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Datak Tarr has been very successful in building up his diverse business interests in the town of Defiance, as well as his fortune. A scheming Castithan alien and ark survivor, he has primarily been a racketeer in Defiance’s underworld, running everything from gambling to weapons smuggling and organized crime.

Background[]

Datak was born into a lower caste on his homeworld. He is identified as being of the Shanje Liro by Shigustak Kurr, but his wife, Stahma, mentions that back on Casti, he was of the lowest Liro of the lowest caste.

Datak was a survivor who found his way onto an Ark despite his low standing. He received passage as payment for a gambling debt. There he met Stahma, who admired his instincts. She had been engaged to marry, by her parents, a Castithan of the highest Liro. She described Datak as a scruffy nobody with a wicked smile, who loved her beyond reason and pursued her shamelessly. Her furious betrothed challenged him to a Castithan blood duel, which never took place, as Stahma's betrothed was mysteriously and accidentally flushed out of an airlock into space on his way to the duel. Sometime afterwards the two became husband and wife.

Once they arrived in Defiance, he used brute force and wits to establish a powerful business interest in the town.

Season 1[]

He has come to own a stake in many of the businesses that make up the section of Defiance known as the Hollows. True to his Castithan ways, Datak is always on the lookout for opportunities that allow him to get his hooks into people so he can later manipulate them to his own ends. He has also been used by the city as a go between in negotiations in an arms deal with the Votanis Collective.

More than anything, Datak desires legitimacy and a better future for his family. To this end he has begun to seek power and status as a leading citizen. First by co-sponsoring the statue dedicated to the Defiant Few and then by scheming to be appointed to Mayor Amanda Rosewater's town council. He blackmails Amanda into giving him the position in exchange for information about her sister's kidnapping. In the pilot episode, he stands behind Amanda to fight off the Volge, promising that "the vig on all debts is forgiven for every man who fights in the battle." Later, he announces his plan to run for mayor in "The Bride Wore Black".

Quotes[]

We Castithans have a saying: The fruit of a misdeed leaves a sour taste. -Pilot

There's nothing more dangerous to people like us than an honest man. -This Woman's Work

Grandma Stahma loves purple-enchanter penis so much she's forgotten all about your daddy, Alak. -History Rhymes

Amanda: Alak tells me you've asked to die on the shaming rack. What's your angle?
Datak: I have quite possibly delivered this town into the hands of a madman. I've destroyed my family. I've put the lives of everyone I love at risk. For a Castithan, atonement can only be achieved by what you humans would call "rough justice." I could explain this in greater detail, but what's the point? My reasons don't matter. I suggest you ask yourself if you'd prefer my death be quick and clean or a slow, agonizing public spectacle?
Amanda: Your request is granted. -The Beauty of Our Weapons

Stahma: The Enchanter wants to spirit me away to Australia. Do you have any idea where Australia is?
Datak: Why would I know something like that? -When Twilight Dims the Sky Above

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