Machiko Noguchi

"Leaving Ryushi and joining the hunters seemed like the logical thing to do, the right thing to do. Now the decision just seems stupid and vain. What made me think that I could match the ways of these half-savages? What did I hope to prove myself? What made me think I could live by their laws — much less gain their respect?"

―Machiko (from Aliens versus Predator: War)

Machiko Noguchi^[1] (野口真千子), known as Da'dtou-di ("small knife")^[2] by the Yautja, was a Chigusa Corporation employee and the administrator in charge of the Prosperity Wells colony on Ryushi. She was the daughter of Akira and Keiko Noguchi. Machiko had only recently taken up her position on Ryushi when it was subjected to a devastating assault by a group of Yautja and the Xenomorphs they had unleashed on the planet. The incident led to the destruction of the colony and the death of several of its inhabitants.

Machiko survived the incident, in the process earning the respect of the Yautja she dubbed "Broken Tusk", to the point where she was Blooded by him. She went on to join a clan led by Top-Knot, where she struggled to adapt to Yautja culture.

Upon learning that Top-Knot's Clan had begun hunting humans on the planet Bunda, she ultimately betrayed Top-Knot, and sided herself with humanity once again.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Machiko was born in Japan to esteemed businessman Akira Noguchi and her mother Keiko Noguchi. She had a relatively normal upbringing, until her father had been publicly disgraced after being fired for embezzlement. Humiliated, Akira committed suicide, with a young Machiko discovering her father's bloodied body shortly afterwards.^[3]

The suicide embittered Machiko, and likely influenced her cold demeanour. Her mother remarried, not wanting to share the Noguchi name, and subsequently became distant from her. She and Keiko would seldom talk, the last time being before she left for Ryushi six months prior to the incident.^[4]

Work on Prosperity Wells[]

"My job...My life to that point had been concerned with schedules and numbers and quarterly reports -- a full, satisfying life -- I thought. Seeing the sunset that day, I suddenly realized how much I'd been missing. Little did I know that be the last time I'd ever view a sundown with any emotion other than dread."

―Machiko (from Aliens vs. Predator)

Trco009 — Machiko shared a tense relationship with the ranchers.

Later in life, Machiko got a job at the Chigusa Corporation. She worked her way up the corporate ladder to a respectable position, and was soon assigned as replacement administrator to Hiroki Shimura of the ranching colony of Ryushi. Stationed in Prosperity Wells, Noguchi was largely reclusive and kept to herself in office, making little to no effort to make friends among the colonists. As a result, many of them openly expressed their disdain towards her behind her back, and still tended to report to Shimura.

Thanks to Hiroki's advice, Machiko would soon ease up on her corporate demeanor, and attempted to involve herself more with the workers.

Later, Hiroki organized a party for the crew of the Lector to celebrate their first Rhynth extort shipment to Earth. Machiko would use the opportunity to win the favor of some workers by negotiating with Chigusa in granting them their requested bonuses.

Suspicions within the Colony[]

"Quite an arsenal. This guy's no explorer. This is stuff you'd pack for a hunting trip...Or an invasion."

―Machiko inspecting Dachande's weaponry (from Aliens vs. Predator)

The next day, following the disappearance of Dr. Kesar Revna, Hiroki woke Noguchi up within her quarters, informing her that he had sent out a crew to Iwa Gorge to look for him, and that she should accompany him when visiting his wife, Miriam, at the colony med center. There, Miriam revealed that Kesar had gone to Iwa Gorge in search of more Alien specimens, following the one that Jame Roth and Ackland had given to him. Machiko deduced that Ackland had lied about finding the specimen in Iwa Gorge in hopes of avoiding quarantine following the shipment.

AVPDachande3 — Machiko and the others observe the restrained Yautja, Dachande.

Machiko and Hiroki confronted Ackland on his callousness. Ackland defended himself by saying he didn't want to delay the operation, but Hiroki suggested any potential problem with Ackland's herd may be the reason the Lector has yet to leave the planet with its first load. Machiko subsequently sent Collins to speak to the Lector crew in person.

