All Comments on 'Three Square Meals Ch. 068'

What a chapter.....

Tef,

You out do yourself once again. However, I would have thought character flaws such as Santini's would have been weeded out by his rank, particularly inabilities for obeying orders. My experience with NZ and Aussie forces, officers a weeded heavily for detrimental character flaws such as Santini's. Indeed my brother was psychologically weeded because of an inability to let go of impossible problems, which leads to poor decision making.

Cheers

Mal

As the third (win, place, show) person to make a comment on the story! I didn't even read it yet, but I's WIRED that it's up!! WOO-HOO!!!

You write to slow!! Just kidding. You are extremely gifted. Very well done. As always checking daily for new updates.

The rush of emotions i felt during this chapter was as intense as those brought on by a good action movie. I never thought reading a story would do that to me! Well done Tefler. This chapter is for the ages.

This is thee most action packed chapter they will probably have some concerns from the tfed towards John after how they just walked through the battle. There tech may still be secret but a lot more high ranking officers have seen and maybe wanting the tech for themselves. we see they there strength has calara's dad leery after the battle and the admiralty may notice and see they may have leaverage against John but at the same time I could see John forming a alliance like he has done with the greys. And he gonna have a fleet he just doesn't know it yet. Can't wait and see.

Damn damn damn this was great

Eagerly waiting for the next one

The emotions I went through while reading it

I don't think I will be able to explain them but damn it felt good after reading it

This by far the best story that has ever been posted and I have been around for years telfer thank you and you are extremely talanted I love the balance of the sex the story and the bulk of the character

First to Tef. Outstanding chapter, definitely one of your best and worthy of a permanent home on Lit's Hall of Fame.

Ozkiwi. I really enjoy your comments mate. I thought I felt a thread of military experience in some of your comments. Your Santini comment is a good one. The checks and balances plus psych profiling is pretty good in thinning the unsuitable out of the officer corps. In fact all ranks.

That said, some get through and the flaws only appear when they get the rank and a job that's clearly beyond them. The cynic in me tells me some things may not change by the 27th century.

The other Dave

Last paragraph...epic. Laughed so hard lol.

Hey everyone!

I'm delighted you enjoyed the chapter, it was a fun one to write. I know you guys were looking forward to a big fleet battle, so I wanted to deliver!

As I started working on this chapter I ended up creating a list of scenes with each of the characters perspectives. It made it much easier to group them appropriately as they reacted to their changing fortunes in the battle. Then when I started working through the list, it also made it easier to flow between each section.

Anyway, I'm glad you liked the final result, and it's something I'll repeat for future large-scale conflicts.

Cheers

Tefler

It's a shame that this story can be made into a tv show. Maybe Netflix or something like that.

That has got to be one of the best ending lines of a chapter yet."did I miss anything" had me laughing so hard my eyes water and I had to catch-up on breathing.

I was in two minds about leaving that in, but I'm glad I did! :-)

Tefler

Space opera on the scale of 'Bio of a space tyrant' by pierce anthony - truly excellent!

You and OverRed are my all time, bar none, favourite authors on Lit ever.

Keep it up. Write fast!

*drums fingers waiting for next chapter* :-)

loved the Carlo Collodi bit

once again you delivered amazing chapter. So how they are going explain to sakura

The bad guy got away.

Otherwise a good story.

...I want to know what John and Jack will be talking about. I don't know if I can wait another week or so to find out. I'm a sucker for conversations between an overprotective father and the boyfriend -- I find them hilarious. And nothing you've written has disappointed me yet Tefler (and it's been two years!). My only complaint is that you can't write as fast as I want to read. But even I have to concede that would be too lofty of a wish. Still, it won't stop me from missing the early days when you posted multiple chapters a week (side note: I thought you were a great writer when you first started but somehow you keep improving on perfection) and checking for new chapters daily. Great work Tefler!

P.S. Please send me a real-life John Blake at your earliest convenience.

Good story

i seen that last line before but not at the end of a ch

i knew lynton was dead the moment the fight started and then the progen just did not know how

Time to reread it ;-)

Once again you have outdone yourself. One of, if not the best chapters in the whole story..

I think ( She'd watched the video footage of Lynton's award ceremony,)

is a error{She,d watched the video footage of Lynette's award ceremony,}

Thank you for an amazing chapter. I only wish I could give more than 5 stars.

Very nicely spotted! That'll teach me for having such similar names! :-) I'll fix that and create an edited version.

Thanks for letting me know.

Tefler

Wow, the pressure is on now! I'll do my best, and hopefully you'll enjoy their conversation. I'm not quite at that bit yet in chapter 69, but I've written 5k so far, and it's been going well.

