We get to learn how Predators react to their tech being reverse-engineered, humans now have top notch cloaking tech because they captured and studied Yautja cloaking tech. Top notch... cutting edge... but Yautja have better stealth tech, simply because they learned we stole their tech so they went back and improved it.
Whenever we reach an equal standing, Yautja will stubbornly research and improve their tech just to stay that extra mile ahead. Perry's Yautja hate the idea of humans getting their tech, so do Lebbon's Yautja and it's nice to see them actually improve their things rather than remain stagnant. Maybe that's why not many changes happened in their tech, because they were the best to begin with?
The space battle was quite interesting too, there's a little joke that Predator fans will get.
The Predator habitat is designated "UMF-12".
And the ships that leave the habitat are named "Bastard-One", "Bastard-Two" and so on depending on how many Bastards come out and in which order. The main character took down six Bastards and heavily damaged Bastard Seven, but we learn an intriguing behaviour from the Yautja...
Despite crippling the human ship which was literally living on borrowed time as the core was critical, they actually let it land on their habitat rather than blow it up. Humans constantly bring up how strange and "other" the Yautja really are in what little about their behaviour we know.
Also, the Midsummer moon that Batman mentioned earlier in the thread, that slug creature is quite interesting. Its sole reason for existing is simply to build. It goes around, eating, crapping and building. I think it'd make a cute pet.
A good chunk of the story so far really fleshes out the human world and explored a lot on the Founders. So much technology has advanced that I can't help but feel how outdated most AvP media is in terms of technology, the Marines are extremely advanced here.
The ships use weaponry which involves particle acceleration, they have drones packed with micro nukes that can take out Yautja ships sneakily (that's how six Bastards went down, they were focusing on the human ship and didn't notice two cloaked drones sniping them with nukes) and laser weapons are used.
Regular marines use nano-rifles which shoot swarms of nanobots that explode on the micro scale, a Predator survives this but gets on its knees in pain. Marines can program these nano-bots to slice or to go inside and expand.
They carry fist sized drones on their shoulders which can be deployed to scan an area or attack enemies and distract them.
There's a lot of really cool and amazing stuff explored, we see some leisure activities on human space habitats such as VR, there's VR games but also VR beaches that feel so life like that you can feel the sand between your toes. Humans have went very far since even Resurrection era. Even Sea of Sorrows tech seems quite obsolete. Marine sidearms are "laser-pistols". The tech aspect has always fascinated me in this franchise. I also liked the mentioning of humans having "plasma grenades".
I have yet to get to the eventual team up, I still haven't gotten to the Predator side of things and I'm more than half way through the book. Lilliya has just escaped and I am assuming it wont be long until she is intercepted by Predators as Batman mentioned. The other main character that engaged the Yautja "Bastards" are now inside the giant habitat.
Some new and interesting characters have been introduced. We learn about some anti corporate terrorism going on and the Founders have discovered how to create nano-bots with mere suggestions. They send messages into the Human Sphere that you hear, but you don't have to even be affiliated with the Founders, their words are so hypnotic, it alters some cells in your brain and turns them into obedient nano-bots that alter your personality and make you sabotage and blow up key W-Y and Marine instalments to weaken them for when the Rage eventually returns.
Speaking of the Marines, W-Y has bought them out at some point after resurfacing post Resurrection, this has earned them the nickname of "Corporate Marines". So these Colonial Marines are quite different from the ones we know in Aliens and so on. W-Y is the oldest corporation and among the most powerful, more powerful than even some governments. It runs most things in the Human Sphere but not everything as there are many independent colonies and communities, even independent Titan ships drifting in spade.
And like in Out of the Shadows, Lebbon loves exploring the dangers of space so expect some tidbits of that here as well.
