Now they were definitely up and operational, but they needed to be more than simply operational, they needed to begin to grow themselves to regain part of their former glory and honour. They used to be at the pinnacle of technology and now they were but a shadow of that, their current day technology would have been considered a laughing stock within the Tsukam'akai before, and it made Kelleron feel mild unease to see how far they had fallen everytime they tried to use the simply barbaric excuse for matter engines that they currently had.

One particular project they'd been working on before was the refined version of a matter engine, it had been put to one side due to the concerns of ensuring the smooth growth of Tsuka but now it was something they could focus all of their time and energy on. They weren't required to do much work as the Malloc'Akai, no Tsukam would cause trouble and all would set their own projects, it was only when they felt there was a particularly special project they'd suggest collaboration to the Mallok'ak and the Tsukam would gather. For this particular project Kelleron felt as if they were enough and could likely at least get a prototype running of a more refined matter engine.

Kelleron shifted the particles in the wall to the centre of the great workshop of Malloc'armon, allowing them to pass through before reforming the wall to give them some privacy and space to think without interruption. The basis for refining the matter engines was quite simple but time consuming and required resources only a matter engine could produce.

Kelleron lifted the lid of a nearby chest and withdrew the partially started prototype they'd worked on what now seemed like so long ago. The core of the matter engine hadn't been completed and the shell was only barely started but it was something at least. It took several moments only for them to write a list of the various materials that they'd need in order to complete their latest matter engine prototype, they'd be simple enough to find should they look in the marketplace and in the other workshops for spare resources. Most Malloc would simply give the parts Kelleron required to him in respect of the rank of strongest Malloc of them all, others would seek to bargain for currency which was more troublesome but they could not be blamed for wanting compensation for their work.

Kelleron stopped by their chamber on their way out, passing off the list to several other Malloc who would be ready once they returned in order to begin helping with the process. The more of them that collaborated on a project with their energy and matter manipulation the faster the project would go. And in regaining the lost glory of their empire speed was a necessity, maintaining such a low tech level was embarrassing for them so they would need to strive as much as they could in order to increase their strength and their production capability to become what they once were.

As predicted it was not all that difficult to procure the needed parts. A few gems and crystals as well as some absolute purity metals were simple enough to gain, it was just Kelleron did not have the time to wait for their own matter engines to create the materials so it was easier and less time consuming to simply source them elsewhere from the markets and the other Malloc.

All of the materials were gathered in less than half a day's waiting and transported by several Malloc to Kelleron's workshop where the materials were deposited in neat piles against one wall to preserve the order that was necessary for any good Malloc. From there it took the better part of a day simply for Kelleron and five Malloc to prepare the materials, changing certain molecules and refining the already incredibly pure metals into far tougher and more resilient materials so that they could contain the power of a matter engine without causing a massive explosion. After all if one matter engine were to overload without sufficient shielding it could easily reduce a few kilometers to dust, theoretically they were unsure if even a Tsukam would survive such a blast without reverting to their core form.

Once the preperation was complete various tools were gathered, for a maker had to be more than just a maker with their abilities, they also must be proficient in the physical methods of crafting. All makers were as proficient with their hands as they were with their power, some even preferring to do more with their hands and only the incredibly strenuous parts or parts where it was necessary with their powers.

Kelleron took a middle road to either method, if it were possible to use their hands they would, it was less mentally draining than consistent usage of power and it helped to keep the skills fresh in mind and practised in body. For now it was simply dipping some materials in various solutions and grinding others up into powders to mix up with other solvents and solutes, more reminiscent of alchemy than much else but each movement carried out with the utmost of precision and care by the Mallok'akai and their attending Malloc.

The crystals were mixed with several solvents as well as being dissolved in incredibly potent acid taken from a flower cultivated in one of the bio domes. Once all was done the result was baked in a large furnace and then manipulated with their powers for several hours, the former steps having made the latter far easier as there were far less elements of the composition to change.

Once all was manipulated to the correct degree a number of tests were carried out to ensure that all of the materials were still absolutely pure and no errant atoms had gotten in and ruined the purity. There was absolutely no room for error here and so the tests were carried out multiple times to improve reliability, but in the end all involved were satisfied that there'd been no contamination whatsoever.

The dust produced was then put in a high pressure condenser while at the same time being manipulated by Kelleron's abilities to ensure the correct bonds formed as it was being compressed, quite a difficult task that had to be repeated twice as there was absolutely no margin for error. The third time was the charm however and the result was a semi-transparent crystal around the size of a tennis ball that Kelleron placed into a padded box and covered while they continued on with the metals. 

It was at this point that Kelleron moved to a smaller matter engine in a side room of the workshop and carefully deactivated it, gently venting out the energies to avoid a large explosion before removing a small green crystal from it and tossing the shell of the matter engine to one side in a large opening in the wall that fed to the room full of spare parts that Kelleron and any other good maker had, although theirs was consderably bigger and filled to the brim with all sorts of bits and pieces.

The second crystal was placed next to the first and the various gathered metals were smelted together and folded multiple times before also being reacted with a selection of acids and other solvents and then placed into a furnace for several days.

Once all had been smelted the workshop was sealed and only Kelleron and the chosen Malloc remained inside, both crystals were extracted from their lined beds and suspended in the air, with the treated metals laying on the floor below them. 

