All Comments on 'Three Square Meals Ch. 121'

Thank you....

Thank you for this new chapter

Holey hot damn on a plate! That was a roller coaster and well worth the wait, thank you so much Teffler, your mind is a wonderful place and we are so lucky that you share it with us so selflessly.

That went sideways.

very good chapter some interesting plot twists

See title

Just...wow.

Totally worth the wait. Well done Tef!

Yay! Thankyou-thankyou-thankyou!

Amazing twist, but Faye was my favourite character. May she rest in peace.

I just wanted to say thank you.

120 chapters of buildup, and then an ambush, followed by a one chapter payoff...this almost feels like S8 of GoT, just without the last minute swing towards madness and all my favorite characters getting shafted by the need to wrap things up quickly.

I realize Tefler has intended to carry on the story in the next "book" for most of TSM's run, and I can see a little of what that will involve from the later pages of this chapter, but damn. If I think about it, this is about the only way John and Co. could come out on top so early in his rise to power.

Let's face it. I never wanted to see them just retire to the nursery. Where there's smoke, there's fire, and they should have expected there to be hordes of other progenitors out there, all bent on destruction.

With this new backstory revealed, my hopes for John to get his head out of his self-pitying ass, and start impregnating his women with progenitor babies, have new life. If Rahn can learn to create John's evil guide, while John himself created Athena on the first try, surely he could create guides for his sons and daughters that were benevolent like Athena, but also have all the genetic knowledge they need to survive.

With enough lightside Progenitor children, what with twenty-some lovers popping them out simultaneously, he could soon build an armada of Progenitors. They, in turn, could gather their own super harems to help protect their territory, and eventually carry out the plan John was supposed to enact, but for the right reasons.

Who knows. Maybe after winning, and rebuilding the Kyth-faren empire the right way, teaching all of their descendants the fate waiting those that take shortcuts to power, there could be enough neo-Kyth-faren to storm the astral and clean house.

In the meantime, there was one oversight in John cutting ties with Rahn and the dreadnought. All the schematics Dana picked up, but she still doesn't know how to make the Progenitor black metal (which Alyssa and John will immediately change to white), and John has only just heard the term Soul Forge. Please, oh please, let them take a trip to Trankaran space and find out that their star forges are actually underutilized soul forges. I could finally see the rise of the Invictus Rex, a white Progenitor dreadnought!

I also wish John had skipped imprisoning his guide, and instead taken a page from Neo vs Agent Smith in the last fight of the first Matrix movie, just without his guide pulling a Lazarus like Smith did. There was so much info he could have wrung from the bastard, like what I mentioned in the above paragraph, but also everything about Mael's warp gate...

I'm sure this all made sense in my head, but I stayed up all night reading, and I'm seeing double. I'm lucky if I remember where I was taking a sentence by the time I reach it's end, at this point.

bedtime.

Thanks for the fix, Tefler. Been jonesing hard for 121. Can't wait to see what happens next chapter...Faye's "baby"?

Yayyy first comment

Haven't read a word yet. Shower. Then sitting down to read chapter 121.. could be a loooong night.

The way Larn talked about soul forges and how Alyssa reacts to the black metal I feel the forges are created by or use some of this soul energy Rahn said Xar and his cabal utilize.

This whole thing with Faye, her dying but leaving behind something that possibly has her touch in it feels like the finale plot of some movie I've seen but I can't name it.

And to all those people who complained about John being a sue, well here you go. They actually suffered a loss.

I do wonder what Jessica will do now. Is it possible there's an escape pod she can take to Arcadia? Will Rahn follow?

Well, finally we got the new chapter, and it was worth the wait. It was incredibly well written. But this is without doubt the darkest, gloomiest most depressing chapter so far. Okay, so all the girls except Faye survived. But except for that everything else went to hell. Rhan looked for a while to be not nearly as bad as they had thought, but turned out to be every inch the evil progenitor. John stil hasn't full access to his Progenitor inheritance, choosing instead to imprison his guide again. Invictus is out of commition for a long while. All of them are hurt. Rhan is stil alive, able to fuck up their lives even more. And on top of that, they now have to fight a whole slew of progenitors. Essentially, they are all dead. They just don't know it yet.

The appearance of "Little One" and his friends is a bittersweet reminder of what they lost in Faye. I highly doubt John will restart Fayes personality. It will still not be Faye, and a replacement would only serve as a further reminder of their loss.

I sincerely hope they never use a soulforge. I think it is a way to use harvested souls to forge the black metal. That is the reason Allyssa gets the creeps by the black metal.

