Storage was the latest obsession for the Tsukam'akai. They had nowhere near enough room to store all of the machins and creatoins they had without completely ruining the planets they controlled by piling them high with storage warehouses full of inventions that would likely never even see the light of day due to their relative uselessness other than in incredibly specific circumstances. Each Malloc was free to choose their own project so long as it contributed to the advancement of the empire in some way and so many Malloc had created things that slightly improved ease with their current lack of Gemen, or things that weren't useful in anything other than one very specific circumstance that didn't arise all that option. No one would ever dream of telling the Malloc to cease making their own individual creations and instead only focus on what was dictated by the empire, each was free to create as they wished and could only choose whether to work on an empire scale project or their own creation that would improve crop yields by 0.01%. It was down to the specific Malloc and no one else.

The problem however with this was that there was a lot of realitvely unused inventions throughout the various cities, it was unfortunate as the Tsukam'akai had no desires to environmentally ruin the planets that they colonised, all of their energy forms and creations were environmentally neutral and local wildlife was left to it's own outside of the cities. Upsetting an environmental balance would have dire effects on a planet and the Tsukam understood that and didn't wish to risk nature's wrath, while they could quite easily repair any damage done and lessen any effects caused was it not just easier to simply not cause those issues to begin with.

To combat their growing need for space and storage however they Tsukam were attempting to revive one of their technologies from the former empire, by compressing matter you could store much larger objects in a much smaller space, meaning that then they'd hav a much easier time storing the various inventions of the empire and all could be catalogued far easier also. It wasn't a terribly easy process to achieve as many steps had to be followed in a highly specific order in order to allow the devices to successfully compress and decompress whatever was stored within it so that it came out in the same way that it went in. 

For reasons that should be obvious a lot of the Malloc within the empire took interest in this project and began their own research into the possibilities of such technology should they be able to recreate it to the effect they had in the past. At their peak they'd been able to condense whole space stations and the like into spaces the size of a tennis ball, able to be carried around in a pocket should they desire and simply opened at a chosen point in space to release the station fully functioning with all systems intact. At their peak should they have desired they could have moved their home planet if they'd made a big enough device and prepared sufficient safeguards against failures, not that they'd ever wanted to do such a thing but it would have been fully possible.

What they were currently striving for was but a fraction of that, they had no desire as of yet to reach such heights as they had in the past, nor any need for them to go to such extremes with this technology. For now all they simply needed was the ability to store machinery and inventions, not to store whole planets and stations for usage later, should they need to reach such heights then with sufficient time and Malloc they surely could reach that stage but for now they had no need to do so and other bigger priorities than mostly superfluous technology. 

It began with simple tests, compressing basic molecules down as far as they possibly could be under the effects of a single Malloc's power. The tests were quite extensive and were carried out on several thousand Malloc, including Kelleron and the Malloc'ak of the empire in order to determine the extent to which the molecules could be compressed without any sort of machine intervention. Each Malloc could compress to a different amount dependant on their skill, but still it was not sufficient for what they needed even when done by some of the most proficient Malloc in the empire and the Malloc'akai themselves. It seemed that while they could compress molecules to quite a pleasing extent and decompress them without any issue it would take far more power than any Malloc currently contained still so soon after awakening without the aid of some sort of machinery to boost themselves.

When many Malloc gathered together to focus onto a single object it was possible for them to reach quite a proficient stage of compression and decompression, but the combined eddort required for such a task was draining on each and inefficient with the numbers required to pull it off. The inefficiency and difficulty required to pull of such compression and decompression here was the main sticking point, they would need to create a system capable of doing so far easier than they had currently without having to gather the power of several hundred Malloc to do so, it would be far easier then for their dreams to be realised if such a thing could be created. 

