A large cannon ball took off the lead machine's left claw. It broke from his arm. Crashed to the ground. Not far from a substantial pile of predator machine parts that should have served as a warning.

The predators were not designed for use on battle grounds. Their purpose was to patrol Tarclaver and to instill fear. "They will be called back now," her companion observed.

"Agreed. The robot engineers treat them as if they were new cars", Helen replied.