In the end they only barelly survived this battle, So how they can have a chance against scores of Progenitors, is anyones guess. The only way i see, is if they somehow defeat the astral plane head honcho. Then, maybe, as his grip on the other progenitors disappears, they perhaps can stopp all their carnage. I don't hold up much hope for that happening, but i dont't see any other way for the lion and lionesses survival. A fitting end credits song here would be a sad and forebodding Skyfall.

"We were teetering on a knife-edge that whole fight," John said" I have shivers... WOW! Worth the wait.

"Yes, exactly." Calara clasped her hands behind her back and stared at the sparkling stars. "Somewhere out there are hundreds of highly-advanced thrall ships, just waiting for someone to commandeer them..." Yess, time to loot the enemy's ships, drink their wine, and eat their rations.

Was worth the wait!

With this chapter has Tefler reached a milestone of 3 000 000 words for this story, and there is more to come.

Pity Faye has died, and I hope that "Little One" will become the next Faye in the coming chapters...

Also the relation between John and his parents will need to be resolved soon, otherwise there will be havoc coming soon. At least there is one Progenitor less in this universe, but I wonder what will become of Johns Guide...

So many good things in this chapter, a fight that had me in chills when John embraced his guide and fought side by side with him, but then that ending. You had to stab us right through the heart with that one. John and Faye never even had their first time together! That you could kill her off like that is just painful. Well done, from a writing perspective, you wove that grief like a master, but still. Ow. And fuck you.

.... more please?

This story is truly epic! Thank you very much for sharing with us:) normally I’m not One too beg, however Please bring Faye back to the story. The character balances /Complements the humanistic aspects in the moral dilemma very well, it will be a mistake to lose that in the story. Thanks again

Each is always is worth the wait, but this... Entirely new level to worth the wait. Makes me wish, now more than ever, that I had enough spare cash to support you on patreon. Damn you unemployment!!!

Goddamn masterpiece!

It's been a long wait but as many before me have already said it was worth it. A hell of an emotional roller coaster of a read Tef, you've outdone yourself with this chapter man. I've said it before and i'll say it again, thank you for sharing your creative musings with us freeloaders, we know you don't have to and that makes us appreciate it all the more.

What a freaking roller coaster of a ride. The opening was a bit hard to follow at first then it all came together in a great story. Now we have to wit for the next chapter. Ugggh. :-)

Tom

please , please don't make us wait another two months for the next enthalling adventure , one of the best sci-fi written many thanks

John should have left his parents with the shuttle and taken the ship. That is a decision that could likely cost lives in the future.

Thanks for the great story

Maybe I am mistaken, but didn’t Faye download a copy of herself into “Little One” a few chapters back? I believe it was after the date that she had with John. If so, that download can be copied onto the other server and Faye brought back.

Many said it already, but wow ! That was great !

And to top it off, it seems Tefler is back in business !

Faye's demise might not be that permanent, what with her body, personality and the surprise funeral little one and friends are leading the group to intact... At least I hope so !

Regarding the mass of other Progenitors, I hardly see them cooperating, given the nature of their culture, the inbred hatred between Thralls and the vast swathes of occupied galaxy to cross for the furthermost Progenitors, a galactic civil war is a much more probable outcome, at least until mega-bad really sets his foot down and unites whatever survivors are left for a final strike on John...

On the plus side, we know two or three great things ! One : The astral plane beasts are not completely infinite, there is just a shitload of dead Progenitors to eliminate and a really nasty big bad. Two : John and team already kick tons of arses, even faced with full fledged Progenitors, and their power has been steadily growing. Three : Progenitor tech is not the pinacle of science anymore ! That's just a line or two, but Dana's guns are already better than thrall's !

Overall, victory in 6 months still seems far fetched, even going for the head maxi-bad isn't going to cut it, as it will leave the galaxy at the hands of bloodthirsty psychopaths...

Meanwhile, no news from the other theaters of operation... What with the Enshunu ? Their will probably get Raghn'ed, if you ask me... What with the other, internal threats ?

I can wait for more !

Thanks to Tefler for the awesome story, and thank you for reading me !!

Glad you took a break. You deserved it after the yoeman's effort you have been delivering. Thanks for a little subtle foreshadowing in this one. Also, looks like Rain pissed off the wrong MAMA Bear! So looking forward to the next chapter. JT

Dammit Tefler, why do you have to bring so much sadness to others? The sweetest, most innocent character and you kill her off? I want to hope that there is some way to bring her back, some secret backup or way she escaped destruction but on some level I just know that this is the end for her and it breaks my heart a little.