Very basic models capable of reducing a molecules size by 1% or less weren't that hard for the Malloc to create, capable of operating via a small matter engine with no outside input from the user. Unfortunately the 1% size reduction was nowhere even close to what they needed for the technology to be even the slightest bit viable for it's intended purpose. It was going to take far longer than they'd initially expected it to for them to create even a partially acceptable version of this particular technology, it had been a long time since any had even worked on such a creation and it was leagues above anything they had attempted to recreate thus far other than the matter engines themselves, and they had been difficult to create and even moreso to refine.

Before even reaching the point of development there was much debate over the theory of the technology and how it could be achieved. Malloc spent large amounts of time on nothing other than simply doing the calculations and working through the various potential theories on how such a technology would work to the degree that they needed to make it work, each approaching from different ways in order to seek the same end goal. Slowly different methods that were disproved or simply deemed far too inefficient for their required specifications were dropped and the number of theories and plans were whittled down as Malloc grouped together over those that remained and seemed more promising helping to prove or disprove them to find the best and most efficient. 

Eventually all but two theories had been completely ruled out, be that because they were far to inefficient to work with the technology currently available to the Tsukam'akai or because they wouldn't work as intended, or simply because the fact that they wouldn't work at all was discovered during the testing of the theories.The two remaining theories had been proven to be by far more efficient than any of the others that had been researched and developed to a testing phase. Each of them had their merits and drawbacks and was a point of debate and development past simply basic testing phase to the point where basic models for each were made.

Each model went far beyond the initial testing phase, going so far as to have each developed into fully working methods of compression and decompression of space and trialled. Each was capable of reducing around ten metres worth of space down into something the size of a tennis ball, that in itself would definitely be impressive to any that had not seen the feats available with the spatial compression technology that their empire used to be able to create. For most Malloc their current progress was seen as a bit of a disappointment, they remembered their glory days when this much was but a trifling matter not worth the time of more than a single Malloc working on it as a private project. 

Nonetheless, it was a start, they were still only models after all and neither had been refined past their initial phase. Still, none could decide which of the models they would prefer to use and so both were developed further in both efficiency and strength, what they had currently was deemed unacceptable by most and so the main focus was on improving what they had as far as they could for now. Once they'd improved both as far as they could they'd see which worked best and continue the development of the more efficient and powerful model, it was just getting both of the models to the point where they felt that they'd done enough to each model to effectively discern it's strengths and weaknesses at various levels so that they could make an informed decision.

Development continued on both and debate got more intense as the two sides both sought to improve their own models in order to outstrip their opponents by as large a margin as possible in order to prove their own superiority and skill when it came to making. The competition to create the most efficient model of the spatial compressor got as heated as anything did within the empire, creating being the only thing that got the Tsukam truly worked up as each sought to create the greatest system that they possibly could and help the empire advance further than they already had in such a short time. In truth the fact that already they were beginning to rediscover and work towards this particular technology within such a short amount of time since their reformation showed how incredibly quickly they'd advanced in technology. In truth if they compared it even to how quickly they'd advanced in the past they were leaps and bounds faster than they had been before, the very prospect of the idea they were now advancing quicker excited the Tsukam more than anything singular thing they'd created so far.

Still, the competition was fierce, each wanted nothing more than the best version that they could create of their newest system, even clan Menra was excited with the possibilities that this new technology could be applied to within their military arm. If they could compress their own weaponry and fleet further then they could store far more within their transports and thus be far better equipped in their defence of the empire as well as it's further expansion.

They were now quite easily to the point where compressing ten or so metres worth of space into a space the size of a tennis ball was no great task, many models were available that would do such and some even more. Still, the two models persisted, each with their strength and drawback that prevented the empire yet from choosing anyone as truly superior, but both had progressed far further in far less time than what had been expected since the relative stagnation point they'd reached before. Breakthrough after breakthrough had been made and now they were making leaps and bounds forwards in both the amount that could be compressed as well as the efficiency of the compression and decompression.