Tefler

Yeah, I couldn't resist putting that in there! :-)

Tefler

I really enjoyed this episode but it got me thinking what would happen if the rival progenitor goes after Maria Fernandez? (A) That would make for an interesting search and rescue mission. (B) The reunion between mother, daughter and John if/when pulled off succesfully would also make for an interesting chapter. (C) It would be a hilarious coversation afterwards between Maria, Edraele, Irillith and Calara about how John is with all of them and then go on about his exploits in bed with him.

Are they going to be added to the list of aliens too liked the wing Commander link sad that Angel died

Had me on the edge all the way through. Interesting what you have Fayes various avatars doing. What's up with the other Progenitor???? Why did he leave the party? Got something brewing no doubt.

Really enjoyed this chapter, oh yeah, nice finishing line too.

The stones the greys shown to john only show the Progenitor attack when they can wipe out a force that cant hurt them i.e. non space tech race but now we dont know how they fight a space tech race ?

In other words its a level fighting ground almost and with john ship in the mix who knows (apart from Tefler)

The reason that Humans were, the reason for our existence was that the Progenitor got bored.

That is the thing isn't it. At the Moment John is not as powerful as he could be. these games the 'Evil' Progenitor is playing might just be designed to get John up to a level where he is a challenge.

Remember the Red girls, think about it Red and Blue primary colours, so we have two Progenitors battling for a sector of space. Red team and Blue team.

So what to do when you win, create a species that can bread true. Humans, then wait long enough and set yourself another challenger.

It gives you the thought are there other areas of space where the species were Black and White, Silver and Gold.

Things to think about.

Oh and before I forget thanks for the story.

It's good but when the Terrans were interdicted and Caldwell said "It's a trap" really had me going.

As for updates, expect to wait a week. That's what I've been doing and I'm pretty sure Tefler said it himself some chapters back or in his bio.

Forget movie. Turn this into a video game. I'd love to do the fighting myself. Fighting with guns, swords and then piloting ships. It'd be Oblivion/Skyrim combined with Modern Warfare/Halo and then Ace Combat or whatever. That'd be awesome I'm sure.

Commented there... 5* obviously.

This was an epic chapter with exactly the kind of space battle I've been craving. Each time a fighter got taken out I was cheering for the Invictus to come and save the day. Each fighter that got blown up added to the tension. Hopefully some search and rescue teams will bring back some surviving fighter pilots. Maybe Faye using the better sensors on the Invictus finds some survivors in all that wreckage where the normal Terran scanners couldn't find them in time before their life support runs out.

Thinking of the other progenitor, maybe it's really not an enemy. Maybe it's John's father trying to bring up an ally. Seems as if the progenitors are normally loners who fight for dominance and that was okay for a while but somehow, the creature in the astral plane came into existence and the few surviving progenitors slowly got picked off in the astral plane.

Maybe the progenitors keep a slave population because they can't risk the deeper connection that John is marking with his girls due to the astral plane monster. The mysterious progenitor allowing John to build up power makes more sense if it's really grooming him to be an ally to fight the astral creature. He is an alien who has lived a very long time and human considerations of morals and ethics of seeding new species in hopes of creating useful allies doesn't apply. It may be stirring up trouble in order to accelerate John's development. In peacetime, John may have just isolated himself instead of being forced to grow. That may explain the assassin. If John dies, the progenitor just needed to start over again. In an immortal alien, this may be an acceptable approach, especially if it uses the theory of relativity to accelerate time between creating a new hybrid progenitor and waiting for him to grow to maturity.

1) Never forget the consequences of actions on this big a stage and their *political* ramifications.

2) In terms of political impact within the TFed, well Tefler didn't tell us much of the TFed's governing structure, but one would presume it's not exactly a military dictatorship. Ergo, the politics can/will have real consequences. John, whether he wants to think about it or not, is about to become a political sensation the likes of which the TFed worlds have never seen before. In time (and not a lot of time) the neighboring empires will have to sit up and take notice too - if they haven't already (Ashanath, Trankarans, Maliri...Kintark & Kirrix too).

I know that no one can be here and writing for ever ... though I wish you would be able to do just that ... I find myself looking forward to your every submission. I only wish I was able to afford to pay what your writing is worth. Thank you for what you have done and what you will do in the future ... whatever the future brings!

It will be interesting to see how the relationship between the BSP and John plays out. Perhaps he's John's father. Certainly there is something unusual in the relationship since Gabrielle was specifically told not to harm him and the BSP only reacted with bemusement as John undid all of Gabrielle's plans.

