All Comments on 'Three Square Meals Ch. 098'

There's my fix

Dang frail organic body!!!! Why you force me to sleep when there's Tefler to be had?????? I'll give it a comment and five stars, then read it in the morning.

All this build up for the big 100

Can't wait

Amazing as usual - thank you for sharing this

All that is going on in terran space is like watching a collision in slow motion, you have a hunch about what is going to happen. And it's agonising to watch it creeping towards the end.

Grrrrrrr! Curse you Tefler! Another cliffhanger!

Anyone else catch that she has high potential to be a Nymph?

The High Lord of the Brimorians has a nymph concubine right. That's what the "This one live's to serve you master" line was about. Maybe when the Invictus gets back they can see her and trade for her not the shield tech, it's not like they need it now.

Hopefully that random Malari comms officer reports the odd call from some weird Terran Admiral to his boss, otherwise I can't see how John is going to find about the Kintark invasion. In the end it doesn't matter, I'm sure Tefler has some hidden clue that we have all overlooked that will tell them. He does the opposite of a Deus ex Machina, he creates a critical problem, then when he solved it you see all the clues he left for you to follow.

I'm like a freaking crack whore getting my fix. John needs to nail Faye and fill her up and see what powers she develops. It would be cool to develop a physic link with her. Love the shield tech.

I hope we will see Terrans incur some serious losses now. They should finally get of their high horse and complacency of High Command rule, and get their shit (politically and ideologically) together. Instead, humans comes off as ungrateful shitheads that rely on John to bail them out of any of their stupid decisions and wait for most opportunite moment to stab him in the back. Or any other 'ally' for that matter.

Also, I really hope we will soon end the whole "John Blake the Gopher" phase. He is running errands without second thoughts all the time. Like this time with Vulkat, it should be more clearly elaborated, that he knows he is being used by Brimorians, and that the whole situations is shady as hell, but their mission is going to be profitable either way - as having new technology or ally from spiders is worth the effort. And whatever he can scam Brimorians for :).

I look forward what you are going to do with archanids. I would love to see it not progress with usual: 1. New Quest > 2. Beating Baddies > 3. Receiving Quest Rewards.

It would be great, if he could actually ally himself with spiders after figuring Brimorians are actually freaking going to attack Terrans, have been harassing Vulkat for centuries and are basically engineering, enslaving and breeding that whole Fish-Human hybrid species.

Tefler, as always, you paint a great picture and your writing is superb! Another well written chapter sir. But seriously, WTF man?? Killing off Devereaux like that? Gunned down unceremoniously, by a grunt following orders from a megalomaniac, trying to do the right thing by humanity?? Having die with no meaning to her actions? That's just wrong on so many levels!!! Yeah, we get the fact that Buckingham is a total ass who is unwilling to relinquish his position and has become mad with power, but did you have to go that far? I actually enjoyed Devereaux as a character and though she was a bit career driven, she had all the best intentions for John co. I seriously do hope that something most painful and vile happens to Buckingham for this, or that Devereaux somehow survived, but given how you wrote her last moments, I seriously doubt that she did.

I believe it's entirely possible that Marines waiting for the order to arrest a typically unarmed Admiral would have been issued non-lethal rounds or tasers or tranquilizers. On the other hand, she could have been shot in a non fatal area and passed out from shock. Not going to deny the possibility of her death either, as Tefler has started killing some of his named characters recently.

Tefler, another amazing chapter. Thank you for the work you do.

Traditionally, verbs whose roots have origins in Greek take the -ize suffix, and apology is of Greek origin, so it took –ize when it first came to English in the 16th century. Apologise emerged as a variant fairly early in the word’s history, but it only recently became the preferred spelling outside North America, possibly due to a mistaken belief that apologize is the American spelling and hence to be avoided.

FREE THE ZEE!!!!

Another great chapter Tefler, this time with setting new things into motion and preparing the stage for our actors to participate in.

We have the name of our mysterious character, Helene. It's clear that she's being set up to join John and the others *knocks on wood*, and I'm really excited to see how it all plays out. They seem to be former Terrans, bio-engineered to live underwater. Unfortunately, John decided to fight a bunch of zombie cyborg spiders before rescuing her! Hopefully we wont have to wait too long to see her again.

What is this mysterious Digital presence within the Brimorian network? Seems like the Brimorians used a ancient yet advanced foundation in which to use their network, not knowing of the advanced threats within (sort of like the Terrans with Nexus). How powerful is it, and what is it capable of? So much we dont know...

Rachel seemed to get over her fear of spiders (she wasnt a fan when Jade turned into one!). Or probably she's putting on a brave rational face.

Olympus looks to be spared as the Kintark head towards Terra. And John is definitely not going to make it in time. If you were wondering why Tefler started including David Gibbons and Ryan Murphy in the narrative... well, it might be up to them to protect their world now. And with Olympus spared, it might be where humanity survives after the catastrophe of the Kintark invasion. Charles would be a great leader...

And Lynette was redeemed, only for her to be captured by the ever maniacal Buckingham (no way she's dead. Definitely tranquilizers or stun weapons!). She might end up in Tartarus, but Im not sure how this one will play out...

It seems like the Kintark had a nymph to give to the Deep Lord as a token of their deal. How did the Kintark get a nymph? Curious and curiouser...

Not a lot of answers in this one, which is the best kind of frustrating haha. Im very much looking forward to finding the answers with John and the girls!

-Patrick

You make some compelling arguments about Devereaux possibly being alive, and it brings up some thoughts that came to me, after I had my morning coffee, lol! Killing an Admiral of Devereaux's caliber is something that can't exactly be swept under the rug or explained away. The best course of action would be to make her disappear and make it seem like she deserted, maybe transfer her to Webers custidy and have her incarcerated with the Nymphs and Jehanna. Since the greater whole of humanity is unaware of the threat that is on its way, it goes to reason and logic that those who are even I the halls of High Command are unaware of what's going on. If they truly knew, they'd likely be on the comms lines themselves, desperately trying to contact John for help. Regardless, Buckingham is already a dead man amd im eager to see that play out! Sorry if i seemed like an ass earlier.

I love that you did some research for a different network type and chose token ring. It was a blast from the past. The hidden black code was cool as well. Made me think of all the old mainframes that had ancient code on them that had to be updated for Y2K and when developers saw it they were absolutely confused as to who wrote it, what it did, if it was even needed, or to what else might be using it. My first thought was to call it a Logging Daemon. It just watches for stuff to document and to be secure so no one can delete their traces.

I think there are equal arguements that either Celphna or Helene could be a Nymph. Though i'm leaning towards Celphna being the nymph but that depends if Jade could tell if there was another nymph around. Then again only the TF spec ops squad sent to "extract" the nymph will know for sure. Because if you all remember back in the scene in tartarus with that conversation they said there was one promising lead on a nymph not yet captured.

