All Comments on 'Three Square Meals Ch. 101'

Brilliant as always, just wish I could give more than five stars.

John turned 40 a month before chapter 1. :-)

Tefler

Age is in his 40's. For Weber's death to some it may have been too much, but I think it's justified and I would have been happy with a worse death. There are crimes here in the real world that I think when they are convicted they should be walked out and executed right then. Sorry if that's too much for some people. mikecfl.

@Tefler,

Such a great story, very creative. Thank you for your time and efforts.

I seem to remember that John was in his 50's when he first met Alyssa but ch 101 says he's in his 40's. Am I remembering incorrectly, or was this a slip-up?

Excellent chapter @tef...i really loved the coming back blow of Devereaux and the chapter on whole was quite satisfying after the big 100. I can now feel the stress of 100 u might be having...

Really admire ur work. Keep going.

Regards

Mg

Nothing to excuse, it was an unforgivable oversight. :-)

I've rewritten chapter 101 to make sure Jehanna gets a snack before bedtime! I probably won't repost it here because posting edited versions take weeks to be moderated.

Tefler

Well. Yet again a marvelous chapter. But I feel that Alyssa needs to be reigned inn a little. She is becoming a little too drunk on her power, and are starting to buy into the frase The ends justifies the means a little too much. I would hate to see her becoming a badguy, as i slowly see more and more of the Progenitor arroganse in her. it seems she cares less and less for people not in her nearest circle. She has a long, long way down ahead of her. But i am starting to see her sliding slowly into Progenitor mindset. What she did to Weber, torturing him to death in the most brutal way, was way way way below her. It was pure vengeance and can never be condoned. Weber should have faced trial and been given a death sentence, carried out i in a clinical way.

Other than that, the chapter was near perfect, as usual. I was glad to see i was right. Deveraux was not dead. What now becomes of the nymphs, will be interesting to see. But I am not sure they should become a permanent part of the crew. Maybe they could become contact persons in different places, like Jehanne were amongst the press. And I hope they can find more Nymphs. As it is now, they are too few, to recover the race from extinction.

Thanks again Tefler, for a marvelous read.

Tefler,

If you ever rewrite this chapter, I think you ought to show how John cares for all his women by mentioning when Jehanna got something to drink and to eat.

It just seems wrong to ignore that whole *need* that she has.

Yazvan, good job, your theory makes a lot of sense. I feel the more we progress in the story, the more clues we get to piece together.

Gzaerix

Hey Tefler, I saw on Patreon that you are debating your best options for some illustrations. I really recommend that you at least take a look at DesignCrowd. It's a crowdsourced art and design website. You describe what you are looking for and how much you are willing to pay and you will get a bunch of submissions. If you take a look at the Categories Menu - Art and Illustration - Book Cover Design, you will see a bunch of very cool work for just a few hundred dollars.

Here's a link to a good example:

bookcover dot designcrowd dot ca/contest/2556535

Don't think I can post proper links here so just replace the 'dots' with periods.

I don't have any connection to them -- just thought you might like the results.

What a nice smooth transition into more. After the heady and all consuming chapter 100, this was a nice little teaser for what is to come. Thank you, I really enjoyed it.

Had this thought while writing the other. Maybe instead of sensing the other progenitor, Mal always has a "John like " figure out in the Galaxy, whose guide doesn't get activated until Mal activates it, which he doesn't do unless one of his brothers shows up to figure out what happened in the fight between him and Ranagon. After all, John aged normally until his guide was activated.

Hillcountrycowboy brings up a point that I brought up in the comments of ch. 100, That the Progenitor's are more of a family than a species. I would like to speculate on some Progenitor backstory here. TL;DR for those that don't want to read the whole thing: Malnereck and BSP are both using John as bait to lure the other out of their hiding spot.