John could want to meet with Calara's dad to discuss adding a sister ship to the Invictus, and have the boys (possibly with Calara) lead her. They would have good reason to be loyal. John needs to improve his ability to keep his promise to Calara; and having to protect her Dad, limited John's options in this last battle. John also needs to strengthen his resources -- especially with people now knowing so much about him. Of course, he is about to have an alien fleet at his disposal -- so what do I know? Maybe John just wants to make babies.

Thanks Teffler for this engaging story. You seem to have moved beyond your video game style of level up, fight a harder bad guy, have some sex, level up -- which is great. It would be fun to see our heroes face a former enemy, and just ignore them because they are no longer worth slowing down for -- much to the shock of the said baddies.

That fleet battle was one magnificent rollercoaster ride!

However, there's a small slip-up with with the name of the female Kintark High Prelate. My Kintark is a little rusty, but I don't think she should be called either Grakira or Grikira interchangably. :)

As usual you didn't disappoint anyone. With all the advanced tech, wouldn't you think transporters would be available.

Paul

One very logical reason stands out to me. John is a bit old fashioned in some very good ways. Perhaps he is going to ask for his daughters hand in marriage?

Raptor vs the destroyers was pretty bloodthirsty. Worthwhile but risky.

I think some green cheeks need a spanking. Of course the other girls will likely all confess other naughtiness because they want a spanking too.

Then the oral sex.

The duties of a questing knight can be quite debilitating.

As Tekt pointed out, this could stem from John asking permission to marry Carmen. In doing so, John may feel honor bound to come clean about his relationships with the other girls. Not sure if I missed foreshadowing in earlier chapters but it is a possibility. John may want to come clean and rip the bandaid off instead of misleading the father until it comes out later (with all the girls pregnant). Having saved the day as well as rescuing one of his sons should help ease the blow.

Meant Calara not Carmen.

Another superlative chapter. I keep expecting the next chapter to fall below your normal very high standard but you keep thwarting my pessimism. This could be because your improving standard masks the blips. Anyway I hope you can continue "disappointing" me

PS

The misspelling of "what" in the header is deliberate.

the point of using shuttles instead of transporters although easier for transportation it was found that they were to easily hacked which caused disruption and confusion. such as in the case of the battle cruiser Achiles who's total munition armour ant was changed half way through transportation into tins of rotting tuna fish so was banned by 2219 peace convention.

I love this series, can't wait for the next installment.

If anything, it shows that Jade is becoming more and more like the other girls. As in: Less of the master-slave bond that exists even for non-psions with nymphs.

At the risk of being nit picky, aft and stern both refer to the rear of the ship. Perhaps you meant either 'stem to stern', or perhaps 'fore to aft'? Excellent installmemt in a most excellent series.

Transporters would be ok but I would really like to see some Transformers. Of course the they would end up with the Assassin sending Decepticons after them.

400 Patrons.

You have a popular story but if you keep writing chapters like this, the popularity is going to explode.

Very carefully and discretely evaluates Anon for possible Baker Act interdiction. :-)

I was very happy to see the Raptor run through its paces. And while the "did I miss anything?" was hilarious, so was Jade's reaction to Whiskey when he exclaimed "but their are 80 of them!" And Jade replied with a grin, "Yeah, I know!"

Jade was wanting some serious payback which became obvious after taking out 20 Kintark fighters in one Beam Laser blast with the exclamation, "Payback is a Bitch!"

My thinking is Shinatobe was lucky.

My bet on upgrades:

Dana comes up with new elements for the worm-hole drive and for better heat sinks that up the power levels even higher for the Nova Lances, Beam Lasers, Pulse Cannons and Justice rifles (making the latter equivalent to the current Terran Beam Lasers at full power).

Dana also incorporates that same new element into the Invictus, Raptor, and body armor to make them highly resistant to Kintark plasma bolts and Trankaran lava bolts.

Dana figures out how to create personal shields for energy weapons.

John and Alyssa combine to shape the new Invictus, Raptor, and body armor enough times to make them impervious to laser weapons.

Sakura gets PJohns speed and reflexes, develops super dense body structures (read difficult to cut or break bones) and limited telekenesis and electrokenesis and becomes a Super Hero level defender of John and the Girls. And she obviously gets white swords this time.

The debrief with T-Fed is going to be short and sweet....no, you cannot have my tech! and yes, I am not someone to piss off! LOL.

is If Faye goes down the Pinocchio route, will she just be a single person, or will each of the different sub systems get their own body?

What happens if the TFed asks for their Raptor Back?