I find it much more likely that the nymph that was mentioned on Tartarus is a different one than Celphna. How would Terran special ops be able to find or extract a nymph on Brimor? Secondly, they mention something about "good upstanding citizens" being depraved. I find it unlikely that those xenophobes are talking about brimorians that way.

Also, I find it VERY unlikely that Helene is a nymph. Mainly because there's no reason for a nymph to take the shape of a race called "The Abandoned". If she wanted to please a master she would be a beautiful brimorian like Celphna. Also, there are more of the Abandoned on that farm, among them males and I'm almost completely certain that there never were any male nymphs unless Maelnerak somehow created some and never showed them to Jade and her sisters. The only thing that points towards Helene being a nymph is that she isn't pregnant like the other females. As you might remember, lenarrans have a hard time getting pregnant.

It is much more likely that the Abandoned are some form of engineered hybrids between humans and brimorians.

I suspect Celphna is another glowing queen

Loved the story. I'm finally catching up now that I once again have a working computer.. Can't wait for the next chapter.

Ed Parachini

I loved this chapter as I do most but I don't understand the title !

there are no friends made in this chapter and what about infuencing people ?

the new friend might be that girl that jade met ...but I am puzzled about the other part !

Pretty sure Celphna is the only nymph at Sequathis (other than Jade of-course). Her beauty and statement "This one longs for that moment, Master" confirmed her identity. Though I doubt it was a gift from Kintark , more likely it came from other progenitor.

Helene is one of 'abandoned' and probably infertile , which of-course John can cure like her did for Edraele's bodyguards. So yet another candidate for addition and from what we know of history , once Jade and Alyssa set their eyes on a girl she is definitely in sooner or later.

I find it more interesting as to how Celphna will join crew since nymph can only gain new master if current one gives up ownership ( which i doubt deep lord will ) or if he dies. So all that remains to see is how John gets to know about presence of this nymph and how he kills the Deep Lord . I am guessing he might give the world back to Abandoned or Vulkat and forge yet another alliance.

It says in this chapter that Calara has been spanked by Alyssa, but what chapter is she talking about, if any? Either way, Tefler should totally write that scene: there are very few actual sex scenes between the girls of the Invictus, which is something that needs to be remedied.

There are plenty of opportunities to have sex scenes with the girls but Tefler never seems to give us the full scene: we never got to see Sakura getting dominant with Dana and Rachel, or Sakura volunteering to "discipline" the crew, or the girls teaching the young matriarchs, or the spanking of Calara by Alyssa, or any scene with Alyssa using her physic strap-on to screw another girl.

Just a suggestion. I can't remember the last time we were shown an in-depth sex scene without John present, and variety is the spice of life.

Great story Tefler. Thank you for your originality and fabulous imagination. Can't wait to continue the journey. Love it!

: ) Dawn

sweet mother hubbard somebody call the exterminator. Tefler you are raising my blood pressure.

ralph

Humanity is about to be exterminated, but I'm still in a state of denial .

I hope something or someone intervenes, however unlikely that is.

A part of me believes that humanity deserves it(atleast the admirals).

Or maybe the Terrans hold up against the Kintark until John or his allies

arrive. Damn cliffhangers.

Well you certainly left me puzzled about some things written in here. I look forward to it coming together in future chapters.

I do have a question, will you be turning this into a bi-monthly space opera or a real book with a start, middle and finish. Either way is fine by me. As a bi-monthly and considering that everyone is basically Immortal, I will look forward to another twenty years of reading and wondering what new quest John and the girls will be off too.

Cheers!

1st time poster, long time reader with a couple of questions :)

So why wasn't Faye given holographic wings? I know physical ones were explained, but seems like holograms would be simple compared to some of Dana's other inventions.

I'm okay with the wings without flight. Although, flight doesn't seem out of reach. The paragon suits have flight mode, why not Faye's physical form?

Another great chapter. Thanks Tef!

Breadcrumbs all over. Cliffhangers still hanging. New plot threads uncovered. I’m sure they will all be woven into a fabulous tapestry, but until then my brain is overloaded and threatening to explode. I’m even wearing my hat inside the house to reduce the splatter when my skull pops like a cherry bomb.

HillCountryCowboy

Okay. Might be overstating it a little bit but not much. I really enjoyed finding new chapters when I look. Thank you so much for not having a long drawn-out John's guilt over his slip up.

I hadn't thought about the fact that Jade needs her own female to partner up with and the girl she found underwater might be good candidate for that

I'm still waiting for Alyssa to realize psychically that something's wrong with the reporter

That's a first, thanks! :-)

"I'm still waiting for Alyssa to realize psychically that something's wrong with the reporter"

Sadly John only loaded Jehanna up once, and like the rest of his girls aboard the Invictus (apart from Jade), it takes three times before Alyssa establishes an empathic bond with them.

Tefler

I'm really excited with the introduction of Helene, and the fact that were (hopefully) going to have a brand new species on board the invictus. The reason for the similar body styles is narratively rock solid, and I love all the girls so far, but I'm loving that Tefler has branched out a bit lately.

Still in small bursts, with a Jade's Lenarran form (petite catgirl), Niskera (busty hardbody), Faye (petite), and now Helene (fins!). It's neat to see how these differences intrigue John, and although he has his Progenitor instincts, he still is smitten with other forms of beauty.

Which got me thinking... what would it look like for girls of different species to potentially join John's lovely harem?

1. Terrans: 5 Girls (6 with Jehanna) No brainer of a species for John. And with genetic/cosmetic differences it wouldn't be a problem to add more in the future.

2. Ashanath: 0 Girls. Even though they were created by Mael'nerak, attractiveness and breeding was nowhere near the top of the list for their uses... Pass!

3. Drakkar: 0 Girls. I doubt were gonna see a hulking podmother enjoying a romp on the bed. Pass!

4. Maliri: 2 Girls (11 with Edraele, Assassins, and Matriarchs). The Maliri were modified to suit Progenitors, so they're the biggest no brainers for John. Their similarities in body type/coloring is somewhat of a hindrance, and we've got 11 lovely Maliri as well...

5. Lenarran: 1 Girl. Tefler has toyed with the idea of Jade in her catgirl form, but I could see the crew adopting one more Lenarran girl to have that niche, while Jade keeps her "Nymph" form.

6. Trankaran: 0 Girls (1 with Niskera). John is not naturally attracted to Niskera, but still sees her beautiful in her own way. Hopefully she can join the crew and become linked to John soon, so that we could see how she adapts to the change.

7. Kintark: 0 Girls. Tefler hasn't really described female Kintark physiology. We know that their faces aren't classically beautiful, but could their bodies? Jury's out if we'd ever see one, but having a lizardgirl wouldn't be awful...