Speculative backstory: Long ago the original Progenitor takes over his species, killing all male rivals and enslaving the women. He then has lots of male children and weeds out the weak similarly to the Maliri assassin's, letting them build up a small base of power to train thier skills and then having them fight. The strongest would be allowed to expand the empire and probably sending a tithe (slaves) back to the original, once they had set up their territory and wiped out any opposition. At some point the original figures out how to live in the Astral plane, the slaves being sent back are twisted into his Astral monsters and mentally broken down to the intelligence and obedience of a dog. Malnereck decides he doesn't want to answer to his father anymore, so he creates the Ashanath specifically to maintain his astral home, creates Arcadia inside a nebula for away from the Ashanath, and takes over the lead Kirrix mentally. He doesn't genetically enhance the Kirrix because that would leave a genetic "fingerprint". What better place to hide than far away from your power base, hidden in a nebula, surrounded by an extremely aggressive and dangerous species that hasn't been genetically altered by you. He stops paying his tithe and Ranagon is sent to kill him. Ranagon seems like a Gengis Kahn type, destroying planets to weaken Mal. They can always be reformed after all. Mal outsmarts him and kills him while faking his own death. He then retires to his hiding place. Millennia later the new Progenitor shows up to figure out what happened, Malnereck sences his approach and allows the Kirrix to be beaten back and mentally guides the Cora to his hidey hole, knocks up John's mother and allows the crew to find her and drag her back home. Once John is born she blows up the evidence and crew before escaping back to Arcadia. Afterwards the Kirrix take the area back over. BSP is more of a thinker like Malnereck than a destroyer like Ranagon, He knows that Mal isn't actually with any of the species he created, so he starts convincing other species to mess with them, hoping that the threat to John will draw out Mal, which is the only reason he cares about John's life in the fight with the Kintark. Mal hopes that he can sneak up on BSP while he is distracted by John. Unfortunately for him John is not doing anything Progenitor like to attract BSP's attention, so he goes to Karron and leaves a couple of mental triggers in Alyssa and Sparks. One is to watch out for the Fools Gold, and another to cause enough trouble that she needs to get away. He covers these tracks in 2 ways. 1, leave a traumatic memory that she's not willing to talk about to cover up the real one of him mentally dominating her. 2, John making her his Matriarch would heal her mind, and since she believes in the trauma, John's healing would cement that memory, since healing the trama makes the trama real. He then takes on the persona of "Mad Jonah(the crazy spacer from the first chapter) and convinces John to head for Karron and kick starting the events of this series.

Speculation over and thanks for reading this crazy thought process.

In Tashana's archive footage, Maelnerak mentions that the Lenarins certainly earned their freedom. Perhaps what he was talking about was the psychic power they were able to provide him. Because if the other nymphs hold as much psychic energy as Jade, John (and Alyssa) is/are going to get a <b>HUGE</b> boost in available energy. Not to mention the unknown factor of what Helene will bring to the table.

Following this idea further and using Alyssa and Athena as an example (Remember, as Alyssa grew stronger, Athena became weaker), I think the same can probably be said for the relationship between John and PJ. So when John finally "feels" strong enough to let PJ out of psychic jail, PJ is going to be so weak, John will probably wonder why he didn't do it sooner. Because once John becomes "whole" again, he should have access to all of the information he has denied to himself.

ELONPAUL for the update. mikecfl.

So could Maler nic be training John or rasing the boy up right, the progenitors way ? I've lost track of who isit. He could have intervined anytime, or is he just waiting for a worthy opponent. So smart and powerful to waist all of these lives.

I think Lynette takes her dose the old fastioned way orally.

The best layed plans of men and women......

I love the paceing of this story, equally important as are words and characters.

This is good, but I mustn't read it all at one sitting.

I'll stop after the next paragraph.

Slow it down. Savor the story.

Well, OBVIOUSLY I can't stop reading here.

Ooh, this is a good stopping point, but I bet there's a better one in a few paragraphs.

Damn. I finished it. In one sitting. Again. Sigh.

Great Job, Tefler!!!

I only can find one major flaw with this story. . . The waiting. Great job Tefler, this story is the only reason I com back to this site

Since the Progenitors go to the astral plane after adding women to their network (assuming it works for all progenitors as it works for John) and the astral leviathan only turned against John when John rejected the vision of domination and exploitation, it seems possible that the astral beings have been culling any, ummm, let’s say “un-ambitious” progenitors. However, Larn’kelnar has obviously conquered vast areas, so even though he is intrigued by John now, he has definitely been a bad guy.

One other thing I wonder about, Mael’nerak said that one of his brothers had come to attack him. I assumed he meant brother in a general sense, not meaning a true sibling. But maybe he did mean Ragnaron was a sibling. Perhaps Mael’nerak’s hobby of genetic manipulation and creating new forms of life distracted him from conquering ever larger areas. Larn’kelnar obviously has a low opinion of Mael’nerak’s creations, wondering why John is striving to save such worthless creatures.

