Chapter 100 (complete)

Man that chapter had me on edge that family meet and greet is going to get crazy. Now with the victory on Terra his dad's about to drop the hammer I hope it doesn't leave the Lion near death.

Big ToFu

It would be cool if the Kirrix manage to get a few ships through Trankaran space and manage to land of Charon IV, home to Titanium Jack (from the story Truckstop Takedown). It would be great for him to meet John and the girls. Tashana and Irillith can fan-girl geek out when they encounter him and after the battle Rachael can heal him so he can enjoy his family and live happily ever after.

Frostfyre

Added to timeline

Dark Storymaker

Hey Tefler, thank you for such a great read, Chapter 100 was truly spectacular! I can honestly say that it was one of the best battle sequences I have ever read. It is right up there with the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. I am very anxious to see what Jade finds on Tartarus. I am imagining the Raptor pulling up to the base to find it a smoking ruin and a giant green tiger standing outside with a bunch of girls on her back. BSP could still be anyone except Mael right now (because of timelines) can't wait for the family reunion! Please write a scene where John interacts with the wounded Maliri marines. When Alyssa told Almari and Ilyana not to get hurt I was sure the would. Good to see them unscathed. Oh and Dana and Calara are absolute bosses. They saved their species today. Thanks again!

If you need a chuckle while still staying within the TSM universe, discord has some questions (good, bad, and everything inbetween!) waiting for you. Currently were wanting you to settle the debate on the flavors for the rest of the girls. :P

I'm good thanks. :-) Just wrapping up the end of my new 'short' story. It's 93k at the moment!

Tefler

I also really, really enjoyed this chapter. I thought it was outstanding! I did take note of a possible continuity issue, however, as I read through it again, which was the description of the planetary-based weapons around the citadel in the first part, and then never reading about them again. What were they doing? “Reaching the crest, he paused for a second to admire the amazing view of the Citadel. From this vantage point he could clearly see the two massive shield generators that kept the fortress safe from orbital bombardment. He actually pitied anyone who would dare to attempt it; the dense network of planetary defence lasers surrounding the base would annihilate any ships foolish enough to try.” Why didn’t they fire on or have any impact on the Kintark ships, or did they and simply fail due to not being powerful enough, even though they’re more powerful than ship-based weapons? Also, are they akin to the Arbiter lasers that are part of Olympus base’s defenses, which had an impact on the incoming Kintark fleet later in the chapter?

Evan

Just checking you are ok Tefler. The life of a creative is a hard one. Far too much solitary time. Always remember that you have friends. Some of them probably don’t read 3SM. Please ensure you take any time you need to recharge your batteries.

Wookey

@Tefler, I just finish re-reading your combined Ch. 100, and as a whole, I like it much better. The polish you've added and tweaks you made have significantly improved it. Excellent work! :-) That said, as I was reading through the about first third or so - something was bothering me, and it was pinging around in my head as if it were a continuity-error-ish type of problem in a movie would - seeming just like a glaring mistake. Now, unfortunately, I can't quote crystalize that concern into a cogent enough thought to draw a circle around it for you just yet. In the next few days, I will re-read Ch. 100(.1) again, and try to draw out the issue better. I did want to let you know that there was something that seems amiss, in here, though. Perhaps someone else has or will beat me to it for you.

GrandPaM

Tefler I hope you see this. A suggestion for Jehanna family issue in joining, after rescue her grandmother calls and tells her girl go with the man you love we will be there to support you . Jehanna how do you know I love him , it's obvious in the way you look at him go with him that is a order grandma growls

wildcat 1986

That’s great news Tefler, always look forward to reading your writing. If you are still working on the news story then that must make the expected delivery date for ch 101 sometime after the 1st. That sound about right.

MJHSharkbait365

The new story is up to 85k and nearly finished. I've handed over what I've done so far to my editors and I'll work on the epilogue tomorrow. :-)

Tefler

Tefler ~ You may want to update your Overview. It is over a month out of date.

Cody Strong

Not much to report. Terler is working on a "Loving Wives" story and he said Chapter 101 should be done by the end of the month.

Anthony Kester

I've been at a camp for the last 5 days with no internet or cell signal can someone update me with what's going on?

A good point, and if it proves to be the case, perhaps not so surprising. BSP has proven to be a master string-puller, and this would be exactly his MO. Cheers. Tim

Timbo

Here's something that I haven't thought about, I've just reread the scene of John warning the admirals of Lynton's betrayal. The way Buckingham behaved to John and the knowledge of John's biological origin was as calm and collected as the other admirals (aside from Weber, Santini). He seemed a reasonable military leader as another. Was his paranoia really just the result of stress and mistrust? Or more than that? Maybe psychic tampering?