8. Brimorian: 0 Girls. A fishgirl is a bit worse off than a lizardgirl, and Tefler has pretty much given his answer in introducing the Abandoned. Pass!

9. Abandoned: 0 Girls (1 with Helene). Tefler's answer for a water based creature who inhibits the beauty of a Mael-created being. Can't wait to see more of her and her abilities (both pre and post change).

10. Enshunu: 0 Girls. One, we don't know what a female looks like. Two, Tashana might incinerate her the moment they meet. Three, these people thrive on sewing pain and misery in others. Doesn't seem like Johns type. Pass!

11. Achonin: 0 Girls. This is a bit of a guess, but I'm assuming that they're the yellow skinned, red haired women seen by Alyssa through Psychic imprints. Itd be interesting if John found a girl to help.

The other species don't really have a physiology suited for Progenitor romance (Imagine that hot Bolon action...), but I'm curious to see how Tefler expands the romantic horizons! Can't wait to see more of Helene!

Uh tefler I think that he loaded her up twice once in her apartment and again in the Invictous besides filling and is waiting for her decision to join though I probably am wrong and he loaded her for Jade to feed the other girls

John only fed Jehanna the once, in her apartment prior to the club bombing. They had sex on the Invictus after the Mikaboshi takedown, but Jehanna ended up feeding Tashana after that one.

Tefler

I didn't remember correctly then I'm looking forward to her joining and chapter 99 will have to get back on patron asap

Only one problem/issue/plot device was resolved (Edraile's guilt), four were introduced (Lynette's fate, cyber stalker, another nymph, and the Vulkat) and the fates of Terra and Olympus are made even less likely to turn out well...

And what with the state of all of John's allies, the miracles he'll need are adding up...

I'm going to be pulling out hair soon...

Just when you think there's more than enough threads ... we get more.

Helen. ( I have to throw in the, "is she fish or fowl?" ) "the abandoned ...", It just begs a back story.

So many more questions than answers. The Vultak, giant zombie cyborg spiders, Dana's reaction is awesome. Are they deadly enemies or new allies against the Brimorians? Maybe they just hate fish, or like the Drakkar and Asanath, they think they're very tasty.

A nymph consort to the Lord of the Deep. I concur with previous posts that a rescue attempt is in the future ... but will she leave? The Lord of the Deep adores her, so maybe she's happy. How can a guy Brimorian give her up when she's got a set of fins like that eh? (wink wink nudge nudge say no more eh?) Bet she's a goer. (Akn Eric)

Is Admiral Devereux alive or dead? Frankly, who cares. She's self serving duplicitous bitch. My concern is whether Admiral Harris, who has connections to the comm operators, will get notified of the dead comm link to the Dragon March. Then ... can he call for John and the motley crew with the Fleet Admiral pulling an Umbridge? Maybe Illrith will need to contact him. So many possible directions.

And what are the bits and bobs Rachel is going to fix for John? Something to release progenitor John with her meddling?

Then Jehanna, will her imprisonment (torture?) make her run to or from John?

This story keeps getting better.

Johnny Canuck

Another Cliffhanger and a 3 week wait! Aaaaaaarrgggg!!! Thanks again!! 5 stars

I think the story is great, but it is starting to get stale. The different threads that many have stated in the comments are starting to add up and the timeline is too small for the Lion to do it all. The plot progression could be read in one page, while the other 8 pages are being too tied up in the day to day activities of the charaters. Many of these days could be smmarized in two to three well written paragraphs, which would allow more focus on the plot progression.

Well it's really a big thing when people coming to this site for some sexy stories and get converted to thinking about the story plot. Tsm is really worth forgetting about some sexy fun.

I think that yellow skinned redhead thrall being achonin makes more sense. Really great chapter tef, I think there might be some answers to few questions before the big 100.

@tefler i m so waiting for faye to start teleporting please make john fuck her soon i guess it might not be there before this kintark war is over. But I don't mind waiting for it.

Can you tell when can we expect next chapter please, really excited for it.

Regards

Mg

Since I started reading this Epic Drama in early December, I have been unable to stop reading it, and have finally reached the last chapter published here!

Congratulations Tefler on your storytelling skills and writing ability, its been many years since a science fiction book of this calibre has been my pleasure to read.

With so many twists and turns, you captivate your audience, and the characterisations are superb.

Thanks indeed and looking forward to more!

Ifor

I disagree with those who mentioned that there are too many threads going on. Your writing and pacing truly are exceptional Tefler. The way you can come up with these inventive new adventures while incorporating them into the main storyline is really incredible to me, especially considering the many different shifts in perspective. Yet you somehow manage to weave it all together into a truly fascinating story. The writing, planning and foresight to come up with all of that is remarkable. Keep up your masterful work!

Now for my theories:

-Terra:

I was definitely thinking John would make it back in time before the Kintark arrived, but now I'm doubtful about that. I'm thinking humanity has a greater chance of defending itself in that battle, even without John, than apparently most readers here. I agree with the reader above who mentioned Tefler's including the fighter pilot and mech pilot as characters for us to root for and with as they defend Terra, as reasons to believe Terra isn't doomed. Plus, Charles talked about the extensive fleet upgrades that have already taken place, which could be just enough to hold of the invasion (especially considering the Fleet Admiral recalled all forces for this defense of Terra and Olympus shipyard).

My theory is that even if the Buckingham does manage to lead a successful defense of Terra, the repercussions from the Kirrix also mounting a major attack might be too much for Buckingham to handle from a politics perspective, especially if it comes out somehow that he didn't try to get John's help against the Kintark. (Then again will Buckingham's real undoing be related to the Lenarrans and the reporter Elani, if John is able to uncover that... No idea but I'm definitely eager to see Buckingham get his comeuppance either way).

-Admiral Lynette Devereux's death?:

I'm of the strong opinion she is actually dead and it was a very interesting twist to me. I saw her more as conniving and ambitious rather than duplicitous (as some readers suggested she was), and liked her character development here to not get Charles involved. After reading so many chapters and coming to expect that all of John's girls will be alive by the end, having one of the bigger secondary characters die would be a surprise for many longtime readers. Plus it'll keep more suspense the next time one of the characters is in danger, rather than thinking, "oh he/she will be fine in the end. Tefler's too nice to really kill that person off".

Also, I don't think it'd be that hard of a sell for Buckingham to pass of her death as a 'traitor trying to make a run for freedom', especially sense there probably would be an extra willingness to believe a story like that thanks to Lynton and Norwood's earlier betrayals. Lastly, Lynette's death would prevent her from revealing anything that Buckingham didn't want her to and removes any chance of her trying to stir up unrest amongst the other admirals (which might have occurred if she were just taken prisoner and given some kind of trial/military tribunal).