Thanks Tef! Please keep going, you have us enthralled!

Since a Progenitor can choose their offspring’s sex, why did a stranded Progenitor choose to have a son, instead of a daughter who could later be enthralled to add to his strength?

What did Alyssa mean when she asked John what would happen if the young matriarchs wanted a son, and then sympathized when he didn’t answer? There’s obviously a lot Progenitor family dynamics yet to be revealed.

As already mentioned, there was a reference to BSP’s “vats” and it seems he is acting as an advance force, and his thrall forces will be brought in once he has reduced the opposition, so he’s not following the “blow up all the planets” model of Ragnaron.

as a writer.

One of the most difficult challenges for writers is getting the balance correct with character emotions, and emotional actions/reactions. It's the hallmark of a great writer, rather than a good writer, as it is what enables characters in a story to become real to the readers.

There was a lot of different emotions in this chapter, both different and in a wide range of intensities; though leaning heavy towards very intense because of the nick of time arrival at the Kintark invasion, followed by the rush to catch up with Jade without much time to get their bearings after the battle.

You handled the various characters superbly, as well as John's varied reactions to their differing issues. It would have been easy mistake to focus on the characters variety of stressors to the detriment of John's reactions. It would have led to John being a one dimensional character in his interactions.

But, to your credit, John reacted as a real, empathetic person does; shaping his responses to each individual's issues. Well done. Very well done.

Thanks, as always, for the great read.

Regards,

GeoD

As always tefler this was awesome. Can't wait for the next installment

I’m thinking along the same lines as trmondoian. "I do not think he is what you think he is." 'He' being Larn’kelnar/BSP. His attitude is just a little bit off. I was thinking he was either bored and trying to build up his own rival, or an invader using the standard "take away their ability to fight and you've already won the war". The first would make him a petulant teenager and the latter a galaxy roaming/spaning tyrant intent on total annihilation. But now I’m wondering...

What if Larn’kelnar is thinking he’s doing John a favor? He’s clearing the way for John to take over (like a good progenitor should), and trying to toughen John up and help him grow up by adversity? He could be a brother/cousin or something that’s trying to get John to shape up? But maybe in so doing he’s realized that John’s got a couple things going on here which Larn'Kelnar can learn from. That’s why he’s breeding some of his Thralls, and is getting closer to his Matriarch. That might explain some of the ambivalence, he wants it tough enough to challenge John, but not enough to break or kill him.

That then begs the next question: what's the real bad guy here? If the Progenitors are not world conquering despots, then who's the real villain? I look around and I wonder if maybe the real and true villain of the piece is the Astral Monster(s) who is beating down not just the Progenitors but maybe all of the peoples? "Sorry, no Ascension for you. I hold all the planes! And I won't share!"

On a different vein, I like the idea of the Legacy shard being a life pod, but I don’t think it would (or should) be Mael’nerak. That would give team John a bit too much info at this time, and destroy the long range tension. This story doesn’t feel like it’s getting close to the end yet, and it’s too early for the big reveal. I could see it being someone else from Mael’nerak’s time with just enough info to shed a little light on the interaction between or culture of the Progenitors.

BSP isn't what we all think he is?? There's just something off in his character so far for him to be the all evil doer we are lead to believe thus far. His discussion about John possibly not knowing what he is supposed to be doing, while talking with his Matriarch being my major point of contention, as well as not killing John at every chance he has had thus far leads me to believe all is not as it seems to us and that there is another layer to this that we are missing. I could be absolutely nuts as well but I have this feeling there's more to BSP than we are being shown or told.

The waiting for the next chapter begins. Thanks MTefler for such an awesome story. Tazmanusmc

What a great story.

It just keeps getting better and better, Awesome job!

You have done it again, make us wait and then not disappoint us. Great build up and way to go with the 4 nymphs being freed. Looking forward to the next chapter.

Tom

The waiting for the next chapter is the hardest part (RIP, Tom Petty). Another beauty Tefler, you always come through with some new plot arcs. Great to see Lynnette survive. Thanks for the wonderful entertainment, it truly allows me to forget about everything else when I'm reading TSM.