Systems had been installed in many different warehouses already and each was organised far more efficiently now with objects compressed down into small bags that could be opened and activated in order to release the object back to its original size. It wasn't quite as effective yet as they would have liked, nor enough indeed for some of the plans that they had for the technology, but they weren't too far off of reaching the point that they were hoping to reach the minimum. It was simply a case now of improving the technology further so that more space could be compressed more efficiently into the same sized space, most of the Malloc in the empire now were working on the project now that it was nearing it's final stages and only needed that little bit more work till completion.

It was a joyous moment when eventually one system won out over the other. It was found that upon reaching a certain level of compression one system's efficiency dropped drastically beyond the point where it was really even viable to be used. The second system, however, retained its efficiency and so was chosen for sole continuation in the research and development, from then on all Malloc involved in the now redundant system dropped their research and joined the others on the now chosen system without any ire or bad will. Advancement and development came above all, even though their system had not worked out they were happy to assist in ensuring that this one was developed to its maximum potential for the good of the advancement of the Tsukam'akai.

Still, there were stumbling points, it was quite a time and energy consuming process and that much for sure would need to be changed, it needed to be far faster than it was currently and needed to take far less energy to perform. The energy costs were incredibly high to perform just one compression, for it's intended purpose they'd need to be sufficiently lowered and that in itself was quite a task to get the energy usage down to acceptable levels. The timing issue mainly came from the fact that it took time to impart such energy into the process, something solved without too much issue by adding a more efficient energy transfer system created specifically for the spatial compression tech and improved upon through several models until the transfer rate was sufficient to feed the spatial compression.

With the latest of their bottlenecks broken through they managed once again to improve their technology, reaching the point where they could efficiently condense up to twenty metres worth of matter into a tennis ball sized space, they were that much closer now to their immediate goal for the technology. It was just their current goal and likely would be expanded upon in the future, but for now, the goal was sufficient for anything that they'd likely need in the foreseeable future of their empire. Seeing only the amount of time it had taken them to produce technology of this level it seemed that it would definitely be a long time before they took it much further, with the peak of whole stations and cities stored in compression being so far off they would almost be a dream to the majority of the Tsukam'akai.

Still, they weren't far from what they were intending, for now, in fact only another ten metres or so before clan Menra's desired amount of space conversion would be available. The rest of the empire simply desired to make the amount of compressed space larger for the sake of storage efficiency and the like but clan Menra had a specific purpose in mind for the technology that could only be realised once they improved it a bit further than they had currently. It was just the last push for them to overcome their latest stage of bottlenecks and stoppages and get themselves into the final stages of development for their latest technology.

It seemed in all of their tests so far that most living forms were still a barrier, anything that required oxygen or to breathe in other gasses in order for it to survive couldn't be stored in such a way. Tsukam could be stored within spatial compression as they themselves were only beings of energy, they required no form of respiration or anything similar in order to survive they were beings of pure energy. Any living creatures that were spatially compressed that couldn't handle such conditions would immediately be killed during the process yet perfectly preserved when space was decompressed no matter how long it remained in the compressed state. 

It was an interesting discovery for the Tsukam and one they immediately put to use in storage of all of their various specimen of flora and fauna across their current empire in physical banks for preservation for future purposes. All of the Gemen that hadn't survived stasis also were placed in spatial compression storage, while they weren't all that useful in their current state and the Tsukam had yet to decide to gather their material in order to create new Gemen, in the future they'd likely be wanted and it'd be much better if they were in a more pristine state when they were eventually wanted. Currently, it was used only for storage purposes, although clan Menra had already militarised its usage for storage of their various weapons and armours that would mean they'd have to less rely on quickly made inefficient weaponry as they could create better weapons far in advance and store them in spacial compression for ease of transport.

With the new advances in compression technology now clan Menra were capable of storing whole scouting vessels in a space no bigger than a tennis ball and decompressing them in seconds for much faster response times and scouting. Where formerly a Long-Range Carrier would have rows of scouting ships lined up in hangars now it only had pods that would be brought forwards and decompressed as they were launched, if they had no pilots even then sometimes they were simply shot out of the carrier and decompressed already in space to begin moving instantly towards their destination. It made space travel far more efficient as more ships could fit into each carrier and each could be compressed already fully prepared for launch so as to save time and space. Development was continuing with hopes that eventually the other craft such as the fighters and bombers of the empire could be dealt with in a similar manner, but as things stood currently the other vessels commonly used were still too large for the technology to accommodate.