-huge zombie cyborg spiders:

My arachnophobia and I are with Dana in hoping that any contact that our heroes have with this new alien species is quite brief. Regarding their origins, I have an inkling that they are definitely related to one of the 2 Progenitors from long ago. My theory on them is that the spiders were killed by Mael or the other Progenitor, and were repurposed as guards for something. What they could be guarding though or why he chose slowly decomposing cyborg spiders as guards is something I haven't got the faintest clue about though. Looking forward to finding out as more is revealed.

I am amazed at the attention to detail that you have been keeping with all of your characters. I have read other anthologies and the author has not kept the same details in the later chapters as in the earlier ones. Experience's that happened to someone changed with the retelling in later chapters. Keep up the great work.

Here's something I've been thinking about. Tefler, be sure to tell me if I'm right or wrong in exact detail. ;P

I think that with the Ashanath Power Cores and improved Trankaran Engines, the Terran Defense fleet is going to surprise the Kintark invaders. Some of the ships will have greater speed, maneuverability, laser weaponry and shields, and combined with Buckingham's expert strategies, the Terrans will be able to defeat the Kintark. At an incredibly high cost to be sure, but it was either that or extinction. Cue the Dark One tipping over the Kintark and Terran pieces, just as he did with the Ashanath and Drakkar.

Meanwhile, John will return from Brimor with Helene and an alliance with the Brimorians (easier said than done...), only to find that humanity is barely hanging on. Thankfully, Olympus Shipyard was untouched, and still led by Charles and Henry. They will gladly accept John's aid to help in whatever way he can, but Buckingham, in his paranoia (fueled by the devastation), will see this as a coup against him. The remnants of the homeworld defense fleet will declare war upon the Olympus fleet. It would be up to John to avoid bloodshed (I think he could do this, as Terrans see him as a hero and the Federation is weary of any more fighting).

We'd actually see a new Terran civilization arise from the ashes. Ironically, Norwood would get his wish (although he'd be long gone by now).

Aaaaaanyways, that's just a theory. I can't wait to see how it all plays out in the next few chapters. The wait is gonna kill me!

Fundamentally i agree witth your theories but:

-Terra:

I'd say its 50/50 odd at this point where or not John arrives in time to stop the Kintark Invasion. Because right now i think they'll only find out about the Kintark invasion after they get back to the Brimorian homeworld. As for the invasion itself, i think if the early battle is any indication the TF will lose 75% of its forces in the most optimistic scenario. Though i do agree with what you said we'll be seeing something from the fighter and mech pilots from the earlier chapters just so we can root for them.

I also agree even if Buckingham successfully manages to defend Terra it will be bad for him politically. I doubt it will be fatal though because most of the admirals are still supporting him. It will be the first thing that spells Buckinghams doom though.

As for for Lynette Deaveraux, i honestly don't know to feel if she's alive or dead at this point. Personally i think she might be still alive because i can't rule out the idea Buckingham would want to gloat in her face. Likely she'll end up in Tartarus at some point. Not to mention she still has value as a sacrifical piece.

If she's dead i do agree it won't be hard to pass her of as another traitor based on what happened in earlier chapters.

-zombie cyborg spiders:

Yea, my arachnophobia and I are with Dana as well hoping the contact with this species is brief as well. Though i'm curious if this turns out to be another mael'narek created species. It also may be cool to have a Rachelnae type (from everyday life with monstergirls) half woman half spider character on the crew

has anyone thought to ask Bigfish??

... is playing us all for fools. Truly he holds all the cards while everyone else dances on strings. The Dark One's plans are like a child's games compared to what Bigfish has in store for us all.

His prophet Seaslug has foretold of the day of reckoning, and it will soon come to pass, just as Bigfish has foretold.

If Greengills only listened... but it is not too late! Hear the words of Bigfish! Join him, and swim in the waters of victory. There is only one path, one voice... and it sounds like this: EEeEEEEEeeEeeeEee *clicking noise*

"I'm studying for my ELA exam.... Yes Im reading something assigned by my teacher... Yes it's helpful...."

Conversation I had everytime I'm questioned about my exams that are going on LOL I read so much.... Studying has been going great LOL

Between the Kintark and the Kirrix invasions, I think the TF is in for a really bad beating. Not that they don't need a reality check, because humans are way too full of themselves and their sense of entitlement to everything their greedy hearts can see is blown out of all proportion. They know the Ashanath retreated and ceded most of the TF's current territory without a fight, yet no one even stopped to question why, they just assumed it was because humans deserved it and were better in all ways than everyone...HUBRIS!!!

Humanity as a species will survive even if Terra is utterly decimated. There are obviously many colony worlds with Human populations on them, Jericho, New Eden and others, so the species will survive, if nothing else.

As for the Kintark invasion, (I was trying to read so fast when I saw the chapter was posted, I think I missed some details...I'll have to go back and read it again, so forgive any errors here) given the Brimorian's comments about an arrangement/alliance with the Kintark, I'm assuming that maybe they gave the Kintark their shield tech. If so, I'm thinking that most of the upgrades to the refitted TF fleet will be in vain. At the least the two fleets will fight a battle of attrition, ending with what's left of both limping away, or at least that's what I hope will happen. After the loss of Port Medea and the Dragon March, I truly hope Olympus is spared, and not just to save Charles. I think it's going to be like a human Ark, just not mobile. Although that may be a pipe dream given the subtext of Norwood's conversation with the Kintark, where Norwood assumed the comment about Olympus being humanity's future as it being spared, while I read the Kintark response as meaning it had to be destroyed to end the human's future.

My fondest wish is for Buckingham to die a horrible death in the full realization of just how stupid he was...so both physical and mental anguish at the end please! If not, I hope John returns, maybe after Edraele telepathically passes on the weird message of the Admiral's attempted contact being cut off, and after attempting to make contact, runs into the comm's block, and has Irillith hack the system. She ends up finding out about Lynette's "death" (maybe she passed out from blood loss, then got renditioned to Tartarus while being publicly declared as a dead traitor?) and after all this enrages John to the point of his eyes glowing again, he tells Irillith to find everything the bastards have been hiding, including the Nymphs, and Tartarus as well as the reporter. Wether he releases the information across the Federation publicly/anonymously, or just goes old testament on Buckingham, Weber and Tartarus, after tipping the balance in the battle against the Kintark, I don't know.

If Buckingham doesn't die in combat, it would serve him right to be arrested for treason and murder himself.

I'm also waiting for Norwood to have that wake up call realization that he has been letting the Kintark deceive him so he won't have to face the fact that Admiral Lynton was just using him, and it was all a lie. I wonder if he'll try to redeem himself by self-destructing his Dreadnaught, or maybe ramming it into a Kintark capital ship. Who am I kidding, that would be too convenient.