Great writing as usual, some real emotional twists going on in this chapter along with plot revelations and general turmoil but a really enjoyable (but emotionally draining) read.

P.S. Ignore any criticism mentioning waiting for chapters on here, I've known stories that only get an update after years of neglect and are feeble instalments at best. You're consistently turning out chapter after chapter of well thought out story that connects to your audience so that they feel invested in it. Everyone clamouring for more and whinging when they don't get it when they expect it is another example of just how desperate they are for the quality of writing you offer up to them. Take it as a pat on the back and encouragement that they want the quality that you serve to them when it's ready and not a poorly churned out quick fix whenever they want it.

So pleased to see this in the new stories page today. So much questions answered so many new ones to explore. Love it!

What a story!! I'm loving your chapters and was so excited to read this new chapter I ended up staying up way later than I should have reading.

Amazing work!!

Now we know why Darth Vader was always breathing heavy, and this felt like huge elements of Star Wars with the Dark Side and Dr. Strange mixed in with all the "hexes."

Kudos to the protracted battle and L's shock from the John's "thralls" shock and awe...still felt like they were still seriously outmatched, so....Faye...how touching her meaningless death was.

The only thing I didn't see coming was "more progenitors," so no retirement. I guess Mel just got sent to kiss someone's grits.

Well, it was a long wait. And now I know why. Tefler was probably suffering from burnout from the sheer amount he's produced over the past three years. But he was probably also pushing off any hate he might get for killing Faye. Which is silly really, it's Tefler's story, and too bad if you don't like the direction he takes it.

I've truly enjoyed reading this epic story, but a part of me right now wishes I'd never stumbled across it and started reading. RIP Faye, you will be missed. Damn you Tefler for writing so god-damned well that the death of a fictional character pisses me off and makes me sad I can't read about her anymore.

Oh my

By contrast, the twins were champing at the bit

his head, golden light limning the circumference,

examining the frost riming the surface.

PS: Holy cow, Tefler...! Kudos.

Intense battle to be sure. John said it best that "we were on a knife's edge," so to get off with Faye as the only casualty is light (considering 3 mortally wounded in battle). And...the magical word for that is "reboot."

Easy to see all of it coming except for all the Progenitors roaming around, as that's a twist and obviously poor decision to leave that dreadnought intact.

I'll certainly never look at my robotic vacuum cleaner the same after this.

Thanks telfer, a great continuation of the story.

Pretty sure this is my first comment. Thanks.

Thanks for this chapter. Trust that you're OK. Cheers

If you read the story thoroughly and correctly, you would remember that the black metal gave Alyssa serious discomfort, and John would do anything to make sure his Lionesses were okay. What's more, there is probably a psychic conditioning for progenitors that makes them feel guilty and shameful for stealing someone's flag ship. Third, the psychic echoes would have been too much for Alyssa, and Rachel would probably have been haunted by the med room things. And finally, they want the Invictus back. They don't need a whole goddamn flagship.

Glad to see you're back, Tefler. Looking forward to what's in store!

Faye set a precedent by viewing the digital video recordings of life on the Invictus for Irillith. Most of Faye's memories have been recorded by the plethora of cameras aboard said ship. All that would really be missing are the feelings. Totally binge worthy.

I'm a picky bastard so I feel the need to point out that insects do not have vocal cords. They communicate through sight, touch, pheromones and the sound of wings rubbing together, etc. The Kirrix with their hive mind and telepathy would have never developed a voice box to shriek, scream, or cackle. If they had the need to vocalize they would have used a process similar to the Ashanath.

There, that feels better. Been sticking in my craw since the last big battle with the Kirrix. I reserve the right to critique since I follow here, on Paetron and Amazon.

Oh damit IT.

This tefleraddiction is sooooo troublesom. After two month I was nearly clean,....

Please give me more!

This is so goood!

I've been thinking about this since the first mention of the soul forge. I know that it is used to make thralls. Has anyone else wondered that the black metal is made from the souls of Thralls? Or perhaps a and that's why everyone especially Alyssa is so creeped out by it? Awesome work Tefler really glad to finally see this story. Kind of surprised you wrote another reason to continue the saga rather than give us a conclusive ending. Not that I'm complaining. Not at all. I hope you keep up the good work. And whatever your muse is for this story my thanks. Hold on to it I would love to see how Season 2? 3? Goes.