Summoned to the med center, Machiko and Hiroki, along with Ackland and Roth, discover in awe Revna studying a monstrous Alien creature - a Yautja known as Dachande. The Predator had been retrieved by Hiroki's crew following their investigation of Iwa Gorge, and was restrained and unconscious. Suddenly, young colonist Bobby Sheldon, who lived in a desolate ranch, crashed his hoverbike in town, and he was brought to the med center, identifying Dachande as one of the "monsters" that had killed his parents. Fearing an imminent attack, Machiko placed the colony under lockdown.

Infestation within Prosperity Wells[]

"The dream I'd been unable to remember earlier came back to me with sudden clarity, horrifying clarity. Only it wasn't a dream -- it was a nightmare -- and it was real."

―Machiko (from Aliens vs. Predator)

After hearing that Collins had yet to return from the Lector, Machiko opted to investigate herself, accompanied by copter-pilots Riley and Mason. Unaware that the Lector had since become infested with Xenomorphs, Machiko was suddenly attacked by a swarm of Aliens, and was only narrowly saved inadvertently by the Un-blooded Yautja, Gkyaun, who was sent out by a pack of rogues led by Tichinde to scout the premises. Machiko abandoned the young Predator to the Xenos and entered the south lock with the other workers, just in time to witness Hiroki and his security team attacked and killed by Tichinde and the others.

Witnessing Tichinde's pack parading the heads of human and Xenomorph prey around a victory bonfire, Machiko vengefully geared up for combat, and took a hover bike to the med center where she reunited with Miriam. She left her a semi-automatic shotgun for defence before taking leave for the uninfected rhynth holding pens outside the Lector. After hearing a commotion in the med center, however, she rammed the hoverbike through the building and into Tichinde, who had attempted to kill Revna.

Entrusting her captive, Revna released Dachande, who was the original Leader of the Un-blooded pack. Whilst Dachande fought and killed his disobedient charge, Machiko and Miriam fled the scene and reached a copter, subsequently taking flight and unleashing a Rhynth stampede on Xeno and hunter alike. With Dachande climbing a tower out of harm's way, Miriam convinced Machiko to rescue the "Broken Tusked Warrior" with the copter, but a lunging Xenomorph caused it to crash.

Allying herself with Dachande[]

"I half expected a replay of the lost battles I'd seen earlier, but the broken-tusked warrior was no inexperienced novice. He measured every step, timed every strike."

―Machiko, regarding Dachande (from Aliens vs. Predator)

Machiko was subsequently pulled out of the wreckage by Lector pilots Tom Strandberg and Scott Conover, who had escaped from the ship's hive. After witnessing Dachande carry a deceased Revna from the wreckage in his arms, the three subsequently joined forces and the group boarded themselves inside the colony's east lock and plan to wait for the arrival of the Marines. However, Tom discovered a message from Takashi Chigusa denying her request for military support and instead ordering the preservation of the Xenomorphs, and to await instructions from Shigeru Chigusa. Suddenly, Tom began convulsing and birthed a Chestburster that was immediately killed by the Dachande, Scott realizing that he too has been impregnated. After Machiko offered to give Scott a chance at revenge and a mercy killing when the time comes, Scott gave her the codes necessary to crash the Lector's orbital barge onto the complex, before being put out of his misery by her.

Dachande would come to admire Machiko's prowess as a warrior, and subsequently named her Da'dtou-di ("small knife")^[5] The two were suddenly ambushed by the Un-blooded Oc'djy, though Machiko's quick reflexes allowed her to gun him down with relative ease.

Machiko and Dachande used a tractor to ram-raid into the Lector hive, crashing into the Queen. Dachande defended the emergency escape pod as Machiko activated the barge navigational instruction from the cockpit. Surviving the hit-and-run, the Queen attacked and mortally wounded Dachande, but was knocked back by Machiko shots whilst she dragged the Predator into the escape pod. The Queen forced itself into the escape-pod, but its hand was severed by Dachande and its head decapitated after the pod doors closed. The pod launched just in time to avoid the barge crashing onto the Lector and Prosperity Wells, destroying the colony and eliminating the Xenomorphs.

Landing several miles away from the destroyed colony, the fatally wounded Dachande used the rest of his strength to blood Machiko with his insignia, deeming her a worthy hunter. Machiko tearfully lamented the loss as Dachande succumbed to his wounds.

With Machiko's contract bought out and the Ryushi incident declared a "write-off", Machiko opted to stay behind on the planet, living in a rancher's former home with Roth O' Neil's dalmatian dog, Creep and a Rhynth named Milo, awaiting the return of Dachande's people.