When the dust settles from the Kintark invasion, next is the Kirrix invasion and all the undefended borders. It's probably too much to hope, not to mention illogical, that the Kirrix and Kintark invasions run into each other and some previously unrevealed hatred of each other has them fight each other instead of the TF, so the Invictus will probably have to handle the Kirrix single handed. That will take forever, especially having to board every mother ship to save the captives, and unlike the Trankaran's, they can't just use the sonic weapons to kill the implanted larvae.

The whole dark observer in the Brimorian mainframe and the cyborg zombie spiders seem like either directly created by a Progenitor, or in response to something a Progenitor did, so the possibilities are too numerous to guess.

Helene and the sea slaves of the Brimorian Enclave...I don't think they are Nymphs, although Jade feeling that Helene is special may end up being that she actually is a Nymph, and just doesn't remember. I think that, given the "old tongue" and "the abandoned" remarks, it would turn out that they are either captured humans, altered to live in the Brimorian environment, and serve as slaves to appease their anger at the human's invasions, or, more likely, they are another Mael'nerak servant race/experiment that were abandoned by his death, and the Brimorians just took over their planet and enslaved the "lesser" natives. Either way, I foresee John the Liberator charging in at some point, Helene being added to the crew, and the Invictus' lagoon getting an upgrade, maybe a connected larger tank on the next level down as her "room".

I agree with another poster, that Celphna is probably another glowing queen provided by the other Progenitor when he introduced the Brimorians and Kintark to each other for their alliance.

Except for possibly Helene, I foresee the next Nymph(s) to be added to the story/crew will be the ones in Tartarus. I also think that the Nymph's, once bonded to him, wether their previous owners released them, or are dead, or just the old Progenitor imprinting overrides all of those, their resilience will tip the balance of John adding "ground troops" to the Invictus. Being tougher to kill will ease his mind. Although once he starts repopulating the species, he may have a moment of doubt at sending his own children to fight.

I'm waiting for the tipping point when John just lets loose and in a fit of rage at Buckingham's stupidity, embraces the fact that he's a Progenitor wholeheartedly and stops holding himself back with his self-imposed human limitations that are stunting his growth in power and abilities.

Whatever the case, it seems like Tefler is spinning out so many story threads to make one hell of a 100th chapter.

Lynnette might not be dead as it will choke the plot, she's a valuable bargain for Buckingham as a contingency. It might lead to another niskera like arrangement where tefler has a thrall in TF Admiralty which makes Charles and team more stronger against the other progenitor in future. I think this because of the pattern that tefler follows.

1. Asanath were friends from beginning.

2. Maliri became friends and john united them under edrale's banner

3. Darkkars are in dubious allingment via asanath. (Yet to be seen in future)

4. Trankarans became strong friends after glowing queen and inducting niskera.

5. TF will have to come to same conclusion because life span of terrans is short compared to other species so john needs atleast one thrall in TF with good hold to maintain long term friendship.

6. Brimorians episode has just begun so it's hard to say. But I think they might not be a long term ally because john needs to rescue celphana (nymph) and for that he will have to kill deep lord.

7. Kintarks are definitely going to be friends with john in future.

That's the goal of john ultimately. To unite as many species as possible against dark one.

I might be wrong.

Regards

MG

Loved the chapter! So many new potential plot strings, all shiny and softly glowing with story possibilities...

But right *now*, I r-e-e-e-e-e-ally wanna see some cool giant zombie cyborg spiders throw down... <*makes hopeful puppy-dog eyes*>

Thanks Tefler - TSM is easily one of my favorite stories anywhere, not just here!

-Springboard-

I would like to theorize that the Vulkat is (singular intentional) an AI from ancient times. The zombie cyborg spiders are puppets or former masters taken over by the AI which is why they are rotting. The AI may not have creative means which would explain the ship's being so old and corroded.

The Brimorian flagship was captured or converted and the black spider that was watching Irillith was a remnant of the Vulkat. I think that this time it's going to be Faye who will be the key for resolution.

Oh and for those that are worried about the TF, don't forget that in addition to the speed and power supply upgrades they also got better heat sinks from the last Kintark battles so the TF will be hitting c.twice as hard as the fleet that was on the border. And heat sink upgrades are *easy* to do. I'm expecting this to be closer than most think. Perhaps with Olympus defense riding in as the Calvary.

P.S. The spiders should have stealth capability...then they could be giant ninja cyborg spiders.

Of doom of course.

I actually like Hmanlit's theory of spiders being controlled by some AI , as it will give Faye her moment to really shine. Though Vulkat confrontation plays a important role for me in defence of Terra.

Calara said - <i>"Perhaps that's why the Vulkat gave the Brimorians so much trouble? If their ships rely heavily on shield-penetrating missile tech, that would nullify the Brimorians' strongest defences."</i>

This statement made re-evaluate that even Invictus as of now can not take care of whole Kintark fleet swiflty since they have Brimorians shields . But if they get their hands on this "micro-missiles" technology then they might be much more effective in obliterating Kintark attack fleet.

wow!! not critiquing just raising a question to the plot line. based on john personality and how protective he gets over his girls and since he already slept with jehanna so he has a psychic link to her established already. why the fuck ain't he going bat shit over her getting grabbed already? it has been a couple weeks story time now. and not even mention of her if weavers little playground.

Well it's pretty well established the psychic link doesn't get established until the third time a girl sleeps with John. So far Jehanna has only slept with John once. But John will more than likely find out about Jehanna once he gets back to earth.

Long time reader, long time fan, first time comment. A thought about the Kintark - they lost one big fleet in the Battle of Regulus and they must be short of ships as they were (illegally) putting military transponders on freighters (for the Dragon March attack). Does this also explain the odd ship replacements on the Maliri boarder a few chapters ago? And if so, are there any significant ships left to protect the Kintark home world and Emperor from a Maliri (or Brimorian) assault? A very devious ploy by the BSP to weaken both sides to uselessness?

It's hard to say how many ships the Kintark have at this point. I say this mostly because while they seem to have taken heavy losses there is one point of logic that can't be ignored with it. If i were a space faring species about to go to war with an opponent the first thing i do is ramp up ship production. While you could be right and the Kintark could lack enough ships on the other hand what they've done with switching ships and transponders could be to increase their fighting force.

How strong and effective is her new physical presence? Will it be proved in this upcoming confrontation with giant zombie spiders?

Beginning to feel that addictive itch again. Two weeks before the next chapter. I may need to join a support group. ;)

Easy-nuh-man

I love the story but when are you going to finish it why leave people hanging

I understand it is an reference to something else, but what and where?