John has to add at least one more girl to bring up access to beat the big beastie in astral space. (I think theres still the possibility that the total of his core group will be at least ten counting the number of seats in the raptor and the crew he leaves behind)

John just has to strip out the upgrades and put the old stuff back on. They can replicate the armor so no big deal there. If they back off Dana's improvements, the tech is available elsewhere. I think the problem with tfed right now is the rate of reverse engineering.

I don't think they will do that though because they don't want John to say screw you and take off. It would be a PR nightmare if the Lion left the Federation.

Dave (other one) my military experience is highly limited, mostly trough acquaintances (military several Australian army), one uncle is ex NZ airforce,or should that be air farce and brother who got bumped from fighter pilot training. Also had 4 great uncles in WWII in the NZ army, so am an avid military buff/wargamer for WWII, but no direct experience myself.

@ MIkipub, your arguments re the black ship progenitor (BSP), seem highly plausible, but then are some others, i.e. BSP being johns dad. I have also offered an alternate explanation as to who BSP is, however Tefler has not provided many clues as to which way the dice will fall on this. Given enough time collectively we may hit on a possible story line. However, I suspect Tefler will keep his powder dry until the right moments, with a suitable twist. :)

Mal

That was friggin AWESOME! Thanks Tefler! Once again, you done went and exceeded my expectations!

Can't wait for the next one!

Come on guys, the progenitor has to be John's dad: the Laws of Space Opera require it!

awesome multilevel battle! my heart was thumping. i like the fighter squad addition, brings out the nature of combat.

very well done! maybe the best space battle scene i can recollect.

This was so freaking awesome. That space battle was just great. THanks for sharing and Im looking forward to more soon.

I read it twice. Amazing space combat. I really got into it. I'll do an in depth post later, but before I forget. Please have those awesome pilots return in some capacity.

I don't think a lot of us understand. The T-Fed is not in a position to ask for squat. John Saved Terra, with billions in witness. John Saved the Fleet, with hundreds of thousands of military personnel in witness. John has a very very powerful populist powerbase of the commoner and the wealthy. The ONLY question T-Fed will be asking is what can we do for you???!!!!

How do you keep doing this??? I mean are you a sex Isaac Asimov or something? Its just not fair you have this much talent! Love,love, love this story. Now hurry up and get on with 69 *snicker* (please have a 69 scene in that one)

Expect one of my daft e mails shortly

Stacey x

What can I say but Outstanding. Your writing is absolutely fantastic. Keep up the wonderful work and like always, I look forward and eagerly await your next chapter.

Now yes, they do have a populist power base, but the way i'm thinking is this. the fleet admirals have just seen how truly threatening the Invictus actually is. and at least one of them appears worried by this. the tech possessed by John might be seen as a racial survival issue. The raptor is the obvious weak point. whereas John owns the Invictus outright, he was given the Raptor, and they could try to reverse that so it wouldnt surprise me if the powers that be or the R&D department fiddled with classsifications of equipment and John all of a sudden no longer had clearance to keep it, so ooops you'll have to leave it docked while the paperwork is sorted out here. and while its parked, seeing as it technically is TFed kit, we'll just take a few bits to look at.

now this wouldn't strictly be a problem as most of the parts are not reproduceable by Terran technology, the substances in the armour and laser barrels are made from chrystal alysium that contains several elements that are outside the periodic table,and on top of that have to be molded psychically which is an ability humans don't have. It would also be interesting to see someone trying to cut their way in with lasers to actually get at the inside or trying to hack their way past the doors. and if someone did manage to get in it wouldnt be difficult for Irilith to remove all the safeties from the power core, wiping the raptor from wherever it was being held.

If anyone was to try this how about Harris's single minded superior in charge of building battleships. ( after all the nice shiny new dreadnought they supplied materials for found its way to the hands of a traitor, he may have been influenced by its admiral before she was unfortunately vaporized)

After all, Calara was in tactical command of not one, but two essentially intact Admiral level battle groups during the latter portion of the fight.

The armada scale conflict, the different points of view, the elegance of the tactics. All of it. The way you described the fleet and sub-fleet manouvers interlaced with fighter pilot points of view all added to the complexity of the picture you were painting. It made me picture those small scale skirmishes all the while finding elegance in the battle group's engagements. I particularly like the part where Jade compared the current Raptor to its previous self, that got the adrenaline going. You my friend are an exceptionally talented artist.

As someone who found you when chapter 4 was fresh off the press over a year ago, job well done and I hope that you will never stop improving. Great chapter as always.

Hoping the chapters to come will have more of the same epic storytelling that we've come to known and love. Why can't I give more than 5 stars? It deserves more.

Looking forward to next week,

Wolf

I think the argument that TFed possession of the advanced technology would have resulted in John not being able to save the day might hold some water considering the traitorous nature of some of the TFed fleet. It may have leaked to the Kintark had the schematics been available.