Recruited by Top-Knot[]

Trco053 1465271126 — Machiko is accepted into Top-Knot's clan.

Two years later, Machiko noticed the arrival of a Yautja seeding pod. Desiring to join the creatures in their Xenomorph hunt, Machiko saved an Un-blooded, before presenting herself to the pack's Leader, Top-Knot. Upon close inspection, Top-Knot recognized the mark on her forehead as belonging to Dachande, and she was accepted into his clan.

Living with the Predators[]

"Sometimes I think that the hatred the bug-queen has for me is preferable to the indifference I get from my adopted companions."

―Machiko, regarding her experience with her fellow hunters

Trco008 — Machiko's privileged living quarters aboard the Predator ship.

Because she bore the mark of Dachande, Noguchi was allowed to join a clan of Predator hunters lead by the clan leader Top-Knot, bearing the nickname "Little Knife". Despite being very skilled and deadly to both Xenomorphs and Predators alike, she was often ridiculed by some Predators because she was the "token" human. However, she had won the respect of the Predators enough that she got her own armor and room inside the clan's ship unlike the lower ranked Predators forced to dwell in 'the pit'. During this time, a clan member known as "Shorty" made a habit of picking fights with Noguchi, redirecting his anger of his own poor treatment by his peers to her. During her time in the clan, Machiko took with her the queen's head and a leapwave receiver, with which she listened to pieces of conversations, her only remaining link with the humans.

She eventually partook in a hunt with the clan in a Xenomorph-dominated world. After landing, Machiko and the clan fight through a Xenomorph horde and reach the hive to capture the Queen. The more experienced hunters take the front during the raid whilst Machiko is stationed as rear guard at the back, "a necessary position, but not an honorable one..." She comes into conflict with Shorty, who steals her kill and mocks her by mimicking her human tongue. However, a Xenomorph quickly pounces on Shorty, with Machiko promptly saving him, embarrassing him in front of his peers.

Machikoqueen — Machiko and the clan attempting to subdue the Queen.

The hunters finally reach the Queen and attempt to subdue it, but the mission goes awry, resulting in the hunter 'Three-Spot' getting killed. To prevent any more deaths, Machiko breaks formation and intervenes, successfully controlling the situation. However, a high-ranking Yautja is furious at this sight of insubordination and brutally scolds her for disobeying orders and violating Yautja trust, positioning her at the front whilst the others handle the Queen. Once inside the ship, the Queen escapes yet again and Shorty closes the hatch, trapping Machiko. She barely manages to escape with her life, cutting off the Queen's fingers in the process and proving herself among her peers once again. However, they are unimpressed, saying nothing and turning their backs on her; despite showing them her exceptional talent and skills, the hunters still refused to accept her as one of their own.^[6]

Duel with Shorty and betrayal[]

"Chi'-dte ooman-di lou'-dte Dahdtoudi kalei!"

―Machiko goads Shorty into attacking her

Trco055 1465271273 — Machiko stands off against Shorty.

Machiko Noguchi AVP War — Machiko introduces herself to Jess and Lara.

Machiko comes across the "last stragglers of the clan" returning from their hunt. Machiko notices that the hunter Light-Stepper has a USCM flag over his severed arm, and makes a commotion about it. This greatly offends Light-Stepper who responds by striking Machiko to the floor, now disgraced for stepping out of line. Machiko makes the submissive gesture and the Yautja begrudgingly leave her. She is subsequently approached by Top-Knot who informs her that she must fight amongst the lower-ranking Yautja in the 'pit' to regain her status.

Down in the pit, Machiko is forced to fight against Shorty. Despite the difference in species, her martial arts training allows her to use his strength and rage against him, and Machiko swiftly overpowers him. As she prepares for the finishing blow, one of Shorty's comrades grabs Machiko's ankle from the arena. She returns by kicking the perpetrator in the face, but the act gives Shorty enough time to recover and brutally beat her down. Machiko contemplates what to do next — if she continues the fight, Shorty will kill her, but if backs down, she will be forever humiliated and shunned. Instead, she chooses to take a dive, and is kicked out of the arena by Shorty. With this loss, Machiko is excluded from the upcoming hunt on the planet Bunda, instead stationed in the food quarters, being forced to serve food to other lower-ranked hunters.

