A table was sat in the middle of the Malloc'aram, filled with different holographic images fighting for space amongst each other, small devices littering the table underneath the holograms all sat together. Around the table stood several of the Malloc, all conversing and gesturing wildly at the holograms on the table, the usual seriousness and lack of emotion replaced with excitement and energy only seen at the point of making.

On the largest hologram in the middle of the table could be seen a highly detailed model of Taren, orbiting slowly and at points zooming in on certain points of interest as the Tsukam's discussion continued. It would take place for several days with only minimal rest before a consensus was struck and the first fleets went out to colonise the planet, from there it was weeks before they got a sufficient colony set up. There'd been minimal resistance as the only real life on the planet seemed to be unintelligent. 

Once the colony had been set up the Malloc would arrive in force, keen to begin building this planet up into another worthy jewel of their budding empire and advance it beyond it's current state. More Tsukam had been created in order to populate the planet sufficiently and colonisation was beginning in force. The only concern for the Tsukam'akai were the strange energy readings coming from the centre of the planet, the energy being what was reducing the ecosystem of the planet and being far stronger than most of what they could produce at this point. 

Many makers would begin to study the strange energy leaking out from the core of the planet, taking samples of it in hopes of understanding what was causing it, some of the more brave Malloc were already seeking ways to harness this power.

Precautions had been taken, large shields, both energy and physical, had been erected across the vents from which this energy spilled forth in order to contain it within the planet, it seemed to have no effect on machinery nor on the beings that came into contact with it, but the Tsukam had no desire to ruin their advancement with unforseen effects of the energy.

Some Tsukam however did still experiment with the energies, seeking to harness them as a means of power for their people, it seemed to have many uses were it to be manipulated properly, especially in terms of creation. When applied to a matter engine it significantly increased the rate of production, and when applied to the body of a Tsukam it would enhance all physical aspects for as long as the energy were present within the body, although energy levels would deteriorate over time. It seemed that a certain Tsukam could only hold so much energy, and that this level varied from Tsukam to Tsukam, some able to hold vast amounts and others not a drop at all, it was definitely a curious energy form that many were interested in researching. 

From what they could tell this energy seemed to be the 'magic' that some of the lesser races of the universe were so fond of, although this was it in it's most raw and untapped form it was confirmed to be the same type of energy that the mages of the universe wielded, some of them to great effect.

Over the largest vent of magical energy a large matter engine was created, a workshop for those wishing to study this energy and harness it for the good of the empire or for their own personal creations. The Malloc'akai came personally from Tsuka along with their closest advisors and aides to collaborate with the Malloc already on Taren in order to create the great workshop that would perform further research into this magical energy. Even within the mind of Kelleron new possibilities were approaching with the addition of such an interesting form of power, in their previous civilisation they'd had nothing even close to the magic that the primitive beings of this universe wielded, and if they were able to wield it sometimes to such huge effect then Kelleron shuddered to think about what magic could do were it wielded by a more competent race like the Tsukam'akai.

Already there were several budding mages within the ranks of the Tsukam'akai, those who were capable of at a very basic level manipulating this energy and storing it themselves, most aided by machinery of some sort but some capable of doing so independently. When the Tsukam'akai discover something new that has limitless possiblities they aren't quick to shy away from researching and developing it, even if the cause of such massive amounts of leaking magical energy is unknown. None could claim to be even slightly proficient at it's usage yet, but the fact that they were making an inroads into magic was enough for the Tsukam for now, it was a beginning and they'd develop it further in their normal fashion of researching and developing till all is known on the subject. 

Kelleron themselves was also beginning research into the subject, their capacity for magical energy having been found to be specific for the study of the subject, it would be the beginning of a whole new branch of research and development for the Tsukam'akai and one that none wished to miss out on.

It seemed the anatomy of the Tsukam'akai wasn't fully capable of utilising the magic in the ways that the lesser lifeforms did. It seemed that magical energy at most seemed to improve their own inherent skills rather than giving them any new abilities like it did the other races, it improved their own abilities to manipulate matter and the different forms of energy, gave them increased speed during their making as well as allowing them to perform far more complex manipulations than their expertise would usually allow. It was an incredibly important discovery for the Malloc of the Tsukam'akai as it would allow them to advance several types quicker than they had been thus far, as each Malloc could perform far more efficiently and advance their own development far faster.

