Predacons

The Predacons (プレダコン, Puredakon) are the descendants (at least in part) of the Decepticons, arising from the ashes of the Great War. Some sources suggest that these ruthless conquerors were born from what remained of the original five Savacons. By order of the Pax Cybertronia, they exist as something of an underclass, appearing to be equals, but firmly under the Maximals in the social order. This has led many Predacons to hold bitter grudges against the Maximals.

There is a governing body on Cybertron called the Predacon Council, who seem to have some authority over the leader of Predacons Gigatron.

"You do not know the Predacons. They live for the glory of conquest."
 * —Dinobot to Tigatron, "Law of the Jungle".

Origin
We do not know the origin of the Predacons beyond the fact that they are descendants of the Decepticons, at least in part. They were in existence and at war with the Maximals prior to the signing of the Pax Cybertronia, at which time most laid down their arms but a few went rogue.

Different continuities present differing, sometimes conflicting accounts. One account says that Razorclaw founded the Predacons (re-modeled named based on his old team's name) after the Decepticons' defeat, and that they took the fight to Cybertron and could have won if the Tripredacus Council hadn't stolen control for themselves. Others have the Predacons and Decepticons co-existing for a time. When Gigatron was in a bad mood, he's said the Predacons came after the Great War.

In at least one Micro-continuity the Predacons existed as far back as the 1990s, operating on human inhabited Earth under a Megatron. It has been recorded that their way of life was to prosper or perish, and their leader swore they'd do this by driving the Maximals into extinction! Of course, this may be Maximal Elder propaganda.

Organization
The Predacons, although apparently governed by an organization known as the Predacon Alliance, appear to be a rather splintered faction. One of the major ruling bodies are, the Predacon Council and the Tripredacus Council, but it is possible the Tripredacus Council represent only one political voice within the Alliance. As Predacons are known to look down on a democratic system of governance and appear able to accept power plays and treachery if it succeeds, Predacon government can be assumed as autocratic and based on whoever can hold on to power successfully.

The Tripredacus Council keeps its followers pacified under the Pax Cybertronia with the promise of a slow, sly return to power, whispering of a long-term plan to overthrow the Maximals when the time is right. A number of Predacons have expressed dissatisfaction with this approach, leading renegades such as Gigatron, Galvatron, Magmatron, and Gigatron to recruit private armies of followers and, either covertly or overtly, strike out against the Maximals on their own. Nearly all known Beast Wars-era Predacons tend to fall within the arms of these criminal renegade militias, with the exceptions of Tarantulas, with the Predacon Secret Police, and Ravage, a Covert Agent who reported directly to the Tripredacus Council. (Tarantulas was a direct agent too but this appears to have been just him, rather than standard for officers) It is unknown whether the Predacons have any sort of official standing army or defense force other than the internal Secret Police and the Covert Agent secret service.

In one continuity, following the Great Reformatting, a revived Decepticon force under Razorclaw (along with Divebomb and the descendants of Headstrong, Rampage, and Tantrum) was preparing for war.

In another continuity, thousands of years later, the Predacons have been shown to be actively at war with the Maximals across the galaxy and have an official army with a military academy. The top military rank at this time is "Emperor of Destruction", and any governing force beyond that is unknown.

Society
We don't know much about the Predacons' general lifestyle. All evidence suggests a very militant warrior culture, with power grabs endemic. This is even enshrined for some in an honour system, where seizing control by force if you think you could do a better job was seen as an honourable, proper act. Predacon honour also put great stock in bravery in battle, a glorious end, and paying off your debts. The fact that the honour system allows for treachery has left Maximals confused. We do not know how widespread this honour system actually is, as the majority of Beast Wars (admittedly criminal renegade) combatants were happy to ignore it.

A number of Predacons are scientists. Academic knowledge and expertise seems respected as long as you can also fight; if you can't, you get looked down on, but if you've got both skill sets, this will often be sufficient to excuse your bad habits, personality quirks, or minor crimes.

Some Predacons have gone for more esoteric skills, such as magic.

Unsurprisingly, Predacon society has a strong criminal element. Both individual thieves and organised gangs are known. Some gangsters, such as Cryotek, have become hideously powerful and bold enough to attack the Maximal government.

Social status
The exact social status of the Predacons appears to be a second-class one, but there's no specifics. Megatron has referred to the Maximals as ruling the Predacons on several occasions and once, in a melodramatic moment, said that they were slaves. Dinobot, meanwhile, thinks little of Maximal justice and believes that the Maximals use torture devices on Predacons.

Some Maximals, like Optimal Primal, consider there to be a long-standing peace between the two races, apparently unaware of Predacon frustrations. Optimal has also been willing to offer a hand of friendship or show respect to individual Predacons. Many of the other Maximals we've seen, by contrast, appear to view the entirety of the Predacon population as inherently untrustworthy and dangerous (especially if that Maximal is Rattrap). Maximal soldiers on Cybertron have expressed enjoyment in finally being allowed to beat up on insurgent Predacons.

That all said, the Predacons co-run the important governing body, the Bi-Partate Committee for State Affairs.

Bases of operation
It is even unknown where exactly the Predacons are based.

The Tripredacus Council holds meetings aboard a space station, Predacon Command Outpost One.

While one would presume the Predacons also had some sort of presence on Cybertron itself, after the Beast Warriors' return to Cybertron following the events of Beast Wars, they refer frequently to the missing population as Maximals only.

Known Predacons

 * Gigatron
 * Scorponok
 * Terrorsaur
 * Tarantulas
 * Waspinator
 * Blackarachnia†
 * Firebug
 * Quickstrike
 * Rampage
 * Ram Horn
 * Sea Clamp
 * Cicadacon
 * Ravage
 * Dinobot II

Known Predacons

 * Gigatron
 * Sky-Byte
 * Slapper
 * Gas Skunk
 * Dark Scream