Tefler delivered once again. Now when it comes to the spiders. It would be funn if the spiders turned out to not be badguys. What if the Brimorians is trying to pull an old Edraele. Like she did with the Fulmanax. But this time John and his crew should see through the scheming of the Brimorians. Now, the Fulmanax were bad, but what if the spiders weren't? What if the spiders only were part of a defense of a species that has been threatened by Brimorians for untold ages, and now is driven to the brink of extinction? Maybe the decaying look, comes from the spider units starting to fail due to being used for much longer than intended. That the species they belong to, don't have resources enough anymore, to make new ones, but has to fix the old ones.

Now, those pale workers on the kelp farm. I still think they could be Nymphs. Maybe they don't even know anymore that they are nymphs. They have been in that form so long, that they have forgotten that they can change.

Now, I see the possibility for Norwood redeeming himself. What I think will happen, is that he finally, at the last minute, will realise how wrong he was about his "allies", and sacrifice himself in a heroic move to save Earth.

I very much doubt Lynette is dead. She will wake up as a prisoner. Perhaps on the secret meteorbase. She may be experimented on before John barges inn, and saves her and the Nymphs.

Well, All that is left now, is to wait for the next chapter. Hope their encounter with the spiders will turn into something else. Not just Veni Vidi Vichi.

Tef, I love love love 3SM, but you always leave me wanting more. I hope we see John going back to Terran space, kicking tail, and taking names in the next chapter. Albeit with extra enhanced Brimorian shields. However anxious I am, I still love all the extra trips & extra action.

Also, I am going off my own conjecture here, but I suspect the Vulkat will already be ready for Irillith. I suspect that program that watched her was ancient Vulkat technology so they already are aware of the crew's presence.

Faye's new body:

Personally i don't know how strong and effective her physical presence will be. Don't get me wrong i think Faye will only get stronger as a character with a robotic body but there's one thing i can't get around. With her level of self sacrifice it's just kind of questionable how well her body will stand up. She may be able to take a small hit from an energy weapon without the paragon armor but i'm reminded of a character from the anime "one punch man" named "Genos." He is a cyborg who throws himself into his hero work so hard he literally wrecks himself about everytime he encounters a villan.

The AI presence stalking Irillith:

Hard telling what's going on there, admittedly i like the theory it was from the Vulkat, but has anyone considered if that AI presence in the Brimorian Network was something from a Progenitor?

Have read since the start, have loved its development. Would be great to see more alien girls for John to enjoy, as everyone on the crew is so human. An ashanath girl, or kintark, etc

Since the Brimorian head honcho was given a nymph (from Kintark, or BSP?) I doubt other nymphs could exist in their realm without being recognized. Also, most of the females are pregnant, and remember, John (a Progenitor) is the only person in Jade’s extremely long life experience that she could reproduce with. So unless there’s another Progenitor on Brimor impregnating the Abandoned, they’re probably not nymphs.

Perhaps they were abandoned in the Brimorian Annex by the Terran Federation, but since they look like an aquatic version of the progenitor template it seems likely they vastly predate the Terran Federation.

Bigfish is not answering my comms.

There is only one path, one voice... and it sounds like this: EEeEEEEEeeEeeeEee *clicking noise*

Giant ninja zombie cyborg spiders

I meant “Giant Ninja Zombie Cyborg Spiders of Doom”

Yea i think you may be right maybe the "abandoned" on Brimoria maybe they are another species like the Malliri or the Lenarrans?? Then the Brimorians came in and laid claim to their world and the inhabitants.

I also agree with what you suggest about jade, because i would think that if two Nymphs met each other they would recognize the other as a nymph. Though i still have a feeling that Celphna is a nymph.

i meant to say the "abandoned" are a seperate species but are still like the maliri and the lenarrans in that they were a species that were created by the progenitor but they kind of lost their purpose once the progenitor that created them dissapeared.

I agree also, as other commenters have noted, her speech patterns are nymph like, her beauty is what the deep puddle honcho desires, and her loyalty is unquestioned in his mind. It seems Tef left plenty of clues to make that a reasonable conclusion. To me the mysteries are who gave her to him, and where did they find her? We know the Brimorians are in cahoots with the Kintark, but we don’t know if that deal was brokered by the BSP, or was worked out directly between the fish and the lizards. So far the BSP has provided advanced tech directly to his pawns without using intermediaries, so I’m guessing the nymph was a gift from the Kintark. Which raises the question, how did the Kintark find a nymph? And hypothetically, if a nymph that hasn’t been enhanced as John has empowered Jade was mated to one of the Kintark “dragons” like the big kahuna komodo Emperor, would she be able to reach the size necessary to match his idea of perfection in a mate? That’s probably not an important plot point, just a random thought rattling around in my gourd.

Also, so far the Brimorians are coming across as slave holding arrogant cocky bastards so I’ll be happy when they get their comeuppance. I’m really intrigued by the giant (possibly ninja) zombie cyborg spiders (of doom). I’m actually hoping they’ll end up being the kind of guys you’d like to drink a beer with while expounding philosophies. I mean, the Brimorians suck, the Enshenu swallow, so our protagonists are due to meet some more good guys, right?

Thanks again Tef! I’m grateful you continue to post here, and I hope the ink is pouring from your pen like water from a firehose! Silly question, has Dana provided the Ashanath with diagrams of their weapons? With the enhanced psychic shapers to fashion crystal Allyssium components they could be cranking out personal weapons for the Maliri and the Trankarans and also the Terrans once the TF High Command gets whupped like a rented mule until their attitude is sufficiently adjusted so as to make their company pleasant and their manners acceptable.

I don't understand why Faye can't have a Paragon suit of armour.

I think there has to be some kind of armour for Faye in the future. John wouldn't leave any of his girls unprotected in a heavy fire fight. I Don't think she'd last long having chunks blown off without a force field and octo shaped plate armour for protection. Faye wants to protect John and the girls, and I think she'd want in on any ground or boarding action. Or she could be Alyssa's personal body guard.

It took ages for Faye to get her body. Reloading her into a new cyborg body would take forever in these troubled times. I think Dana should give her a nice modified power armoured suit like the Sentinel Brigade use. That would be badass.

( Put some wings on it and could be her "fairy costume". ;P ) Or maybe it's been Tefler's plan all along to grab some cool stuff for Faye from the cyborg spidermen. Kudo's to Tefler's writing genius regardless.