Tefler. Thank you so much for all the great chapters. I know the end is coming. But I could read this story for ever. You are my favorite author. Keep up the fantastic work

So, John and the gals are starting to realize that their Progen adversary is up to more than meets the eye. As they said, he has a technological advantage that he could have used already. We saw that he was ready to destroy the Kintark Emperor's psychic dampening field device before John did it himself. That means that BSP does not want John dead -- at least not yet. Clearly, he is not weakening the various empires just to defeat John.

BSP could be looking for a worthy adversary. So, he's building John up first. He could also be looking for an ally and building up John for that reason. BSP could be out to set John up as the ruler of the Terran Fed, Maliri, Kintark and others. BSP might just enjoy watching the fights as a spectator. Any other options missing? It's possible Tef could have something even more involved planned.

There was reference to BSP having vats of his spunk ready for something -- I assume to build a Thrall army. John and Edraele think they are badly outclassed, but Alyssa is right about the power they have collectively. They already have powers that would surprise BSP, but they are lagging in ship technology. If they were to fight today, it would need to be planetside. It would be cool to see the skills John has given the girls lead to them developing tech beyond Progen hardware. Still, while BSP thought all the powers he saw were coming from John, he wasn't surprised by any one ability. So, while John's links generate more power than typical thrall links, BSP didn't see anything that shocked him. It doesn't appear the gals can yet do anything beyond what any Progen can do. On that basis, it feels like they need another breakthrough before they are ready. John is still the mouse. What's it going to take for him to be the cat? Maybe, when good-John defeats evil-John, he will have a level of power, when combined with the gals, that will truly shock BSP.

Thoughts?

As ever, thanks very much, Tefler. You've knocked another straight out of the park.

If anyone else out there reads with music going in the background, I can't tell you how strongly I recommend 'Wonder Woman's Wrath' for the assault on Tartarus.

OMG OMG, its with Jade, and then a Dragon, and then there's smashing and crashing and then there's a bang thing with a shouty thing, and then after all that there's another, then they have a lovey bit and a sexy bit and it's all SO cool.... Keep it going please you're such an awesome writer T thanks you so very much for all of this hard work 😊

Great chapter - don't stop!

"Jade bared her fangs and roared, then charged after them, vicious claws flashing out to brutally disembowel the closest trooper as she ripped him in half. She caught the next with a quick backhanded slash that tore through his legs, dismembering him with almost casual ease. He fell to the floor screaming in pain and she stomped on him with a rear claw as she pursued the rest, her heavy weight crushing him with a sickening squelch."

I've been looking forward to that for 2 months now. Thanks, Tefler!

And thank you for saving Admiral Devereaux! She rocks!

Again thank you fantastic as usual

I believe -

The AI thrall ship was stripped of AI controls, replaced with Terran pilot and tactical stations.

The secret base was stripped of Nexus server decades earlier so it could be reversed engineered.

If I remember correctly then the base probably holds no new data, other than the AI automated manufacturing line.

Wondering if it is John’s mother in a cryogenic tube?

the family reunion idea if it was in the area of the aftermath of the battle, but in Ashanath space? I don't see quite how that works

hping said: "I wonder if the part of the Legacy is a liferaft, containing Mael'Nerak in a deep hibernating stasisfield." That's in line with what I was thinking.

After the battle of Terra, Baledranax says "I was thinking that it's nearly time for a little family reunion...". Perhaps this is what he was referencing.

Just a musing from a great fan Tefler. Another 5 Stars. Please keep up the great work.

In this chapter Tefler wrote, "Edraele was quiet for a moment, before she said, *You'll lead us to a miraculous victory, without losing so much as a single ship or soldier. The other Progenitor will capitulate before your unsurpassed might, choosing to flee rather than daring to face your wrath. We'll all live happily ever after, never troubled by war or hardship ever again...*"

I have thought this for a while now. Why?

Because Tefler keeps telling us that the BSP is just bored and having a little fun with the cockroaches (his thoughts, not mine). He seems to have very few Thralls. and no Thrall ships. He seems to have no base of operations, either.

Also, who else noticed that Dana said the AI ship that Weber tried to flee in was a Tormentor class DD, a Thrall ship. The AI had built it way back when using plans from its memory banks. What Tech will Dana find in it?