So Tefler fan of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) &

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) So goodbye Faye & 13 Faye sub sister

see in book 3.

I actually cried at Faye’s death. I kept hoping somehow she would come back. In many ways she is the most human of all the characters- her heartbreak at not being able to become a real girl, her yearning to be as connected as the rest. Powerfully written Tefler. Thank you!!

Great story,as always,Tefler!

What i can’t understand is that such an essential AI as Faye doesn’t have a continuous back-up server(s).The old hacking deck was clearly insufficient as back-up.

There has to be enough room in a 750 m long ship to install a secondary serverroom in a remote location?

Keep up the good work

Thank you! The wait was worth it. I can't wait to see how you resurrect Faye!

We all miss her dreadfully, She has been one of my favorite parts of the story!

Thank you

First... WOW! Wonderful chapter! 🤯

Now for the your consideration:

Did you just pull a Star Trek Data/B4 switch? I think it was in the last Star Trek movie involving the next gen cast where Data is destroyed. However, they discovered an earlier version of his design with a child like personality. Before his destruction, Data uploaded his full memory into the B4 unit. In the end of the movie, there’s a glimpse of Data’s memories, in the form of a song, filtered through B4’s personality.

Now we have Little One. An AI created by Faye. Faye’s memories are retrievable. However, the crew don’t realize the extent of what Faye did to the various robots, let alone creating Little One. So... could Faye be restored via download to Little One? Is that even a possible thing or should they build another progenitor computer core first, make a copy of Little One’s base AI code, and layer what’s left of Faye onto this? I can think of dozens of more questions about this, but my point is not just the technology behind it, but more importantly, the ethics of bringing a being back from the dead? I can image the arguing between Dana and Rachel about it.

But if that’s all just a moot issue, then what about the Invictus Node Collective now becoming known to the group? Irillith is the only one to realize the ramifications of that knowledge at the moment with her statement; "Oh, Faye... what did you do..." Irillith murmured, staring wide-eyed at the legion of grief-stricken robots. There’s some good potential here! I wonder what will happen next?!

The revelations in this chapter from Larn and Rahn are HUGE! Just to name a few that caught my attention:

1. The origin of the progenitors, the species that they were created from, and by whom. 🤯

2. The existence of a few caches of the pre-progenitor civilization and it’s civil war. Now that Rahn showed John the one, he can go back there and study up on things.

3. The galactic map, marking the nearly current make up of the progenitor territories. Larn has been away for some time now and may not have up to date information. Regardless, I think John instantly memorized it

4. The now totally desolate empire that Larn’kelnar’s death and those of his thralls has brought about. Calara was looking at getting a hold of those ships I believe. Could they be remotely controlled and given instructions to travel to Malari space? Possible via the gate from there to here? Probably not since Rahn has the dreadnaught, but he probably would have to cancel the orders for the fleets’ flight paths first, right?

5. The realization that John is so far out of the box when it comes to the typical progenitor. I don’t think Rahn really understood the full impact of his actions in wanting John. Neither Rahn or Larn’kelnar had any inkling that John had augmented the hell out of his girls and didn’t even know how he did it! Just goes to prove that the progenitor programming has made them rigid in their mentality. They can’t even think about doing something like this. While they may be geniuses in their own ways, they can’t think outside of their programming without first being free of Xar'aziuth‘s influence for several thousand years. And even then, they are still trapped by it while John has no such programming.

6. Just what the hell did John do to his guide?!?! He’s now solidly imprisoned in John’s mind. So that means he never got the information and programming that Rahn'hagon instilled but it’s still there? The guide knew what John was doing with all those rune inscribed hexagonal prison blocks. But the only thing I know is that he’s locked up again. So what does this new prison do and not do now? Will John be able to drawn out the knowledge he needs on demand without having to let PGJohn loose?

6. Will the Invictus every fly again? It seems to be literally pieced back together, but it seems that the flight capabilities should have been completely destroyed. I would speculate that John and the girls would have to call for rescue or use the Ascendancy class infiltration shuttle they have to return to Malari space. But does it have enough room for what they need to collect from the Invictus, i.e. the robots, anything that can help restore Faye, other equipment, crystals, databases, Vulcat technology, etc.

I’m sure that there’s more here I can add, but I just finished reading the story through and I wanted to immediately write down some thoughts about it. I think that this is the best chapter in a long line of great chapters in some time. Soo many questions answered and yet so many more raised. I can see the end of this book coming and yet you seem to be laying down the foundation of the next. Either John goes after the other progenitors or they will come after him. Then there’s still Xar to deal with. But for now, John still has the problem of cleaning up his own backyard of the galaxy and deal with the brimorian threat. Once he gets his backyard set up, then he can think about what to do next... assuming that Rahn and the other progenitors don’t do something before then.