But ... power armour would be small enough to carry on the Raptor gunship or the new destroyer. Just sayin'.

actually Faye should remain unarmoured and never join the boarding actions. my reasons are :

1. she is backup for Alyssa/Jade as pilot of invictus/raptor . when either join boarding action she takes over

2. even when not acting as backup pilot , she controls many of weapons of invictus which let's Calara do her magic with nova lance and singularity gun

3. Faye is main line of defense if invictus gets boarded during a fight , as she can view all rooms and control turrets and other defenses in place.

i can go on , but at-least in my opinion Faye is not meant for ground troops

WTF....I never laughed so much, so hard in over 5-10 years when DANA

came out with what I can´t get out of my mind...beautiful, absolutely beautiful:

"Zombie cyborg spiders?!" Dana squeaked. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!”

I just love this story...it just gets better and better Tef...Thank you again for all your great work on this tale...it really pays off when you put pen to paper

You raise some good points certainly.

I guess I'm still uncertain about Faye's avatars and how distinct or autonomous their actions are. How much of their different learning is shared would be an important consideration. If they share the same knowledge each gains, then any or many of the twelve could stay on board and fill the critical functions you noted. It seems Faye primary fills the most exciting role and delegates down. Now primary has the body.

But if they are more independent, then you're correct and she should stay.

I was just considering Faye's near mutiny to protect John and the girls and if her new body gives her the opportunity to go off ship with them, I think she would. She could delegate ship functions to her other avatars (if that's possible) Actually, if I remember correctly, Faye secondary has piloted the Raptor.

Well i think it's going to be interesting to see how Faye's character develops. Because as i said before i'd argue she may turn out something like "Genos" from the anime series "One Punch Man" with her level of self sacrifice she seems to be exhibiting. Now if you don't know who i'm talking about "Genos" was a cyborg character who throws himself so hard into superhero work he literally wrecks himself trying to take villians down. He literally does this 4 out of 12 of the episodes i've seen.

Fundamentally i agree though Faye shouldn't go in with the ground troops. But then again what do they say on star trek when murphy's law happens? I believe its "the universe has other plans."

lynette has been painted as being very smart, so why would she do something so stupid, she knows buckingham is hate crazy over the john, if shes watching him looking for damning proof to get him kicked out of his position, how would you not know what the scope of his power is. hell she meets charles and is even brought to a room with no eyes or ears yet does not tell him about the kintark and have him contact john as thats the most logical thing, why does she do stupid things now leading to this, i loved her character the inbetween for john and high command.

Tefler has posted here a reply that says that it takes 3 doses of John's cum (I assume in their stomachs) before Alyssa is able to form a limited link to a new girl. However ---

On page 11 of Ch. 55 near the top, Edraele explains how the psychic links work with new girls. After just a mouth full or 1/3 of a load, she can feel a link with the 1st 20 engineers and the 3 bodyguards. Why does it take Alyssa 3 doses to feel a link with Jehanna (the reporter), and through it feel her fear and pain? She is being pressed for info. It is been days or weeks later now.

There must be a reason.

Maliri were optimized for joining thrall armies by Maelnerak. They are different that way from humans.

To add what G_L said . Maliri are a much more altered race , specific to become Mael's thrall army , the link they have with Edraele is the most basic , that gives her the ability to monitor their status & draw power from them to channel to John . The link Alyssa has with the crew is much deeper & allows two way physic communication along with other manipulations . As a matter of fact the enhanced links between Edraele & her assassins & the Young Matriarchs only came about after more feedings from John too. We've seen that in the altered races , Malirir & Trakarians it only took the first feeding to start their change , I think that's all most Progenitors usually are interested in .Humans on the other hand were left pretty

much alone after he created them as an experiment & Mael left nexus to monitor them , thus they're the only race we've seen in this corner of space with multiple ethnic diversity .

Perhaps the differences between bonding humans to a human matriarch and bonding Maliri to a Maliri matriarch is the genetic predispositions built into the Maliri to make them excellent thralls for a progenitor. Perhaps Alyssa as a Terran matriarch is the most significant difference, as it also took three feedings to bond Jade, Irillith and Tashana to Alyssa. However, didn’t it take only one feeding to transform Niskera to a Glowing Queen with one-way telepathic and empathic communication with Alyssa? Of course the Trankarans are another species predisposed to progenitor domination.

I believe Rachel may have raised this point in a recent chapter, so maybe I’m just plagiarizing. How many bipedal humanoid species does the crew know of?

-Terrans

-Ashanath

-Progenitors

-Lenarrans

-Drakkar

-Maliri (blue skin)

-Trankarans

-BSP’s thralls (green skin)

-Ranagon’s (sp?) thralls (yellow skin?)

-Achonin (possibly, I don’t recall a full description)

-Enshunu (probably, but I don’t recall a full description)

-“The Abandoned”

-A furry mammalian species from one of the minor empires (likely humanoid, but not fully described unless I missed it)

Have I missed any?

That’s 12 species plus the progenitors themselves. Of those 12 species, 8 are known or presumed to be progenitor created or modified. So simple odds indicate that The Abandoned likely progenitor creations too.

How many non-humanoid major empires are there?

-Kirrix

-Brimorian

-Enshunu? (I’m unsure if they’re major or minor)

-Kintark

Have I left any out?

Side note: the Terran Federation is or has been at war with three of these four. Does that have any significance?

"There must be a reason."

There is. :-)

But it'll be a while before I reveal the reason why Jade, Niskera, and all of Edraele's thralls only required one dose rather than three.

Tefler

Devereux was ambitious and overconfident, then sadly underestimated the lengths Buckingham would go to.

She didn't tell Charles about the Kintark, because she knew he'd immediately try to contact John. She didn't want to expose Charles to trouble as she recognised how vital he was at Olympus in running John's secret agenda of getting new fleets upgraded as fast as possible. So she took one for the team, thinking that she was only risking her career, not her life as well.

Tefler

Deveraux made a self-sacrificing decision to protect Harris because mankind’s long term survival depends on being able to defeat the Black Ship Progenitor who’s stirring up all the trouble and indirectly attacking all the empires in the region. Lynette realized that Charles is indispensable in the effort at Olympus Shipyard to roll out upgraded refitted ships and new ships as rapidly as possible to stand against the BSP. She decided to keep Charles out of danger with Buckingham instead of asking him to contact John, which I think was her original plan.

My thought is that other than Buckingham’s hatchet man on the High Command, none of the other Admirals realize yet how power-mad Buckingham has become, although they are beginning to see with Buckingham’s decision to call all forces back to Terra and his refusal to consider asking for any help. In effect he’s saying no sacrifice is too great as long as he stays in control. Either he’s deluded and conflates his remaining in power with the survival of the Federation, or he’s a psychopath who cares about no one else. And like many other despots, he probably fears the knowledge of all his secret misdeeds coming to the surface. Although Deveraux knew of Buckingham’s hatred of John she underestimated the lengths he’s willing to go to preserve his power. Deveraux realized that this Kintark attack can quite possibly destroy the Federation. But to Buckingham, John is the most serious threat to his power, not the Kintark. It’s not a rational decision, so the other admirals are not grasping how sick Buckingham is now. At this point point of the story, the BSP has refrained from destroying John, and Buckingham is desperate to at least destroy John’s reputation and popularity with citizens of the Federation. I suspect Buckingham would gladly see John killed and seize all of his advanced tech if it could be done without turning the populace against Buckingham. At this point, is Buckingham a greater villain than BSP?