I'm wondering if there can't be a United Nations type of organization that John can formulate that would be given the technology. He can use his women from the Maliri to command the ships but the crew can be made up of other member civilizations. That's one way for the Fernandez's to be kept safer while at the same time allowing them to continue military service. Imagine a carrier with Raptor-like interceptors. Maybe on the next visit to the Maliri world, they can build Faye controlled interceptors that can help out in larger scale battles. With the shorter distances, Faye can control them without too much of a signal delay at no risk to the crew. It would be a great force multiplier that right now is a big limit on the capabilities of the Invictus.

One lone assault cruiser isn't going to be able to take on a whole fleet. In this last engagement, they were able to be so effective because there were other ships for the enemy to deal with. Once the technological gap narrows, the Invictus will be in trouble if they don't keep pushing the envelope. The armor advantage will be hard to overcome but the beam laser tech and the heatsink tech is too easily reverse engineered. It's only a matter of time before the tech that was used by Dana to produce the Invictus versions will become available to their enemies.

I'm having lots of fun thinking about all the possibilities. Thanks, Tefler for the great story. BTW, what kind of computer did you end up getting?

And for John to get busy impregnating some blue girls.

good work. you did a great job .your work is tops thank you

Another refit for the Invictus in preparation for the final face off? Loved the comedy at the end. Suspense, action filled, intrigue ..... great story.

I would like to see John gift a girl that actually gets a breast reduction to take the form of a girl in his harem.

I would like to see a girl whose talent is as an artist, musically, dance, and drama would be lovely.

I want them to establish an Astral Domain where they can meet up and hang out with Edraele no matter where they are in physical space. That might allow psychic transport so they can step out to another physical location. That might allow them to ignore physical damage. They lose a physical form, but they just manifest a new one.

Athena and other Psychic Entities stick around in the Astral Domain.

Dana needs to become full psychic after her second honeymoon. She will develop their wormhole gate drive soon.

Faye can develop much further, but she is likely to have some trouble I imagine. Why are people killing each other? Filthy Organics ARE crazy!

Looking at Sensor Data they will start mapping trace signals from farther out. Why hang around just this corner of space. There are other cultures to meet.

This story. Space battles like this are hard to resist but I hope they don't take over too much of the story.

"This was the first time a living creature had passed through her holographic form, so such an event would obviously need to be closely examined in slow motion, pausing at the point of contact. Faye could hardly wait!"

Faye is fetting laid! Body at 11.

every one has missed a point with bsp he created the human race cause he was bored and he's medling with all the other for the same reason bordom s/he been around for an unow amout of time and proble been there and done it all so he kicks the ant hills sit backs laughs at the ensueing chaos then sends in the krix to wipe the systems and starts over??

sorry for the bad gramre andseplling lmao

You said: "every one has missed a point with bsp he created the human race cause he was bored and he's medling with all the other for the same reason bordom."

You are assuming BSP is Mael' Nereck (sp). If Tefler has shown us anything, he has shown us that assumptions in his universe have the consistency of smoke, at best.

The battle was awesome! It would be interesting to see the accumulated talley of Jade's kills just in this last battle. And of course the three destroyers will have everyone shocked.

Caldwell thinks John was leading the remains of Santini's and the traitors fleets. He should be shocked when it is told that it was actually Calara. Caldwell is worried, with the popularity and respect John now has, how can he order anyone to go against him in any way. Which includes taking his ships (if that was in the Admirality's plans). In the military brotherhood when someone saves your ass in combat that amasses a whole lot of respect points.

I think the technology on board the Invictus will get a boost when John gives Dana her second "honeymoon" and the re-fit back in Maliri space will be awesome. Wormhole drive and a even more stronger power core will be the start. It almost seems that the Nova Lances are more powerful then the purple beams of the evil Progenitor.

I can see Sakura getting the speed enhancement that PJ showed and then maybe John and Alyssa gaining it also. She may also get some super strength. As far as psychic abilities like John, Alyssa, and Irillith, she doesn't have the third strand DNA.

The next thing is the rescue of Irillith's sister. It would be interesting that they find she is the leader they call Hades and has white hair. Perhaps the evil progenitor was also behind the increase in the piracy in T-Fed space and used her as his proxy to promote it. Maybe the early enemy, Rupert Grant, will cross paths with the crew there not to mention the master assassin may have his base in the area.

When John gets back to Maliri space I can see him increase his connections with some of the Maliri, like the bodyguards and some of the original engineers. I'm sure Edraele will want the Matriarchs that she has put in place to get a dose. I'm sure the next batch of engineers will get into the fold. If Edraele finally gets to ride John will that step up their connection?