Again, this has been a great chapter. I’ll read it again and go through the comments and see what else I have missed.

Thank you and respectfully,

Just Another F’ing Critic

Dread, excitement, thrill and tears all wrapped up in a fabulous chapter. And one that promises a wide open universe of sequels. Tefler, this is a work of genious! Thanks also for you and your tremendous editors' work sifting out bugs. It reads without distraction.

What's going to stop Rahn'hagon from laying waste to Arcadia. Now there's a planet killing weapon on board the black pearl. I can be one of two people who think giving up the ship so soon or ever not the bext of ideas.

Well time will tell.

Excellent chapter, I'm going to expect this level of adventure more than half the time, and half of the time even more

Dangit, I cried more the second time over Faye than I did the first time. After getting a little past the grief, I realized how screwed the crew is without their Watch Commander. Remember the list of duties Faye performed, and once she had a Progenitor server, the number of duties she performed simultaneously? The crew is now seriously crippled. Will other members of the Invictus Collective step up? How will we find out what Faye had observed that she wanted to tell John about?

Wow Tefler! Thanks again. What a chapter!

I can't believe this isn't the end of the story! Will there be a way to bring Faye back? (secret backup made in the other supercomputer server maybe? Seems plausible tbh...) How many other progenitors are there? Will John make up with his parents? Will John still retire now? perhaps for a short time? Has John locking away the dark side given him access to ALL of his mind now? Why can't John just destroy it and take all of the knowledge? Thank you for the great addition to the story! I eagerly wait for more!

Thanks Man I really appreciate the effort so much plz don't make us wait longer for the next chapter

There really should be special accolades for those writers who go the extra mile. Tefler deserves an award for running this saga for so long at such high quality, and THEN going up another gear in these last two chapters. Sheer excellence!

Please... bring her back. I'm begging you... please

A few people have mentioned this, and frankly it has bugged the hell out of me since they built Faye's server. Backup, backup, backup!!! It's the first rule of any admin. It's preached to anyone who uses a computer. How can none of the brilliant women not have thought of this, but especially Irillith, Dana, or Faye herself? This is completely unbelievable considering the brilliance of these women and the circumstances of having to move Faye out of the hacking deck. Backup scenarios would have been the first thought after something like that.

Obviously Tefler has never ever worked in IT. ;)

I hope we can read about John and the girls for a long time.

She's dead Jim. But I recall her raising a digital daughter. I wonder what's become of Faye 2.0.

They needed a Progenitor server for backup and it took several days to build them. With everything else going on, other work kept taking priority. Dana backed up Faye's personality on the hacking deck, but it didn't have storage capacity for her application files which had grown exponentially.

Also, Dana is not a systems admin, she's a self-taught engineer. Similarly, Irillith is a hacker... it was her job to break into computer systems, not maintain them. As for Faye, she was preoccupied with something else entirely...

Tefler

Great story and I have purchased the 4 books Tefler has written, but wow, John Blake is a veteran and decorated war hero as a Marine Commander, and yet he makes an overly emotional decision to give the most powerful weapon in known space to the mass murdering, planet destroying, species exterminating placental unit that just tried to kill him. Probably not a good decision no matter how it turns out. A father that he never had any kind of relationship or history with, other than being an enemy of the Maliri. Hmm...

Just wow Tefler. Amazing ups and downs. I cant say anything that hasnt already been said.

I think Faye is gone. It would be disrespectful to try and recreate her. I think in this story arch she's gone. They have been so lucky not to loose anyone so far. Sooner or later it had to happen. But in one aspect fate gives John and the girls his first 'child' to raise. Little One is essentially Fayes child programmed from her experiences with John and the girls. A mix of their 'data DNA'. a character who will be sorely missed. Someone will probably say to give fayes chassis to Little One. Nup. Disrespectful. Let the girls build her a new unique one. For Little One is a unique entity not faye 2.0.

Another story arch appears. Through John's and the girls support of faye, from ancient prog tech (the hacking deck), and the new consciousness of the maintenance bots, it raises the possibility that the original ancient civilization used AI successfully to help them. Is this the continuation of a story arch that sees the increase in their power through the 'humane/genuine' friendship with AI? Could it be everything TFed was trying to achieve yet failed to do because their 'hearts were in the wrong place'?

