Pkunk
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Template:Infobox Star Control race
The Pkunk are a fictional race of beings featured in the sci-fi Star Control computer game series.
The Pkunk are a race of toucan or dodo like bird creatures that are an offshoot of the Yehat. They ally with the protagonist in Star Control II as soon as he meets them.
When flying their ships in battle, they constantly taunt and insult their opponents (telepathically, probably), and this practice powers their ships. They state something to the effect that they are so inherently happy and carefree, that they must work themselves up by screaming insults.
The Pkunk Fury is a small but an extremely fast ship; indeed, it's the fastest ship in the game, with exception to the Thraddash Torch on full afterburners. It is capable of outrunning the Slylandro Probes, and the player's flagship is as fast only when the speed is fully upgraded. The Fury is capable of outflying missiles and unguided munitions fired by other vessels. It's also one of the most manoeuvrable ships, and a favourite against Sa-Matra.
Its attack consists of liquid metal (sic) sprayed on three sides of the ship, which incidentally can halt and crush incoming ammunition. However, the ship has very limited endurance - it runs out of energy quickly, and can take very little punishment.
When a Pkunk Fury is destroyed, sometimes it spontaneously "reincarnates", bringing back all dead crew members and (telepathically) broadcasting "hallelujah!" to all ships in the area. This practice can lead to frustration on the part of the opponent (and great joy for the controller of the Fury). The reincarnation algorithm and button mashing techniques to increase the chances of reincarnation were a hilarious subject of debate, speculation and arguments among avid players until the programmer revealed it to be a pure 50-50 coinflip.