With Faye it appears she is becoming obsessed in gaining physical form. Could that drive her into unstable crazed psychological state?

On the astral plane could the beast seek out progenitors that are gaining too much power? Could it target those with too much power to keep the playing field equal?

Then did the Ashanath find a progenitor's ship to reverse engineer? Who's ship was it? Did a progenitor take out another one, perhaps Malnerak found himself on the short end of the stick.

I've a query regarding the belly inflation. Everytime when the girls either blow or fuck john, their belly inflates. Now as far as the oral is concerned, the cum remains in the stomach while John does his mendings so it is just like when you drink too much water or eat too much since the cum provides required elasticness to the abdomen muscles therefore no problem there but I don't think vaginal muscles are strong enough to keep all that spunk from flowing out. Even the vagina can't contain piss for long.

What you didn't realize is all those abilities are psychic...hence Sakura will need to be given the 3rd strand just like Alyssa.

Holding is in the womb, not vaginal....A temporary plug like when pregnant?

Psychic enhancement and are made progenitors.

Whatever they are up against having Alyssa has been the crucial advantage. Everything started with her. Her understanding and careful crew development was the front edge of every blade John wields. Alyssa should level up, but it has become clear that it is value of the individuals in the bond that gives them their advantage. John needs Alyssa at her peak and to get her there he will need to power up the individuals she is bonded to.

.fs

Dana was able to reverse engineer the tech for those quickly because of her increased intelligence which bring up the point her would probably still be more effective because she has materials that are not available to the other races. My guess is the Terrans have got ahold of the plasma rifles in the past but still have a hard time reverse engineering the tech or reproducing the original version of the tech. just like the other races have made tech that is inferior to the progenitor tech because they don't fully understand everything in it.

in its larger size locks its individual pieces together with much longer tails, or the psychic component builds a force field that holds it together as a single solid lump, rather than it acting as a liquid as regular seminal fluid would

@Redleg55

I'm really hoping that Irillith's sister isn't a thrall to the other progenitor because they need an archaeologist to organize all the piecemeal learning about progenitors. Plus, twins ;)

@anon

Anytime that John's left a load in either the womb or ass of one of the girls, someone else has eaten it out of her shortly after. (at least the times I've noticed. Anal load retrieval has always been Jade, as far as I recall) So, they wouldn't need to retain it for long. It's not really safe to make assumptions based on human physiology anyway, given how massively enhanced the girls are.

I have had a reread simply because the weather is shite and I can't mow the several acres of land around the house. What I did notice were several things, which raise subsequent questions.

1) Given Dana's upgrades regarding sensors, I am surprised there were no inklings that the BSP was there? Mass is really hard to hide as it tends to obscure things behind. Even if you have some cloaking effects, there will be distortions that should be detectable in some way. Today, we are able to detect gravitational waves (mind you it is black hole masses), given the closeness of such a massive ship there should be a distortion of the light from stars. In addition, simple magnetometers are used in geologic surveying today and should be able to detect density/magnetic field differences. Given Dana's advanced sensors, particularly range and sensitivity, I would have though the BSP would have been detectable by the Invictus at least.

2) Why did John let Lynton run? She was safely isolated and tucked away in the middle of a dreadnought, once the battle is over Irillith could easily have allowed John access to her, for her capture, so letting her run in a shuttle seems illogical? Irillith, could also have easily kept other TF admirals from getting to her before John. What played out was much riskier and less logical, but did with the closing off an opportunity to get access to information. This just seems too much of a plot contrivance for me. From the back story, the BSP matriarch could have just drained Lynton of psychic energy leaving her a husk, as provided by the Milari information still cutting off the information source from John and the TF. This would be a more logical plot device without John seeming to make dumb decisions, that a good tactician (he is meant to be one getting to his original rank) wouldn't make. Teffler could then have the BSP slink off, allowing John still to have the realisation that most of his cards are out and played to his opponent.

There were a couple of other smaller things, but I'll let them slide for the moment.

Cheers

Mal

Once previously Rachel wanted John's cum for the study. As far as I remember he gave it to her. Now although I don't remember the exact conclusions drawn but did she study the progenitor sperm cell? Is it like human or somewhat different?

and theres mention of it being twice the size of a normal human sperm cell.

I was also thinking If John is going to ask for Calaras hand in marriage In rescuing her brother from a dragon, destroying an enemy fleet and saving her fathers life, he is setting a rather extreme example of requirements for tings needed to justify her father saying yes

Even with the awesome fleet battle, my favorite part of the chapter was the description of Faye's nighttime activities (and the subsequent wake-up call).