Machiko is later seen in her quarters. After hearing through the leapwave transmitter that the Yautja are attacking and killing humans, Machiko concludes that her true allegiances remain with humankind, and she subsequently betrays and kills several Yautja whilst freeing the Queen. She subsequently crashes the shuttle down to Brunta and greets herself towards Nemesis survivors Brian Ellis, Katherine Lara and Martin Jess. However, her introduction is brief, as soon the humans are surrounded by Top-knot and his clan and the Xenomorph Queen and her brood. However, they are saved by Ellis, using the Max unit suit. After reuniting with the Synthetic Nirasawa and recently Facehugged Lucas Briggs, the group are attacked by a group of Yautja, including Shorty.

Shorty and fellow hunter 'Freckles' attack Machiko, but Machiko's superior skills as a warrior results in her killing Freckles, leaving her and Shorty in a fight to the death. Without his comrades to assist him, Shorty is powerless against Machiko; she bisects his left hand with her Wristblades after deeming him a "bully" and that she is a more worthy hunter than he is. Shorty calls her a "human" in retort, and Machiko admits that although she is indeed a human and that she would consider it wrong to kill him, the hunter side of her knows it's the only smart thing to do. She then plunges the blades into his chest, ending him.

Following the fight, the group reach a Predator shuttle and promptly board it, leaving Briggs behind in the Berserker suit to slaughter Xenos and Predators alike. Machiko tells the others that they should leave before Top-Knot arrives. With the shuttle successfully lifting up from the planet and the survivors escaping the carnage, Machiko is relieved to finally return home, back with the species she belongs with.

Bellatrix 2[]

After her abandonment of Top-Knot's clan, Machiko eventually settled down in a quiet spot on Bellatrix 2, off of Orion's left shoulder. After returning to her life of boredom and work, Noguchi began to crave the freedom of the hunt. When Noguchi later received an offer from a wealthy man named Livermore Evanston, to return to her hunting life by attending his private hunting planet, she was compelled to accept. At this point in her life, she ran her own business as a safari guide to take people hunting, with three assistants.

Hunting the killers[]

"For now you need to understand that coming off as the biggest and the toughest doesn't play when you're up against somebody who's bigger and tougher. Make no mistake - these guys feed off that crap. The first sign you give them that you could take them, your skull's going on the wall above their mantle."

―Machiko during briefing with the marines (from Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War)

Trco016 1468857256 — Machiko talks to Colonel Rast.

When a group of Killer predators attacked a mining colony, the United States Colonial Marine Corps sought out Machiko's help. When she spoke to Colonel Rast, she initially refused to even negotiate with them due to prior treatment, but after she was shown footage of the attack on the colony, involving Predators killing unarmed civilians and controlling a brood of Xenomorphs, her interest was piqued. She recalled how Yautja stories told her of rogue clans known as Killers that killed for fun and not for the hunt. Although they were thought to have been wiped out, the footage suggests otherwise, and Machiko agrees to join forces with Rast and take the Killers down. However, she concludes that the marines will need serious assistance in hopes of combating the rogue clan, resulting in the marines taking the ship Tarawa to Ryushi, so that Machiko can return to her old clan and negotiate an alliance. During briefing with the marines, Machiko emphasizes to them to show restraint and not to antagonize the hunters, lest chaos breaks loose. She also deduces Colonel Rast to be a synthetic, as she could not sense any aggression or fear from him.

Trco022 1468857316 — Machiko and the marines stand off against her old clan.

Machiko, Ellis and the marines take a dropship down to the planet and reunite with her old clan. To display her dominance, she surprise attacks a clan-member and kills him. Initially unsure of the result, Machiko and Rast are subsequently taken to the Predators ship where a negotiation takes place. The Predators are unaware of her betrayal on Bunda, leaving Machiko to assume that all hunters on the planet, including Top-Knot, had died. After Machiko and the marines assist the Predators in subduing a Xenomorph Queen, the hunters accept to join the marines in their battle against the Killers, and seven weeks later, both marine and Predator fleets begin closing in on Caparis VII, the planet that consisted of one of the Killer's base of operations.