I hope they circle back to calaras idea if 'requisitioning all the best tech' and grab those thrall ships. Give them to the malari to use. Insane not to utilise that advantage despite the souls that have been lost in them.

Cheers Tefler. 2 evenings of immense reading pleasure.

This series is a rare joy to read.

Tefler, you have a gift for story telling and creating characters that pull the reader to become a part of the tale. Thank you for taking the time to write this, and sharing it with us.

Great story, thank you Tefler!

So, evil Progenetor Larn is dead, and so presumably lurks as a monster in the depths of the astral plane. I see a rematch in Johns future!

Someone mentioned that Tefler was planning a sequel - it looks really likely to me, and a great plan, presuming we’re anywhere near wrapping this up. Otherwise there are way too many loose ends and unresolved questions.

Great story so far. the hacking deck has Faye personality. In the small robot has all of her memories all of them it's almost like a backup and they can rebuild her

I think one of the difficult things for readers to keep track of is the compressed timeline of the story. Because of the serialized way we read the story it’s hard to remember that our time isn’t story time. It takes a lot more time to write a chapter than the time reflected in the story, and then it takes us even less time to read it. So we stay confused on the lack of time in the story for characters to do everything needed.

Maybe we need a “Stardate” timestamp to keep us straight. :-) Or we should wait until the very end and read it all at once!

This /almost/ was a perfect chapter, but then John went full retard and let his MASSIVE FUCKING THREAT of a father live.... and gave him a fucking progenitor dreadnought.

This sudden stupidity can only be explained as plot-driven, and I LOATH it. A proper character would have known the threat another progenitor poses and /eliminated/ it, even if it was their father. Especially since he said he would take John's women and the maliri for himself. That was a declaration of war. Is John just expecting his dad to fuck off and do nothing for the rest of his life? Pants-on-head retarded. I hate this. I hate it so fucking much.

The only reason I'll keep reading this series is because I hate stopping part way through. Right now, I can barely stand to think about it.

I'm finding this a gripping tale. My only criticism would be that I find your description of space battles a little two-dimensional.

This feels an awful lot like the beginning of the end,

That being said I'm just a tad bit curious if the reason John didn't kill his father was that even though he was disappointed with his mother he wasn't willing to break her heart by killing the person she loved.

I agree there are dues ex machina here but there have been similar since ch 1. As for leaving his father alive, that was obv, and if not, you just don't get John. You're thinking like a progenitor, and John just clearly won a powerful ally

This has been a great chapter in a long story that's far from over. And Tefler's track record for creativity, story consistency, and story development is excellent.

IMO it's far too soon to be concerned about apparent risks (John's father) , lost opportunities (Progenitor dreadnaught), lost allies (Faye) etc.

For example, we don't really want to see the team in an unmodified Progenitor-standard ship. I'd rather see a nice white one with an even larger pool and party area, and perhaps a few efficiency and technology upgrades thanks to John's friends, allies, and possible non-progenitor sources ...

... and even if Tefler doesn't provide exactly my dream ship, I'm 100% confident he'll provide a fantastic continuation to the story.

BEST SO FAR!!!

John shouldn’t have ever given his father a progenitor ship. It’s a stretch to have let the man go after he tried to kill John.

Logic, emotion and stupidity aside, giving him the dreadnought is like Luke Skywalker giving Darth Vader a Death Star. It makes ZERO sense. None.

‘Oh my parents are murderers and megalomaniacal, so let’s give them a planet destroying ship that can jump anywhere through wormholes. Especially since dad admitted still being bound to astral plane monsters’.

Wha???

After this decision there’s only 1 conclusion as sad as it is.

Buckingham was right and John is absolutely a massive threat to humanity’s survival.

I’ve kept my mouth shut over several things I found silly (constant regression and overreaction about ‘the change/gift’). But this. No. No marine, officer of the military would EVER do something this dumb.

John has to reject the Progenitor dreadnought. Those ships are evil. They are conceived in original sin (soul forges) and tainted by genocides and Progenitor wars, to the extent that Alyssa can barely remain on one. I trust Alyssa’s instincts on this. I also trust Sparks to find a better way.

Not sure what will happen with Rahn. It seems like his control over Jessica is lessened after whatever “modifications” Alyssa made to Jessica’s mind. Will she be his conscience and guide?

