Dean: The Young Predator Held At Area 51
Dean was a young male Yautja held beneath Area 51 in Chris Ryall's Below Top Secret, a story in Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey. The base staff gave him his nickname, and Dr. Amy Kupihea believed he was still growing compared with the other hunters who had accompanied him. When an adult Xenomorph escaped containment, three trapped humans released him to fight it. Dean killed the creature by forcing a corrosive blue fluid into its mouth, but collapsed and died immediately after celebrating his victory.
Dean's Nickname
Dr. Amy Kupihea introduced the hunter as Dean, explaining that this was what the staff called him rather than giving a name from his own language. She considered it a silly nickname for such an impressive specimen. Neither the reason for choosing it nor his original name was revealed. Her assessment that he was still growing came from comparing him with his companions, not from a stated age. The story did not identify his clan or give him a formal hunting rank, so his youth does not establish a confirmed Young Blood designation.
Biography
Captivity At Area 51
Dean was one of the captive Predators held by humans, confined behind a coded barrier in an underground laboratory in Nevada. The researchers had also recovered a craft containing an array of Predator weapons. Among those objects was a coconut-sized metallic globe that Kupihea kept available for further study rather than storing with the other recovered equipment. She did not fully understand its function, but thought it might be useful if returned to the hunter. The laboratory also held a dangerous adult Xenomorph that had previously been subdued with help.
During a public incursion onto the base, April and Brockton separated from the crowd and descended into the laboratory using information supplied by Dr. Stephen Renfro. They arrived during a containment failure, and the loose Xenomorph killed Renfro before they could escape. Kupihea pulled them into a safe room, but the contaminated level had automatically sealed itself off. Calling the waiting strike team required the code on Renfro's identification badge, which remained outside with his body. Unable to leave or summon help, Kupihea retrieved the globe and proposed reaching the captive hunter instead.
Release From Containment
Kupihea instructed the two intruders to open a particular containment cell and avoid threatening its occupant, even suggesting they kneel and lower their eyes. Their attempt to cross the laboratory brought the Xenomorph down from its hiding place, and April struck its jaw with a heavy flashlight to escape. The resulting acid blood damaged the doorway as the group fled into the corridor. Following the doctor's shouted code, Brockton opened Dean's cell just before the Xenomorph knocked him down. The creature planted a foot on his chest, leaving him directly beneath its claws.
Dean stepped out, seized the Xenomorph, and hurled it down the hall with enough force to leave it briefly stunned. He glanced at Brockton without attacking him, then pursued the other creature. Kupihea explained that the hunter was aggressive and predatory but had not shown much inclination to attack humans. The Xenomorph wrapped its tail around him and drove its claws into his left side, while the ridges of the tail cut his legs. Fighting in the confined corridor, Dean headbutted its domed skull hard enough to crack the carapace and break free, though his own wounds were worse.
Trapping The Xenomorph
As green blood streamed from the hunter's wounds, Kupihea gave the recovered globe to Brockton and asked him to return it to Dean. Before he could do so, the Xenomorph renewed its attack, moving up the wall and throwing itself at the wounded hunter. Dean caught its hand as it slashed at his face, dragged it forward, and swung it into his open containment cell. He slammed the door and the locks engaged, leaving the creature trapped behind the barrier. Panting and bleeding, he then pounded on the door and made sounds that April thought resembled guttural laughter.
The trapped Xenomorph repeatedly battered the barrier, breaking teeth and splitting its jaw without opening a way through. It then used its toothed tongue to tear away its own right forearm and hand, spilling acid across the floor. Using the severed limb, it struck the barrier until its blood ate deep into the surface. Dean watched before resuming his own pounding, while Kupihea insisted the graphene and crystal-matrix polymer blend should hold. Instead, the barrier burst outward and the creature attacked again, pressing the bleeding stump into his chest and burning a large, jagged wound.
Killing The Xenomorph
Despite the burns, Dean slapped the stump aside and repeatedly smashed his opponent against the wall, cracking its armored body while more acid struck his flesh. Brockton finally crouched and rolled the globe toward him, calling for him to catch it. Dean kicked the Xenomorph away, collected the object, and shattered it against the wall. He scooped up the blue fluid released from inside, then thrust his left hand into the creature's open mouth as it leaped at him. Both sets of teeth tore into his fist, but the fluid had already entered the creature's body.
The blue substance dissolved the flesh of Dean's hand down to the bones, while the swallowed fluid destroyed the Xenomorph from within. The creature collapsed as its chest fell inward and blue liquid emerged from its mouth and joints. Dean stamped on the remains and raised his good arm with a howl of victory, only for the cry to break into a gurgle. He fell to his knees, looked toward the humans, and toppled sideways, dead. Kupihea placed a hand on his chest and said their theory had been that his companions brought him to Earth to hunt this creature, though they had never established why the hunters came.
Appearance And Equipment
April saw Dean as almost as tall as the roughly seven-foot Xenomorph, but much more heavily muscled and more recognizably humanoid. He emerged barefoot and bare-chested, with mottled yellowish-brown skin, pale eyes, and exposed mandibles. His physical strength allowed him to throw the other creature down the corridor and crack its armored head with a headbutt. The decisive object was the metallic globe recovered from his craft, not an identified conventional grenade. After his death, Kupihea admitted that she had thought it was a grenade and had not known what would happen when he broke it.
Behind The Scenes
Chris Ryall wrote Below Top Secret for the Titan Books anthology Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey, published on 1 March 2022 and edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Jonathan Maberry. The story presents Dean through April's encounter with him and Kupihea's limited knowledge of the captive specimens. His name therefore remains a human nickname, while his age and reason for coming to Earth remain assessments rather than confirmed personal history. The account identifies neither the blue chemical nor a precise model name for its container. It also does not show a blooding ceremony or establish his standing among his companions.
Conclusion
Dean killed the escaped Xenomorph at Area 51 after the trapped humans opened his cell and returned an object recovered from his craft. His strength briefly put the creature back into containment, but its acid blood broke the barrier and inflicted further wounds. The blue fluid gave him a way to finish the fight while destroying his own hand. He survived long enough to celebrate the kill, then died in front of April and the other witnesses. His victory is explicit, but his true name, formal rank, and original purpose on Earth remain unknown.
Appearances
- Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey, "Below Top Secret" by Chris Ryall (Titan Books, 2022)
Tag Categories: Individual Predators | Predators From The Novels | Predator Lore
