Numbering just thirty-four, Delta-class Advanced Commandos—also known as Delta Advanced Comamndos or simply DAC troopers—were formerly an elite branch of the Dlarit Special Operations Group. Envisioned in to be the best-of-the-best, the thirty-four DAC troopers were provided with most well equipped and highly trained soldiers in the Dlarit Corporation. However, after only its first run, the Delta Project was abandoned in favor of training larger numbers of less advanced Dlarit Commandos and regular clonetroopers in order to replace the numbers lost during the Fall of Antei in 27 ABY.
While many of their number were eventually killed in action, the Delta Advanced Commandos proved instrumental during the Yuuzhan Vong War, working under the watch of Fleet Admiral Araic Simonetti's Special Operations Division to maintain control of the Orian Pipeline and the spacelanes around the Orian system. As time went on, however, the surviving troopers began exhibiting signs of behavioural instability, a product of their unrestricted free will, which had been intended to make them more efficient. Come the sacking of Orian by the Vong remnants of Warmaster Varesh Shai in 31 ABY, several of the remaining DACs deserted, turning on the Corporation; and nearly all those who remained loyal died in the brutal siege by the Peace Brigade forces of Yashais dei Izvoshra.
Following the siege, only a dozen or so DAC troopers remained in service, and any plans to restart the project were put on indefinite hold until the psychosis developed by some of the original troopers was understood and could be addressed. Come 33 ABY, this number had shrunk further still with the casualties incurred in the battle against the Killiks of Salas V and the uprising of the Ekind natives of Tarthos, leaving less than half a dozen DACs alive. With the sabotage of the Cenota Facility by unidentified infiltrators, the Delta Project finally came to an end.
History
DACs often wear customised armor with accessories such as a kamaThe Delta Project began in early 27 ABY after the Dlarit Corporation recovered a number of Spaarti cloning cylinders from a rogue Kaminoan scientist. With Spaarti cylinders in hand, the Corporation secretly had them installed in the lower levels of the Cenota Facility on Gamuslag. The prime clone was selected from among the ranks of the Dlarit Security Force and work on an initial batch of thirty-four DAC troopers was begun for completion in 28 ABY.
The Delta Project was to prove somewhat short lived when the Dlarit Security Force was decimated in the middle of the year during the Fall of Antei. In order to replenish the ranks and provide crew for the new warships scheduled for completion in 28 ABY, the project was put on hold indefinitely and the cloning cylinders reassigned to begin work on a new line of ordinary field soldiers. However, even with all the cylinders now producing lower quality clonetroopers, only a few dozen could be produced each batch, and the damage from the Fall of Antei was set to take years to repair, so the Corporation was forced to make do with only the initial batch of thirty-four Delta Advanced Commandos.
For the most part, the thirty-four Delta Advanced Commandos were assigned to the Special Operations Division under the command of Fleet Admiral Araic Simonetti. While the troopers operations were generally classified, with many being killed in action while away on solo missions, they played a vital role in the defence of the Orian system. Examples of their sacrifices include Delta-22, whose reconnaissance along the Hydian Way alerted the Corporation to the Vong fleet amassing at Telos in 28 ABY, enabling the Dlarit Navy to mount a surprise attack before Supreme Commander Drathul Amnan could launch his own. By the end of the war, many DACs had fallen. Their sacrifices being made worse by the fact they had no families to mourn them, and in the interest of maintaining operational confidentiality, many were simply declared MIA despite Dlarit Intelligence being positive of their deaths.
Nothing could have prepared the Corporation for the surprise raid by the forces under the command of self-declared Warmaster Varesh Shai. In the final battle against the remnants of the Yuuzhan Vong Empire, nearly all the remaining DACs fell in battle, many giving their lives during the evacuation of Kar Alabrek. Further, for reasons the Corporation's top scientists have still yet to ascertain, some of the Delta Advanced Commandos had become to succumb to clone madness, with Delta-1 and Delta-32 deserting the Special Operations Group and going rogue. In Delta-1's case, in the confusion during the sacking of Sadow Palace, he captured Kharon Daragon, whom he then sold to agents of Vega Incorporated—however, operatives from Clan Naga Sadow tracked the DAC down to the criminal underworld station of Refuge where they executed the trooper for his crimes.
Following the war, between the number declared either "MIA" or confirmed KIA, and those who deserted following the Peace Brigade attack, there remain no more than a handful of DAC troopers left. Considering the behavioural problems revealed by the likes of Deltas 1 and 32, the project was unlikely to ever be resumed until a way was first found to stabilise the development process. However, following the sabotage of the Cenota Facility by forces unknown, the Corporation's cloning project has permanently ceased, bringing an end to the Delta Project.
Limited production
As with all cloning: quality cannot be hurried. While Spaarti technology was not as successful as Kaminoan or as fast as Arkanian methods, it was capable of satisfactory production times with the average clone taking a year to grow, as opposed to ten under Kaminoan methods, or six months using Arkanian. The original batch of DAC troopers were completed on schedule in early 28 ABY and performed significantly better in combat than ordinary special operations troopers by virtue of having been allowed a full year to develop.
While the DAC troopers all came from the same prime clone, they were not entirely identical. Each exhibited a number of individual traits, having retained a much greater degree of normal cognitive capability and free will compared to the later mass-produced troopers. The method of cloning employed also meant the clones to exhibited various phenotypes, leading to subtle degrees of variation between them, such as hair or eye color.
Known DAC troopers
Trivia
While unspecified DACs had already been getting killed off or going rogue one-by-one in run-ons and other competitions, following the Ground Troop Reset in 2010 the remaining DACs were written out as either having been killed during the Yuuzhan Vong War or else as having gone rogue, with the few remaining DACs now accounting for the handful of ARC Troopers purchased by Naga Sadow. The exact number of DACs who deserted as opposed to died has been left ambiguous because they are now being reworked into a group of antagonists who may one day return to trouble their former creators.