A Predator will not be so forgiving as to wait for Data to say "Stop it" repeatedly before tearing his arm off.

There was also that scene in First Contact where Data snaps a Borg drone's neck. With the Predators, have there been any examples of them showing teamwork? Whenever there's a group of them going on the hunt they seem to travel in threes. Data stands a far better chance of taking them out one by one than if they all attacked him at once.

[Ted C]

3. I know it was Worf who did it, but Data should have the same ability to turn his commbadge into a limited use shield like in that one holodeck episode in the old west.

We don't know if that would work outside of a holodeck. A communicator doesn't have the hardware to make forcefields, but if it could trick the holodeck into creating one, that would explain what happened in "A Fistful of Datas".

[Borgholio]

3. I know it was Worf who did it, but Data should have the same ability to turn his commbadge into a limited use shield like in that one holodeck episode in the old west.

We don't know if that would work outside of a holodeck. A communicator doesn't have the hardware to make forcefields, but if it could trick the holodeck into creating one, that would explain what happened in "A Fistful of Datas".

B'lanna Torres made a forcefield out of a fucking phaser once...so it seems everything in the ST-Verse can make a forcefield if you tweak it just right.

[Havok]

For fucks sake.

Data on a planet not knowing what the fuck is going on is going to end up with Data deactivated.

If Data, like Arnold, has a whole bunch of red shirts to get killed first then Data is going to win in every scenario. He is WAY faster than any Predator and is infinitely smarter. He could and would continue to function with multiple wounds pretty much up to getting his torso blasted through like Ventura.

This would be a unique scenario in which Data doesn't have to hold back. Giving him a tri-corder, comm badge and phaser to play with is fucking ridiculous. The phaser alone with it's wide beam settings could take out a whole swath of cover and Predators. The tri-corder is going to let him know where and what is going on unless you are going to nerf it because of plot. The comm badge is just one more piece of tech for him to fool with.

Hand to hand, Data could rip through a Predator with ease and with Mr emotion chip turned off, he isn't going to feel any type of bad or remorse.

Unless this is a sneak attack scenario, or grossly slanted in the Predator's favor, Data should win in every scenario.

P.S. Data is ridiculously faster than Arnold and if he can out run the wrist nuke after days of fighting, completely exhausted then Data certainly can and have no problem doing so.

[Cykeisme]

While it looks like the assessments boil down one-on-one close combat to a crapshoot. They're both more than capable of disabling each other; while Data strong enough to KO a Predator, while the he's not very durable and the Predators have a whole range of nasty close-quarter weapons that'd easily skewer or dismember the stalwart android.


However, I don't see why it would realistically come down to close combat considering both sides are armed with very potent sci-fi directed energy ranged weapons. It's similar to a melee situation in that whoever lands a telling blow first will probably win, but this instead brings it down to a matter of detection.
Will the Predators' funky vision modes be able to detect and pinpoint Data at a greater range and shorter time than Data (and his tricorder) will be able to do the same to a cloaked Predator?

Unfortunately all four of these things are unquantified sci-fi technological devices. I say four because we're referring to the tricorder, the Predators' mask sensors, Data's android body, and the Predator's cloaking device.
Thus, my out-of-universe non-SoD answer would be that it'd come down to writer's fiat. The side that's intended to win will detect the other first, after which it results in the victim getting shot moments later.

[Ted C]

Will the Predators' funky vision modes be able to detect and pinpoint Data at a greater range and shorter time than Data (and his tricorder) will be able to do the same to a cloaked Predator?

The side that's intended to win will detect the other first, after which it results in the victim getting shot moments later.

It's not enough to detect the other first, you also have to aim at and hit the target first.

Data is going to be radiating heat (he is using energy, and he says that the main purpose of his breathing is temperature regulation), so he will show up in the Predator's main vision spectrum. He can be acquired and targeted normally.

As far as we know, Data's vision is only in the visible light spectrum, so the Predator's camouflage will be effective. A tricorder might be able to locate the Predator, but it's not a targeting sight. Data is simply going to have a harder time shooting the Predator, which gives the Predator an advantage in this fight.

[Havok]

I'm sure Data will come up with the brilliant idea of "mud" sooner than Arnold did. Also if the Tri-Corder works the way it has always been shown to, he will know pretty much how and what the Predator is using to track him.

What I would get a kick out of is Data fucking with the Predators. How fast could he make booby traps and shit? Or using his voice modulation... "Hey. Over here..."

[Kojiro]

As far as we know, Data's vision is only in the visible light spectrum, so the Predator's camouflage will be effective

While I think this is true, I doubt Data 'sees' as we do. What I mean is that Data's object recognition and possibly even his level of detail may, likely even far exceeds our own. It might take us several seconds to spot the predator even while looking for it but I imagine Data would cut that time down significantly.

Also I'd be interested to see how Data processes optical illusions- does his brain copy ours and have the same shortcomings?