With 6 new "lionesses" John definitely is going to need some kind of chemical help in turning all 6 new women (mermaid, Reporter, Admiral, and the three nymphs) into Lionesses plus keep his current crew satisfied.

At some point the poor guy is going to be worn out. But this is an alternate reality so maybe not.

The only thing that seemed missing was an orgy. I can't believe I actually missed one but other than that this was fantastic in wrapping up a lot of loose strings.

Since building a new computer I've finally started writing again. Feels good, but I still love reading your stories because I don't have to worry about errors or bad grammer.

Thanks a million times over the great read.

Ed Parachini

It's probably the Flux Cannon that got shot off during the Ashanath battle.

I wonder if the part of the Legacy is a liferaft, containing Mael'Nerak in a deep hibernating stasisfield. That would set up a new complex situation, just because John is setting up his own "protectorate" claiming Mael'Nerak's former homebase.

It could help John and the crew but it also opens a box of Pandora, all bad but one good solution in the outcome.

If not Mael'Nerak, could it contain a Progenitor database with the complete history?

Thanks Tefler for this chapter.

Tefler, you evil genius you!! Well played on everything that you've done in this chapter! Was very glad to see that you hadn't killed off Devereaux, though having her in a bad condition was a well thought out plan rather than having her as a high security prisoner in chains and still in one piece. Also I'm glad to see that you haven't forgotten about PJ and I'm actually excited to see how that particular battle plays out. Keep on keepin on Ref! 5 stars!

The invictis is now close to the original nexus server! Faye and Illrith have some cyber excavation to do!

or else Faye's scanner sucks and Jehanna isn't much of a reporter is she doesn't explore the base and make an exclusive news report about the ruins of gayamede!

Pretty cool that devereux is going to join the team.....

Makes sense in a lot of ways... Makes me wonder though, with the limited time they have, if John has figured out how to change a gal in one go.

So many mouths to feed, so little time.

Also, what secrets did Alyssa gather from the kintark dragon?

Remember? Her eyes were glowing as John asked her if she got it all.

Right before he executed him.

Thank you tefler!

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAMNNNNNN, WHAT A CLIMATIC FOLLOWUP TO WHAT HAPPENED IN CHAPTER 100. NOT TO MENTION THAT FRAGMENT OF THE LEGACY, LIKE I SAID IN MY COMMENT IN THAT CHAPTER ALSO APPLYS TO THIS ONE. "WELL FUCK ME RUNNING, SIDEWAYS, AND EVERY WHICH WAY LOOSE.

I just got the third e-book yesterday so between that and this I had a REAL good day. Great work Tef.

Thank you, its been a better than expected closure of the 'cliffhanger' items and new plans moving forward.

Putting Calara n Sparks at ease was BEST

Heading says it all. These waits are getting nerve-wracking!

Thanks Tefler for the new chapter. I was glad to see several short term plot lines resolved and even more long term story arcs introduced. TSM looks good to go another 100 chapters (if your fingers and keyboard hold out).

PS: While I can't afford to support you on Patron as I'm what you would call an OAP on a fixed income, I've been able to buy the 3 Kindle books so far. Amazing world building.

This felt quite short.... still a page turner. Two thumbs up.

The chapter, I was a little tense while reading it because the rescue could have turned to shit or been dragged into the next chapter. I had to change what I was going to write because it could have been considered a spoiler by some and I didn't want to be accused of that. So Tefler I loved the chapter and wished it was longer, not a complaint just you know how addicts are, always wanting more. There are a lot of things brought up in this chapter for the future that I can't guess how they'll turn out but I am sure Tefler has it handled. Just taking that into account there are many more chapters to come to tell this story. Great story Tefler as always. mikecfl

Just wow. Stayed awake just to read the whole thing. Amazing!!

DtJ

another amazing chapter, though i actually read it on patreon some time back but wanted to comment here before re-reading this anyways

Devereux alive and about to be secret Lioness Fleet Admiral was the highlight of this chapter :)

I had to check just as I was about to go to bed. And I have to be awake for work. /sigh. Guess I'll claim second comment and read it tomorrow....night everyone. Sleep tight.I'll most likely kill any one who posts a spoiler in the morning.

Another pure gold chapter Tefler. Outstanding work my friend.