All four of the other Malloc that were inside with Kelleron laid a hand on their shoulder, feeding power to the Malloc'Akai and allowing Kelleron to use their power as if it were all one great entity. While Kelleron was considered the strongest of them all for something as unpredictable and potentially dangerous as what was being attempted there was no harm in gaining help through the power of others, and if they were off by any sort of error at all it was likely the entire workshop would explode with the dangerous release of energy that this would trigger. 

They'd gone over the plans for this so many times that each could recite the instructions word for word from what had been decided, yet still nervousness hung in the air as the five Malloc slowly raised the metal from the floor and began to coil it around the two suspended crystals hanging in the air.

They had to take frequent breaks during the process to prevent them all from running out of energy and reverting to their core states, once the first had been made the process could be refined and polished to the point where they'd be able to mass produce them, but for the first one they had to be absolutely perfect, and a lot of what they'd known had been lost in the fall so they were working half based on what remained of the archives, and half on what they'd learned and hypothesized from their interactions with the matter engines they had and could currently create. 

All in all it was a time of great stress as they continued on trying to forge the next tier of engine that would then allow them to increase their production and open up new possibilites to the Malloc for new inventions, craft, even weapons of war and armours for those inclined to use them. While the Menra might favour using their own created weaponry none were likely to say no should they be offered a weapon created by several Mallocs over a considerable amount of time compared to one they'd created over the course of a few moments or hours by themselves.

It was a delicate process, but with the five of them working on it in tandem all focussed through Kelleron they could proceed five times faster than usual and need far less breaks as the mental strain was shared between them all.

It took far more than they'd initially planned for, far more energy, far more breaks, far more resources even for them to get this one prototype that they'd planned for to work. The mental strain even shared between five of them was far more severe than they'd expected it to be, it was lucky in fact they'd decided to do it between the five as even amongst them there were moments Kelleron could feel their minds eroding. Alone it was likely Kelleron would have fallen before he could complete this engine, something unthinkable for the Malloc'akai, they'd lose much honour over such a thing. 

Even with the unexpected amount of time taken for them to create a working prototype they did still manage to do so. A working prototype was created, and was rigorously tested by all five of the present Malloc before they began constructing twelve more. It would only do that when something of such usefulness was created one would be distributed to each of the clans, now that it was the most efficient current model of the matter engine each clan would have a master copy they could then mass produce for their makers. While a larger matter engine such as the one around the workshop was far better, for a smaller one for a single workshop the newly created models were far easier to use.

It was a great breakthrough for the Tsukam'akai in their current state and a small step towards them reclaiming some of their former power and glory, for now it was a step towards their next tier of production of various items they'd need to improve their budding civilization.

It took as long to produce the remaining eleven models as it did for them to produce the first one together now that each knew what they would have to do to create it without error, it was simply the first model had been an uncertainty and so they'd had to take far more care than now that they were aware of the intricacies required. Once the remaining eleven were complete each was sent to a different clan for their own usage and production, so that they could then begin to produce the next tier of goods for the empire's usage. The Menra clan in particular seemed quite excited by the prospect of having far better more portable matter engines, them seeing it as a way to set up easier guard posts and defensive stations with access to resources at a far faster rate should they need to.

The time following the creation of the newest tier of matter engines was a time of great progress for the Tsukam'akai, all advanced far faster than was expected as they could gain materials far faster than they could previously and so materials were being produced at a far faster rate than the Tsukam could use them. Once the material storage silos had been filled and some of the underground chambers converted into storage chambers the excess resources were then sold off on the galactic markets, only the more basic ones that were commonly available to the inferior races, the better ones were all kept of course for the advancement of the Tsukam'akai.

Kelleron didn't stop there however, already within the Malloc'armon they sat at their desk using their holographic screen writing up calculations and engineering drawings for the next tier of matter engine, very little was already known about this particular engine as most of the files containing it had become corrupted. That meant that Kelleron was almost starting at square one in terms of producing this even higher tier of engine so it would be a long time in the coming.

Many demonstrations were made using the new matter engines, faster ships, tougher ships, stronger weapons, more efficient fuel sources and fertilisers for planting in the bio domes. All manner of creations were made with the assistance of the newer engines further bringing glory to the Tsukam'akai, it also was a time of increased distrust for the Melna clan, after seeing the state of the technology of other civilisations and noting they had nothing even close to the matter engines they'd become rather protective.

It was a reasonable thing, the lesser races would likely love to get their hands on a matter engine, they might even advance their technology with them in the way the Tsukam were now, and so they could never go out onto the market, if they did then the lesser races might catch up to a level where they'd pose a threat. The Tsukam'akai were already heavily outnumbered and outgunned, their only grace was their technology, if the other species in this galaxy could catch up to that then the results could potentially be disastrous. 

Luckily there would be no Tsukam that would willingly part with their matter engine to a lesser species, all knew that they should not seek to allow others advancements not their own. All Tsukam wanted glory for the Tsukam'akai and that would rely on them maintaining their technological supremacy. The files on the creation and their capabilities were buried deep in the restricted areas of the Tsukam'akai networks but were recorded for access by Malloc that may need to see them in future for further advancements just as Kelleron was already focussing on currently.