It wouldn't be that long before the dream became a reality though and their current goal was realised, the technology was quickly distributed across the empire and guarded far better than anything else that they had to offer other than the matter engines themselves. Should the lesser races discover the secret of spacial compression then they'd lose another great advantage that they'd only just gained back for themselves.

They now were in the final stages of development, overcoming the final bottlenecks and barriers that stood in their way, but Malloc this close to their goal could not be stopped. The collective might of the vast majority of the empire's Malloc by this point was working on the project and with their combined might and intellectual ability, they would not be stopped at such a late stage as this. Maybe were they one of the lesser species they would have given up by now but they were not, they were the Malloc of the Tsukam'akai, the most advanced nation of any especially within this universe. For every metre though that they advanced the calculations became harder, the theories more difficult to devise and prove than the last and the energy involved in completing the next stage of the design increasing exponentially. 

Efficiency now was the key, they'd developed a model that could compress up to a thirty-metre long object to the size of a tennis ball but it was still far more inefficient than the Malloc would like. With the current efficiency of the system it wasn't even worth using for the amount of energy it would take up except for the absolute necessities of it's usage, they were better off remaining with a far more efficient storage of twenty metres or less compressed. Although it was less space, when used together it would be possible to use two or three of the twenty metre storages and still consume less energy than with one of the thirty.

In the end, it was clan Menra that pushed the efforts further, they at the current state were the ones that were most invested in increasing the capabilities of the compression technology in order to house one of their larger fighter craft or other craft to increase their own military capabilities. It was brought throughout the whole clan and with no exceptions, each Malloc from clan Menra devoted all of their attention to the project on top of the significant amount of support from the other clans. While usually, Menra wouldn't get to involved in empire projects, for a short period of time they stripped their Malloc from military activities and left the majority to mechs and automated systems while they devoted their not insignificant resources and manpower to the task at hand.

With the increased manpower brought from clan Menra and the addition of several large transports full of magic energy charged cells that charged the Malloc temporarily the pace of work increased significantly. The molecular compression increased far faster and they were close to reaching the point that was required for clan Menra's military desires to be met. While the other clans weren't quite as invested in the military effort as Menra was they were invested in the development of the technology simply for the fact of its development for the betterment of the empire. 

While the extra space on top of what they'd already achieved didn't seem like that much to the majority of Malloc, they continued onwards with memories of what they'd achieved in the past of the empire and the desire to eventually reach such a stage even if for now they could only make small steps towards it.

Finally, they'd reached an end, the technology for molecular compression was developed to the point where up to thirty metres of matter could be compressed into a tennis ball sized area. Further developments meant that the user could decide what item they wanted to withdraw or deposit if multiple were placed within and so it could be used as an on-the-go bag with a far higher carrying capacity than what most would be able to hold on them feasibly. It allowed the average Malloc to hold as much as they desired on their person which in turn meant they'd have more of the components for making on them at any time as well as any important tools they may desire frequently, in short, it made things far easier for the average Malloc.

Clan Menra as was expected immediately began applying the technology to all of the docked ships, greatly increasing the capacity of the Long-Range Carriers as now they could compress all of the ships currently in the Tsukam'akai armada other than the carriers and jammers so far more fighters could be stored within a single carrier and released at great speeds to decompress ready for action in space already linked to the computers that would control their actions.

All in all, it was a great advancement for both the average Malloc and for the military advancement of the Tsukam'akai, both things that in the early stages they were currently in were much needed. They had yet to involve themselves in any sort of major battle but the war that nearly ended them had made most Tsukam at least partially paranoid to the possibility of a similar event happening again so this time they were prepared for a similar event.

What happens if they accidentally decompress?