Devereux was ambitious and overconfident, then sadly underestimated the lengths Buckingham would go to.

So she took one for the team, thinking that she was only risking her career, not her life as well.

Tefler

Thank you Tefler for your insights. Is it a candid admission that Devereux has lost her life by taking the risk?.

Btw if any one has noticed the few responses by the author has ensured that the comment score of this episode has surpassed the two previous episodes when he was not in a position to post frequently. wish you all the best for the post of episode 99 in patreon today.

We are all holding our breath for the mega episode of 100

the title for episode 98 and the possible encounter with vulkat may spin out positive spinoffs for John and co bot only with eternity crystal and micro missile tech but also massive addition in espionage capacity after what we saw with Illrith voyage in brimor ship. Vulcat have not attacked brimor but have caused heavy losses to them when they have engaged. Edraele comments about brimor also strengthens the notion that brimors cannot be trusted.

It is only speculation on my part but it may also be possible that the once mighty vulkat civilization may possibly be willing to enter into an alliance with John as they have kept themselves isolated but at the same time kept themselves well informed also they could detect Illrith intrusion in brimor ship which none of the others were able to detect including nexus when she hacked their network. the possible reasons might be that they recognise John and his work all around and dont consider him an evil force to be avoided.

This will ensure that John will be in a position to rush to Terra defence armed with upgrades and information regarding brimors and kintarks and dissolve the crisis in the mega episode of 100 .

Pradz

There's a Maliri fleet racing through Brimorian space to Trankaran space, skirting Terran space. Will they meet with the Kirrix? Will the Trankarans come in with a flanking move?

There's another Maliri fleet heading to Ashanath home world. Will they join with the Terran fleet? Upgraded Maliri Nova lances rip off the Kintark shields and Terran Singularity Drivers demo the ships. I think only John could get them to work together and he's flying in the other direction.

Calara's father is headed back to Terra and will be too late for the initial battle, but how many ships like his will be coming in late for a counter attack?

Everybody wants Buckingham to die, but how much shit will he cause before he goes down. Also, he is a skilled tactician and was countering the Kintark ambush at Regulus before Santini went rogue. Even with limited but improved resources, Buckingham may put up a stout defense of Terra and Olympus station. Can he work with the Maliri or is he too xenophobic? Are the Ashanath aware of the Kintark invasion? If the Terrans "cut the head off the snake" of the Kintark, can part of the Kintark fleet be saved for the war with another progenitor? Can we find that Kintark guy from the sulfur mines to form an alliance?

There's a number of options Tefler has for Devereux. If she's dead, it's a wake up call for Harris and like minded admirals. If she's alive, she may wind up in the same facility as Jehanna and a few of the nymphs.

Note to hillcountrycowboy:

There's more creatures Niskera was meeting with on the Trankaran planet John and the girls saved.

AlbertaJack

I wonder what kind of defensive space weapon platforms the Terrans have had time to build since Nexus did a "run through" them. Any of them finished? I hate to see the fleet at Olympus and then leave Terra hung out to dry.

Johnny Canuck

Thanks AlbertaJack. While making my list I went back and reviewed the descriptions of the minor empire ambassadors that were meeting with Niskera. One was described as a furry mammal that I included in my list, none were described as bipedal humanoids that I recall.

Thanks Tef!! Another week or so to wait will be hard to take, but I’m sure we will survive!

don't forget to look up the names of the races john is planning to go to for technology.

Our ship "unconquered" is going on a Easter egg hunt. while we terans still seek our personal gain, Devereux, and the traitor Norwood, is Buckingham one as well.

"Charles in charge", appears to be our best chance to figure this out.

Destruction of terra, defeat of Pro jen, fuck my brains out in Malari space.

Looks like another perfect day I love "LA"

Thanks John Blackhawk

From my leaky memory:

Ashanath - FTL Drive, power core

Maliri - laser weapons, sensors

Trankarans - sublight engines

Brimorians - shield tech

And now, Vulkat - eternity crystals, shield tech, micro missiles

Did I leave any out?

kintark - heatsinks

maliri- Maliri shield modulators, anti-gravity generators

pradz

Are we missing any others?

"Fleet Admiral Vincent Buckingham had overall command of the Terran Forces, but Admiral Edwin Caldwell had operational command of the Zeus, the Terran Federation flagship, and its accompanying task force." Chapter 68, page 4

I know it's a little nitpicky, but all the comments about Buckingham being a tactical genius are wrong. Admiral Caldwell was the genius at that battle, and he will probably be the deciding factor in whether Terra gets taken or not.

welcome @hillcountrycowboy

Tfed - singularity drivers

Drakkar - armour tech (BSP provided) Dana developed invictium, alyssium,CA from their gear later on

pradz

just a correction but anti-gravity generators came from Ashanath not Maliri

I think you’re right, the idea to use antigravity tubes instead of elevators came from Ashanath, but Dana “requisitioned” some refinements and improvements from the Maliri.

My interest in this goose chase is to see how many non-progenitor influenced or created bipedal humanoids exist in this region of the TSM universe. Are bipedal humanoids entirely an artifact of progenitor activity? We know little or nothing about the Achonin, and I don’t remember if the Enshenu’s appearance has been described to readers. I assume the Achonin were bipedal humanoids since the doors, ramps, stairs, consoles in the Underworld refinery seemed to fit humans also, but that is assumption and conjecture on my part.

Wow! I've just read from start to 98 and couldn't put it down.

I love the group dynamics and how each of the girls plays to a different strength yet is equally valued as a member of the team, I love the way that the eroticism is always present but not in your face. I love the way that you have seemlessly married star trek with mild porn and still avoided it feeling tacky.

I doff my cap to an expert in the field of erotic literature, and I can honestly say that I am seriously looking forward to the next chapters.

what ever happened to that infantry mech armor dana was going to create when she got her hands on that commander's mech armor after the fight with the armored cobras?

Welcome to the addiction that is Three Square Meals :P

Hillcountryboy, you are correct, Dana got the idea from the Ashanath. However the Ashanath were just anti-grav tubes without propulsion. You had to manually pull yourself along. She added anti-grav tubes with propulsion when she installed in both the Invictus and Raptor during the Ashanath refit. During the second refit at Geniya station in Maliri space she added the

second set, she increased the speed and added a cushion landing. I don't think any of that was from Maliri tech.