If a suitable chance arrives, you should consider giving some more exposure to Santini and/or Grikira. Should be an interesting story how hotheads like them got to such high positions in their respective militaries.

Tefler, what are the thoughts of Tfed about polygamy? Is it possible for john to marry all the girls? As far as I remember after jade's death, john asked her to marry him and now calara( although he hasn't mentioned anything about it) so if they don't allow it, will he be living with the maliri or the invictus is their permanent home?

Thanks for the info!

I'm thinking, that in the crew AAR they might discuss whether the Invictus can detect the Black Ship, and how to modify the settings to pick it up. The sensors "might" have picked something up, but, if the computer isn't looking for it, it won't display it. I think it will be a matter of parameter settings.

Marriage. I think polygamy, was mentioned at some point back several chapters. I don't remember what the outcome was, other than John and Alyssa decided they didn't care and was going to do it anyway at some point. I think it was one of the "rare" "XO updates".

You saidd, "I was also thinking If John is going to ask for Calaras hand in marriage In rescuing her brother from a dragon, destroying an enemy fleet and saving her fathers life, he is setting a rather extreme example of requirements for tings needed to justify her father saying yes."

Don't forget the pirates, the mercenaries, saving Calara (twice), saving Terra and billions of lives on the planet, being the most powerful persona in Terran space, and commanding a ship capable of successfully an entire battle group single handed. Not to mention having the grace and wisdom to let dad win the sparing match in front of the family.

Plus his daughter (who may soon outrank him) has totally blossomed under his tutalege and wants to marry him.

Yeah, dad is no fool.

Probably the best chapter yet, and one of the best stories I've ever read and I've been reading sifi for almost sixty years, well done (hate to admit I'm so old though).

Your post: "I'm thinking, that in the crew AAR they might discuss whether the Invictus can detect the Black Ship, and how to modify the settings to pick it up. The sensors "might" have picked something up, but, if the computer isn't looking for it, it won't display it. I think it will be a matter of parameter settings." is interesting.

I know one way we used to look for enemy attack subs was to listen for a "hole" in the water. U.S. subs re-emit sea sounds to foil that process. If the ship can be seen through the lack of stars shining through its hull, then that is a fatal flaw, even if the sensors cannot pick it up. Regardless, it has to have an energy signature when moving.

Also, while BSP was watching the Invictus, the Invictus also has some intel on the BSP's weapons systems now. That energy weapon they have is not that much more powerful than the current Nova Lances. When Dana upgrades the heat sink technology, the Nova Lances will be superior. The time to energize those weapons is also an important piece of tactical information. With those weapons being fixed, the Invictus has a distinct advantage with her maneuverability. Also, the Invictus can absorb massive amounts of energy from energy weapons and redirect it to the Nova Lances. That capability I see only as improving with the upcoming refit, with additional elements to increase resistance to plasma bolts, included in the ship plating and additional re-shaping (100% resistant to energy weapons now with 11 shapings on the Raptor). With John and Alyssa working together they may be able to reshape the Invictus the requisite 8 times to make it effectively impervious to energy weapons.

The Invictus and the Raptor are about to be an order of magnitude more powerful after the refit than they are now. Soon they will be able to contend with an entire Fleet just by themselves.

That is what this chapter was. In fact it is what this series is. I have not read a series that has a proper dominant male lead who is not an asshole to any degree. Pair it with psionic powers, high tech spaceships and hot alien babes and you got a perfect match for my tastes. I have always found other stories lacking in many department and sooner or later they disappoint me or gross me out. But every chapter of TSM has kept entertained and chomping at the bits for the next one.

There is also the matter of Grammer and Editting. Nothing turns me off like bad grammar. So kudos to you and your editors for an excellent literary work. I have also noticed throughout the series and especially this chapter that you like to indulge yourself with some word play. I heartily approve. It is my first time reading an article published in an online forum that has used words like quintinary or duodenary. It was also incredibly clever to avoid the Latin interpretation of eleventh. I don't think anyone noticed. It has been quite a journey for us and you from that conversation with Mad Jonah in that bar in the core world. And you have tremendously improved. Sorry if I am rambling but I am that excited.

The questions raised by Ozkiwi are definitely valid. The event leading to Lynton's death seems a little forced. But I have no doubt that you will integrate this event in your story seemlessly. Best of luck to you on your future endeavors.

-----Samuel Stone

This is definitely the best story on this site IMHO. Your writing has improved during the journey as well. You should definitely have a successful career in writing. Good luck. I'm working on an anonymous way to support you on patreon as your writing is worth it. Between my wife and public career I don't want the exposure of my vice. I can't believe you can write this well and be as prolific as you are. Keep up the good work. Impatiently waiting for the next chapter.