Machiko remains on a Yautja ship, serving as translator to the Hunter Captain. The marines and Predators land on the planet and begin skirmishing with the Killer's Xenomorphs and Machiko quickly follows suit, causing the Killers to retreat on a large ship and depart for their home base, but not before the ship being attached to a tracking device. During the three week-voyage of tracking the ship, when she wasn't serving as a translator, Machiko spent time bonding with Eliis and the marines. Machiko becomes torn between her human identity and remaining with the Predators, initially taking the mission out of loyalty to Broken Tusk and the clan, but later valuing the human camaraderie. Eventually arriving at an unknown planet, the human/Predator fleet are immediately met with artillery fire, causing the dropships fly down to the planet. Machiko decides to go planetside too, though the Hunting Captain protests, asking what there is to gain, Machiko signs "glory", immediately winning over the clan.

During a skirmish on the planet, a synthetic marine Sereda is taken to the Killers' base as a prisoner. Sereda realizes that their base harbors hundreds of Eggs, but no Queen. Concluding that a Queen would regain control over the Xenomorphs, contacts the marines and suggests using the Queen the Predators had captured by dropping into the field and turning the Killer's Xenos against them. Although Machiko tells the captain to drop her off by Ellis' quarters, who landed safely on the planet away from the conflict, the captain laughs at Machiko's suggestion and signs "glory", citing that the Predators are taking the ship straight to the Killer's base. Machiko and the Predators arrive at the base and reveal the Queen to the Xenos, causing havoc and eventually resulting in the brood releasing the Queen.

Escape and leaving the clan[]

Trco022 1468857548 — Machiko has her mark removed.

After Ellis arrives in a dropship to rescue Machiko, who is with the Predators in a last stand, she is faced by the Hunter Captain, who would rather go down fighting than retreat. The captain grabs Machiko's sword, douses it in acid blood from a recently killed Xeno and removes the mark on her forehead given to her by Broken Tusk, showing that she is no longer part of the clan, choosing to live rather than die in glory. Machiko accepts her humanity and escapes with her comrades.

Machiko goes on to say that the military back on the Tarawa had scolded her for the loss of valuable extraterrestrial technology, as well as being unable to hold good relations with the hunters, that now wanted nothing to do with the marines and were done with treating them as "equals". Machiko also informed them of Sereda's report, and that another Killer base was located somewhere, with the off-chance of them raising a Xenomorph army. Regardless, Machiko did not care, citing that it was the marines problem now, and she was moreso thankful that she could return to the normal human life she had once taken for granted and given up.

Personality & Traits[]

"That's the first thing I learned about hunter culture - you're only as good as your last fight. And that goes for every member of the clan."

―Machiko (from Aliens vs. Predator: War)

Despite a stern demeanor and firm attitude more associated with that of a corporate suit, Machiko Noguchi was revealed to be a born-survivor, not only surviving a Xenomorph infestation but also being tough enough to partially adapt to the brutal hunter-culture of the Yautja.

Although short in stature, Machiko was well-trained in firearms and self-defence, and was in top physical condition. However, she was largely unsociable, believing herself to be an outcast who couldn't fully integrate with either her fellow humans or the bigoted Yautja whom she joined after the Ryushi incident. Machiko was unpopular among the ranchers at Ryushi, something that former administrator Hiroki had attempted to help her with, and it was largely due to his efforts that she was able to come out of her shell and integrate with them.

Ultimately, when Top-Knot's clan embarked on a human hunt, she realized her true allegiances lay with humankind, and she subsequently betrayed the hunters.

Equipment[]

Before her integration into Predator culture, Noguchi used a 12.5mm Smith revolver as her primary weapon. After becoming a hunter, Noguchi bore a customized Bio Mask and Predator Armor specifically made for her. She also utilized typical Yautja weaponry, including the Plasmacaster and Wristblades, alongside other weapons.

List of Notable Victims[]

Trivia[]

Machiko was the first known human marked by the Predators in the continuity, but the second chronologically, the first being Lex Woods in the early 21st Century.
In Peter Briggs' unproduced Alien vs. Predator script, titled The Hunt: Alien vs. Predator, the lead character was named Hiroko Noguchi, a virtual amalgam of Machiko Noguchi and Hiroki Shimura from the comic book.
Machiko's first name (真千子) means "True Thousand Child."
According to Aliens vs. Predator: Prey, Machiko was twenty-nine years old by the time of the Ryushi infestation.^[7]