Daktaklakpak

The **Daktaklakpak** are a group of semi-sapient machines originally built by the Precursors, putting them in the same boat as the Mmrnmhrm and the Mycon. Due to their having been directly created by the Precursors they have evolved into arrogant beings, as they no longer realize that they were built as simple maintenance drones. They were in fact prevented by their creators from being able to reach full sapience which, when combined with their amateurish self-modification, has resulted in an initially indecipherable language, although it was eventually translated. An example of this language would be: "Daktaklakpak! 5576 squared! 888, warning!" "Daktaklakpak" is in fact the beginning of an alphanumeric string that encodes their creation within Precursor factories, perhaps including the Mother-Ark, their full name is the entirety of the code, containing all information about them.

## Biology

The "Daktaklakpak," the name they had designated for all other races to utilize, are a race of scrubbing machines designed by the Precursors for routine maintenance tasks such as repairing ship hulls and removing vermin. As such, they are an inorganic race, and are created by factories much in the way the Mmrnmhrm were. In face, the original stock of Daktaklakpaks was created by the Mother Ark, now defunct, leaving the species to rely on constructed factories to produce more of themselves. Being how they are simple devices, this is not a difficult task.

## Culture

The Daktaklakpak believed strongly that they were the second most superior life-form currently living. Their real name, unrevealed to other races, is a alphanumeric equation which encodes their construction plans for their factories. Because the true name of the Eternal Ones, or "Eternal1s," is also an alphanumeric string of information, the Daktaklakpak believed that such a similarity could not be a coincidence. Their spurious logic: The Eternal Ones have a symbolic name. The Eternal Ones are powerful. The Daktaklakpak have a symbolic name. Therefore, the Daktaklakpak are powerful. Such flawed thinking riddled the Daktak, making them untrustworthy allies and unreasonable foes. However, their possession of the Red Spiral Rail, the housing for an intelligence seeking artifact, did validate their claims to all who cared to listen.

Because the Daktak held themselves in such high esteem, they believed themselves to be the true inheritors of all Precursor lore and treasures, as well as the rightful heir to all resources everywhere. They, like the Mycon, ascribed to a methodology of helping others only when it furthered their aim of destroying all things not helpful to them. However, the Daktak took this to the final degree: They held all other life in contempt, and if a race promised no more benefits to them, that race would be forfeit, their "hoarded" mineral reserves liberated and processed into more Daktak.

This was, however, held largely in check by two things: First and foremost was their lack of any real power physically, and secondly by their need of other races to assist them in realizing their destiny -- amassing all Precursor belongings. To this end, the Daktak were convinced to join the Crux. Again, however, the Daktak philosophy of disposal when no longer useful existed; not only would they not join the League, but they sought to undermine both League and Crux to hasten the other members' demise.

The Daktak retained their position through shows of logic that were baffling to the Crux races, but totally spurious. Their own prognosis on the League was that it was inefficient based on its refusal to take slaves or commit acts of genocide. Such acts, according to the Daktak, were paramount in the evolution of a species to sentience, and held, to them, sustained value in the vigor of a sentient race. Such a debate is pointlessly flawed, and yet the Daktak believed themselves exemplars of such a continued success based on slavery and genocide, even though they did not evolve and never would. These issues did not press heavilly on the Daktak cognizance circuitry.

## History

The Daktak were created by the Precursors some Cycles ago to maintain crucial Precursor equipment, chiefly the Mmrnmhrm and the Cosmic UnDevolver, or C.U.D., which was to be activated on a Precursor periodically by the Daktaklakpak. They were also created at a sub-sentient level, like the Mycon, not only to avoid depredation by the Eternal Ones, but so that contemplating the Eternal One name would not make them go mad, but simply self-destruct. Such a factor was not a major concern to their designers, but it was key in their elimination from the Kessari Quadrant.

After the last Feeding cycle, the Daktak, like the Mycon, suffered bit decay, and began to degenerate. However, the scrubbots attempted to reprogram themselves, but their unsophisticated nature made them poor choices for such work, and they made the job even worse. The result was a retention of the theme "monitor Precursor devices," but the reason and tasks associated with it were lost, and so new ones were created. The Daktak gave themselves a purpose -- their purpose was to collect Precursor artifacts and to decipher the Eternal One name, and their aims were all important. This had much to do with their unstable philosophy and unpleasant logistical conclusions.

When Plexor stumbled upon the Daktak, it was well past time for the Precursors to have been undevolved, and this task, along with maintenance of the Mmrnmhrm, would continue to be left owing. Plexor promised to aid the Daktak in their foolish quest for Precursor information, as well as a slave force of Doogs to help them extrude artifacts. The Daktak accepted the proposed alliance, and joined the Crux, fitting K'tang Cripplers with weaponry and advanced technology. By the time the League arrived in the Kessari Quadrant, the Daktak already had Vivisectors in orbit around worlds with anomalous readings, probably awaiting the Ploxis Prime's delivery of Doog workers.

Relations with the Daktak were terse and punctuated with missile bursts. The Daktak managed to adapt some technology to shatter the Chmmr in an effort to enslave the Mmrnmhrm, but to no avail. Ultimately, when the name of the Eternal Ones was found, it was delivered to the Daktaklakpak, with expected results. The robots traded valuable information for the name, both undermining the Crux and demolishing themselves in the process.

A key piece of that information lead to the negation of the K'tang threat, and the K'tang king blurted out the Daktak reset code, which would restore them to their original, barely-sentient scrubbot function. A device was created to broadcast the signal, and the Daktak returned to their main function, forgetting both Crux ideals and wrongful logistic errors concerning their purpose.