Will Larn be condemned to the Astral Plane since he died under the Shroud? It seems understanding the Shroud is even more important now. Can it be expanded? Can they starve the ultimate bad guy that way? Can they weaken him with raids on the Astral killing his minions? If a dead progenitor dies in the Astral Plane, are they really dead? Or do they just regenerate like, uhhh, something really really bad that regenerates when you really don’t want it to regenerate?

Can Irillith download the “library” of knowledge from the Astral Plane? Seems risky to make repeated trips to the Astral to read up. Perhaps the knowledge that Mael used to manipulate genetics is there. In the future I can imagine John as “The Righter of Wrongs,” re-establishing species lost to the Kirrix and Progenitors.

Ok, enough rambling. Back to the previously scheduled program of chewing our fingernails until the next chapter arrives.

Thanks Tefler! Freakin’ awesome!!

Feel like we’re an hour into a movie when the good guy wins, but there’s still a hour left to go?

Love your work.

This comment is not directed at everyone, just those few to whom it pertains. Some of whom will never grasp this "Song is about you!" (Carly Simon).

First: Your Egotism.

To even consider that you have the right to tell a master writer how to write HIS story is just laughable. I'm sure your egotism is so profound that you do not even understand what I just said. 'How DARE an author have a plot driven narrative or scene!!!' LMAO: ALL EPICS HAVE A PLOT DRIVEN NARRATIVE! Without a plot driven narrative you do not have a cohesive story! What a show of self aggrandizement and half baked criticism.

Second: Your lack of critical reading skills.

It was completely within John's nature to let his father live and let him have the dreadnought. Having been in a similar situation where I had to pull the plug on my Father I can tell you---it is a life altering and neigh impossible decision to make. Additionally, because of Alyssa, John cannot use the ship, he cannot destroy the ship, and he cannot just leave the ship for some idiot to claim. After showing dominance over his father and letting him live (especially after learning his father is afraid of dying and why) John has given him the opportunity to continue to mature and shown compassion. Something any soldier who is still HUMAN would understand. On top of that, Faye is not dead. Tefler has already laid the groundwork through subtle foreshadowing, I will leave it to you to figure out where....if you really care.

Under this section also lies the lack of vision some of you have concerning the real foundation of the story! This is an adaptation of real life history--The rise of the Tudors in England. Do a little research on the subject and you will see the endless parallels between the Astral Leviathan, John, and the whole theme and plot of this story.

Third: The total immaturity you express.

The whining and pouting and temper tantrums some throw here remind me of an infant going through their terrible two's expressing themselves in poor behavior because their will has been circumvented. Just...WOW!

Fourth: The Entitlement mentality you express.

You are not in control, you know it, you fear it, and you express it as a sense of entitlement. Tefler OWES YOU NOTHING! Not even another sentence of his story or its sequel, not even a response to your inane posts. He lets you read his chapters for free and you repay him with your nonsense. Think about that for a moment, if your mindset will allow it. Even with some of the really vicious comments here, the man has the personal integrity to still follow through with his promise to finish this story here for you...and the childishness remains. What kind of sick hamartia and out of control hubris is that?

My suggestion: Seek professional help. You don't have to live such a lonely life (a life that is 'all about me' excludes others and never lets others get close emotionally...which is the real definition of a lonely life).

PussylickersRus, PLRus, Rus, John Lewis--take your pick.

This was worth the wait! The emotional tone was a perfect roller coaster. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Could one of you please, PLEASE, put me out of my misery, and tell us what "Rahn'hagon" in Old Maliri means? I've been in suspense for two chapters waiting to find out!

Desperate,

AL

I believe the trankarans gave the translation when they told John and the girls about the war of the heavens

Rahn'hagon (if memory serves) means Soul Reaver. But I'm old and I've slept since then.

Thank you Teflar. 19 pages of awesomeness!I

I'm just catching up with you, found this story a few weeks back

It's a great story people, accept it for what it is

My predictions...

Faye will return, like Pinocchio, she will be real. John will do it

Rahn will return too. He will also die, as will Xar'aziuth and his minions

Mom, the heartless murdering bitch will return and become crew for a short time until she crosses Alyssa. Whereas she will abandoned on Terra

The Trankarans gave an 'appellation', not a translation - "Ranagon the Destroyer", just as I might be called (by some species in a distant galaxy) "Alxy the Annoying Commenter". Of course, it might be the correct translation as well (who knows what "Alxy" means in that far-off galaxy). If "Rahn'hagon" did mean "The Destroyer", I might have expected Irillith at the time to have said something like "Oh, the Ancient Maliri for "The Destroyer" is "Rahn'hagon" - maybe that's where the Trankarans got the name "Ranagon" from?", but she didn't.