As such none of the Tsukam'akai could really be considered magic users by the definition of the word more commonly known among the lesser species, instead all they used it for was enhancing the abilities that they already posessed. It was an interesting point that they were in essence unable to use magic as the other species were, but to most it just presented a temporary obstacle. If in their current form they were unable to use magic then they could simply alter their form as they pleased into one capable of becoming mages in the galactic sense of the world. Assuming of course that any Malloc found interest in using galactic magic rather than just keeping with what most considered to be their own far more efficient and versatile abilities, suffice to say it was unlikely that many Malloc would choose to devote their time to modifying themselves onto the path of becoming a mage in the regular sense of the word.

The main usage of the magical energies they were now harvesting was in increasing the production of the matter engines and in energy production. There were whole clans that had devoted their entire presence on Taren simply to the task of using the magic energies to improve the efficiency of the matter engines for the empire. Others were looking at it as a potentially far faster renewable power source, although viewing it in that way brought up a whole other set of ideas, which then brought up a whole new set of questions which would have to be answered.

To begin with was it truly a renewable source, scanners showed only a colossal lifeform residing in the centre of the planet, currently they were unable to get within a kilometre radius of it. Getting any closer would require penetrating several layers of high density barrier magic which currently they did not have the capability without turning far more manpower to the task than they were willing to spare. It was only through miniscule pressure vents in the barriers that the magical energy they were utilising was draining through, and no probe could be sent through to find out without losing connection as soon as it went through. Truly they were not sure how long this energy would continue to be expelled and what exactly it was at the centre of the planet.

At the barest minimum they had concluded that whatever it was at the centre was producing the magical energy that they  were utilising. What it was they were unsure of, and for how long it'd continue to produce this energy they were unsure. Another point of concern was the fact of was the creature hostile, they'd have no way to know right up until the moment that it decided to begin hostilities.

Several layers of both physical and energy barriers were formed around the outside of the already present magical barriers. The Malloc had worked tirelessly to ensure that barriers formed of every type of energy that they could currently produce were in place and that there were physical barriers made of every possible element they had access to. No chances were taken that it would be only one type of material or one type of energy that would be capable of stopping whatever ti was in the core should it prove hostile. Currently they were more than happy to simply siphon off it's produced magical energies, but were it to become a problem for them they had chaingun emplacements, missile systems and laser turrets pointed directly towards it in order to shut it down before it could cause to much harm.

A constant guard of both automatons and clan Menra was placed around the defences at all time as well as many Malloc in research stations behind the defensive line attempting to study whatever it was in the centre of the planet and divine it's nature. If they could then it was likely they could use their abilities to render it neutral towards them, or if they were willing even turn it into an ally. Worst case scenario they could always kill it and harvest it's DNA in order to then recreate another solely under there control, but for now they had no desire to potentially wake the sleeping beast and so were happy to just research it and utilise the energy that it produced at a constant rate seemingly endlessly.

Weaponry wasn't left behind the way the research was going. Several new magic cannons of varying sizes had been developed, as well as portable explosive weaponry and even just simple beam weapons. By reinforcing melee weapons with magical energy they'd also found that it increased their durability as well as their offensive statistics, sharpening blades, making hammers hit harder and in general increasing the efficiency of any melee weapons it was imbued upon. Clan Menra primarily were the ones working on the military side of development with this new energy, although other clans were making advances here and there, by far they were monopolising the weaponry side of magical energy.

Several demonstrations were staged on the destructive might of the energies by clan Menra, where others were still deciding ways to use the energy to create they were thinking of measures to defend and/or destroy others, with each Malloc of the clan under Skelk being trained in usage of the magical energy to some degree of competency to ensure their battle constructs were stronger, more efficient and could be more versatile. While it was definitely a revolution for the technological advancement side of the Tsukam'akai and a big help in the further advancement of technology in other sectors, it was definitely also in the hands of clan Menra a deadly weapon that could be put to deadly use through the various weapons that they created for it.