TP

Many people have wondered as to why the Progenitor, who may or may not Johns dad, has not gone about conquering the galaxy has been a question raised by many and I think I have an answer. Quite simply, the odds are way too stacked against him. Back when he was ruling everything, thousands of years ago, he had just created the various races out and about the galaxy today, which meant that he had absolute control over every one of them. Wherever he went, several thousand years had passed and every race had advanced to the point where any single one of them has their own level of autonomy and technology, which would be a credible threat to him. Sure, the tech base of each race isn't quite as advanced as the Progenitors is but still quite considerable. If he went and openly started attacking any of the races, such as the Ashanath, they would have started begging for help or had he started conquering worlds, the other races would have picked up on it and decided to band together, albeit temporarily, until he was dealt with. Even such a massive ship, as powerful and advanced as it is, facing the combined might of various races would be insurmountable odds. In order to fully conquer the galaxy like he had thousands of years ago, he would have to pit them against each other, work from the shadows to bring each race down, offering whatever bait and temptations available to him to have them co-operate with him. Then, when each empire is in shambles, pick up the pieces and conquer each one slowly, piece by piece. Being thousands of years old and immortal to boot, having a plan like that makes the most logical sense, even if it takes a few hundred years to complete. Ideas, thoughts, opinions?

Tefler,

I really don't want this fleet action to end. Here's some thoughts to extend out this particular battle for my own selfish enjoyment. Feel free to use all, some or none of these ideas.

John and crew spend time after the battle saving more lives (as you alluded to the life and death struggle still going on even after the shooting stopped). Saving lives - the battleship that's mentioned having lost power early in the battle needs help. They don't have enough time to evacuate everyone before emergency power to life support runs out, Invictus docks with it and shares it's battleship sized power supply with the ship to keep people alive while they make repairs to the power cores. The rescued survivors on the Invictus, when told about the battle volunteer to help the crippled ship's crew. Critically injured people are ferried to the Invictus for evacuation to the space station by the fastest means possible (the Invictus).

While the battleship is being repaired enough to support life, Faye and Irillith use the sensors to help the SAR (Search and Rescue) ships locate both human and Kintark survivors in a race against the clock before injuries or life support runs out.

As the fleet sends marines and naval prize crews to the Kintark ships, John gets a call from the Admiral in charge saying that the Kintark Prelate wants to meet with the Lion of the Federation and ask him about the battle at the Nebula and why he spared the troop transports. John could wear his combat armor to help with the prize crew on the Kintark flagship and to make a fearsome show of force. There's an incident where one of the Kintarks attacks John because of an earlier battle that killed his father/sibling/etc. John disables the Kintark and spares him. Telling him that he fights to protect his friends and not because he enjoys killing. This opens up a dialogue that ultimately gets the emperor to realize that he's being played by the BSP. The war is called off/put on hold, as both sides explore how much they've been played against each other by the BSP, though tensions are still high. Maybe you can start a United Civilizations organization from this where the Kintarks and Humans see and advantage working together against the BSP that seems to be pitting them against each other which then starts bringing in other civilizations.

Since they don't have to hide their speed anymore (in-system speed or their hyper-warp speeds), once the volunteers go off ship to help the crippled battleship crew, John and the girls can load up critically injured people and fly them straight to the space station, saving lives that would have been lost thanks to the wonders that Rachel can do. Dana volunteers to stay to help repair the battleship while Jade and the rest of the crew takes the critically injured back to the Dragonmarch station. Dana wears her combat armor for the environmental security of the suit but it ends up fueling the propaganda about the Lion and his lionesses when the crew take pictures of her in all her splendor. They see how easily she can get in and out of the armor on the Raptor and TFed buys the technology for their marines. The armor won't be as good but ease of putting it on as well as some of the upgrades Dana has come up make John and even bigger hero to the military. After stabilizing the power cores and getting the engines back online, they help a Kintark cruiser in the same situation, which starts building bridges between the Kintark and the humans. The Invictus returns to pick up John and Dana and the Invictus crew reunites. Having done what they can for the survivors of the battle, they take off to continue their adventures leaving yet another legend to grow in their wake. The overwhelming popularity of John and the girls starts making political enemies who see John as a potential threat.

I agree totally with your tactical view of the situation. Still not convinced BSP is the Mael'-Nerek.

Those are some wonderful ideas! I really like the saving of those in danger on both sides.

One thing I would add. Alyssa suits up and flies over in her suit to the ship that is ablaze and stops the conflagaration with her telekenesis. That is already out of the bag, so why not?

loved it so far...!!!!