Tarkasian culture is very ancient and has been remarkably stable in the long term, allowing for hundreds of thousands of years of recorded history and over five hundred years as a space-faring race.
Tarka culture is imperialistic and has a long warrior tradition, so it isn't surprising that the emphasis the Tarka bring to space is a militaristic one: Tarka ships are ideally designed for charging into battle, they sport good tactical speed, armor, and weaponry, and they have optimised their cruiser class ships for ease of construction.
The Tarka hyperdrive is by far the most intuitive mode of travel to grasp.
Unfortunately, however, these advantages come with a price. At the beginning of the game, the Tarka hyperdrive is the slowest FTL drive available, which means that only the Hivers will get off to a slower start. Apart from that, lacking any advantage in biological research, population growth, or expansion speed, the Tarkas are quite at the mercy of the nearby planets in terms of what they can grab to establish their empire.