Skelk could be seen rushing from workshop to workshop for months after the discovery of magical energy, doing the most making that had been seen from them in many years even before the fall of the Tsukam'akai. It seemed that this new discovery and it's possibilities had rekindled Skelk's flame for making.

It was definitely a rather busy period for the Tsukam'akai. They'd expected only to have to colonise this second planet and then build the first outpost of their empire and transform it into another efficient and advanced society of technology similar to what they now had on their home planet of Tsuka. Instead they'd found their mysterious energy source and all on the planet were obsessed with finding out other benefits it may have and applying it to their research and projects. 

The power was definitely an unexpected but much loved find, and would be moreso if they could discern what manner of creature it was that was producing the power in the centre of the planet. No probes could penetrate the large magical barrier that was erected around the creature, and any Tsukam even seeking to go close were quickly met with near unbearable amounts of magical pressure. Even Kelleron and the others most skilled among the makers were unable to breach the energy fields, them being still far to novice in their study of magic and unable to understand let alone break such advanced and powerful shielding.

It ended up becoming somewhat of an annoyance for the Tsukam'akai, whatever race that it was that was producing such energy and had produced such shielding that they could even shut themselves off from the greatest Malloc that the empire had to offer must be a great creature indeed. Were it to decide to lower it's own barriers and become hostile towards them it was likely that they'd be completely unable to even hold it back and keep it contained, let along fight it and defeat it before harvesting it's tissue for cloning. Whatever it was that dwelled in the centre of the planet currently seemed in some state of hibernation, but they had no research to look into and so the creature could be woken up by anything for all they currently knew, they'd just have to hope that if it did awake either it would be peaceful or they could kill it before it returned to many Tsukam to core form.

Instead of working to confront the threat the general consensus was that all that they could do was work on their own technology and advance as quickly as they could to the point where they'd have the ability and technology to deal with the creature should it decide to rear it's head in hostility. Focussing on it now would bring no benefit, they were better off continuing their advancement as quickly and efficiently as they could in hopes that some point along the way they'd find something that would be able to deal with the creature, that of course assuming that the creature ever actually became a problem.

For now however the rest of the planet was beginning it's reformation. Specially engineered seeds were planted across the planet to allow grass to grow and spread over much of the surface, and matter engines dominated the skies along with the fleet of Tsukam'akai ships that still patrolled the orbital borders of the budding outpost planet. The fleets also protected the transport vessels travelling between Tsuka and Taren carrying more matter engines and resources from the capital planet in hopes to speed up the growth of Taren to a self-sufficient and high production planet as they were hoping it would become.

Special research workshops were developed on Tarento utilise the high environmental levels of magical energy, these workshops specifically working on developing the magical energy as an energy source, enhancer for the matter engines and for the various other possibilities that the energy had shown already in the short time they'd discovered it.

It wasn't long until the planet had become a hub of research, with more workshops on it than any other Tsukam'akai controlled planet other than Tsuka itself, the planet specialising in magical research and containing Malloc far more developed in the thoughts, theories and practice of the usage of magical energy than most others. More than just the research based workshops on the planet there were many assembling plants and workshops dedicated to the creation of machinery and equipment that couldn't be made on any other planet under the empire's control currently, only made possible by the magical energy on the planet at the time of their creation and the minds of the makers that had researched and worked so much with it.

The planet itself now looked far different from the barren wasteland it had initially been, with many matter engines dotted across it's surface, larger ones over the larger vents of energy, and great long low buildings over the vents that acted as security points. Much effort had been put into the development and defense of the planet and now it was fully operational as a hub for the technological and now potentialyl magical advancement of the empire.

Magic was a force that the old empire of the Tsukam'akai had had no access to, it was something that in their previous time they had no knowledge of nor any idea of how to use. Now however they had an abundant source of the energy, they could use it as they pleased and develop new technologies and the like using it's energies. It was a completely new tree of development for the empire and one that could help to catapult them into even greater heights than they had reached previously at their peak should it be properly developed.