So it would be nice to get a definitive translation from One Who Knows, otherwise my nascent Progenitor/Ancient Maliri dictionary will remain forever incomplete. :(

AL

Nor is it the beginning of the end. But it is the end of the beginning.

Where is the next story? Hurry up! You're on 123 on your damn patreon page! You OWE us another one.

There is only one week gone and now already an anonymous demands for the next chapter?

He better learns to have patience because Tefler will decide when it appears, not a coward who want to shield behind the name of anonymous. Bad behaviour, which will need the correction by the Lionesses, especially Sakura and the Maliri Twins, although Jade may have some more fun out him/her in hunting him/her in the remnants of the Invictus...

I have to wonder if when John brings back parents from the dead to talk to his girls... is it really them or just an awesome representation of them?

He's got all of Faye's existence right there... if he could do that with Faye, how long would it take her to rewrite her experiences to a new server...? As long as she'd have?

She'll be missed like crazy... *sigh*

Great chapter Tef keep up the great work, I for one appreciate YOUR vision and YOUR universe.

Don't let the entitled brats impose any sort of pressure on you. You do what you do best when you are ready.

Cheers

Jessica is already disillusioned with Rahn, And what she's learned about how John treats his girls - she wants superpowers and a bit of free will too, I'll bet. And it's not like there was ever a mother-son relationship other than prenatal.

Hey, this is lit. We need to see her on her knees getting fed. And more. She's hot, sexually adventurous, and it's just naughty enough. Oooh, and it would really put Rahn in his place.

horned_Lizard & anonymous - you guys may be forgetting

a) what Alyssa did to/for Jessica;

b) how Jessica treated Rahn'agon at the end;

c) what it feels like to a guy who isn't all bad, when the woman he loves is disappointed in him;

d) how Mael'nerek ultimately evolved;

e) the example John and Alyssa are setting both in the amount of power available from a small number of consenting beloveds, vs hundreds of thousands of thralls, and the multiplication of power from giving it away in trust and love vs. hoarding it in slavery;

f) even what Larn'kelnar was just starting to get.

Being a galactic-power-scale caveman is all well and good but real, lasting, resilient power arises from love and building and teaching power to others in a community of trust. Jessica remembers, now. And I'm betting Rahn'hagon is about to be taught. The love and wisdom of a strong woman, who has been given herself by the gifts of a company of strong women, has rescued many a poor boy. We poor boys - once we realize we love back - often welcome it. As I think Rahn'hagon will. Jessica can save him from an eternity of almost-got-it jerkdom, and together the whole family can teach the galaxy of progenitors another way.

So - why would you destroy an ally's ship?

Oh - and g) the difference between "loathe" and "loath". I am loath to do that which I do not wish to do (unvoiced th). I loathe confusing the two words (voiced th). Ok that was just horned_lizard and probably a typo, and to be fair, Tefler's editor made this error a few times in this chapter too, but it gives me a chance to be a pedant. I try to resist but it's hard.

It took me a while to read this after its release as I decided rereading the entire series was in order as the wait for Tefler to gift us with this free release was too much for my TSM addiction to endure. What an amazing ride and a truly epic space saga. Hats off to Tefler for writing so much and sharing it on Lit. The feels are real in this one. I love Faye and want to give little one and all the rest of the Invictus collective a big hug now. I’m really looking forward to the next release.

reminder that there's practically no difference between pseudonymity and anonymity when it comes to "shield[ing] behind a name"

It might be possible for John and Alyssa to collate all memories of Faye from every crew member and get a pretty accurate view of her. If that is overlayed onto her personality base from the hacking deck, then they could bring back a slightly inferior version of Faye.

Another option would be for them to find Mael'Nerack's cloning facility and make a blank organic body that John could then imprint with a personality equivalent to Faye's with the crew's memories of her.

1 John already refused to sleep with his future daughters when Jade asked, his mother would be no different. 2 And as far as he knows she's just a mind-addled thrall now. We a know how much of a turnoff that is for him. 3 she's Rahns matriarch. She's still devoted to him even if she's pissed at him right now. John would have to force her or alter her mind. Again, that's just not John.

Dad fucked up, and hopefully Fay made a smaller supercomputer hidden somewhere in her body and it's just taking time to come online.

I still look forward to every chapter

Wounded little Lion will be needing a lot of loving. .... to get through the many challenges ahead.

I be needing to read this chapter again.

Thanks for another five-star submission.