Forbsey

It would help if they had the wormhole generator drive, allowing for instant jumps between any two points in the galaxy. That way they could spend time relaxing planet side instead of having to rush off and spend a few days in FTL.

Jedi Khan

With the galaxy destabilizing, I fear that the Invictus crew has less and less time to be together. Things like Oceanus seem silly and trivial now, while the TFed is in tatters, the Kirrix are devouring entire worlds, and Larn'kelnar plays his deadly game. However, I think it's important for both Tefler and the crew if the they had some time to recuperate, love one another, and continue to grow stronger as a family. Especially with Helene (and hopefully Jehanna... and even some Nymphs...), I'd love to see more character focus. But again, the setting calls for action right now. I hope they can find some peace between the battles!

The Muses can be a fickle bunch of ladies that require constant stroking for them to effervess. I suggest several 60 second kisses each.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

So, Tefler. A new story, huh? Can't say I was expecting that (none of us can, really). Do you think it will become a new series, or is it just a one-off to blow off some steam? And since we're talking about stories that aren't TSM, how about your other offering, Setting Sail on the Black Sea? Will that be continued or has your muse forgotten it even exists?

Jedi Khan

Thanks very much! I'll have to do some kind of special post if I ever hit 2000! :-)

Tefler

Oh I agree, it's a nightmarish category, where the BtB crowd want cheaters burned at the stake, others want reconciliation, and the last group like cuckold stories. I've seen all three groups at each other's throats in the comments. I wrote it for fun basically, but I'll let you guys take a look and see what you think. It actually bridges several different story categories, so I'm not really sure where I'd submit it.

Tefler

Tefler, great to hear that you have been writing something different to refresh your mojo, but beware the Loving Wives category on Lit - it can be pretty toxic in my observations, as subscribers have strongly held and differing views on what a story in that category should be about.

John Jameson

For those of you who are not aware: Tefler set a day of the 31st for chapter 101.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Congratulations on reaching 1.900 patrons

Kim Biel-Nielsen

Maybe once they have the wormhole generator? That'll give them some time to do things. Unless there are limitations of the generator we aren't aware of?

Forbsey

Is anyone else interested in the other "Minor Empires" out there, i think it would be cool for John and the girls to interact with more "alien" aliens if you get my meaning. So far i think the Bolon have been the most exotic species that the crew have interacted with, and briefly at that. I remember that the Underworld chapters mentioned various species that were pretty interesting, an S shaped one I believe. Maybe John can spend some time with the less powerful civ's out there while chasing down Projenitor ruins or something.

Jared

weird tax form link attached to the Patreon site. gone now.

keen_FlattendHedgeHog

Only Weber was truly doing Buckingham's dirty work and committing crimes. I really doubt he will live long enough to get a trial and execution.

Frostfyre

Some of the rebels were wiped out by Irillith. The survivors will probably be tried for crimes against humanity/high treason and an example made of them.

Frostfyre

John plans to guide the Maliri essentially forever, with Edraele and the Young Matriarchs being immortal. Naskera will probably lead the Trankarans with John's influence as well, unless she joins his harem. Heck, using Jehanna, John can guide humanities perceptions via the media forever. She will just go behind the scenes when she ages. John still has human time perceptions, it will probably be a few decades or more before immortality really set in mentally and he starts to view the long game.

Frostfyre

rough eta 3/31 per Tefler

Frostfyre

Actually, Jrich, I thought that from the beginning. Some of us have even speculated that using the Astral Plane monsters as a source for the Soul Forge instead of humanoids might be possible.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

just a thought but what if to use the soul forge actual people have to be sacrificed. We do know that this would fit with how other progenitors look at everyone around them. Thoughts anyone?

Thanks for the update! Any date on publishing paperback book #2? There's just something about an actual "book", that ebooks don't deliver!

CJ Mora

Hey everyone! Sorry I went incommunicado for a while. I was feeling a bit burnt out after writing chapter 100, so decided to let the muse run wild for a week. I've been working on a "loving wives" style story for the last several days and I'm up to 55k already! It's called "Unforgivable" and is set on present day Earth. I only mention Laser Cannons and Missiles once! ;-) I hope to wrap it up by tomorrow or so, then I'll get cracking on chapter 101. I'll aim to get that finished by 31st March. :-) Oh, I did a bunch of editing on eBook 3. I'm just waiting for the last bit of editors feedback. Also, one of the artists is nearly done with a piece I commissioned. Hopefully I should get that in the next day or two.

Tefler

Like the Ashanath: The Maliri need to broaden their Fleet armament to include Quantum projectiles and they need to do so very quickly. The Enshunu have ships that are highly reflective.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

I think the final battle with BSP is three minor battles off. The Enshunu will be attacking the Maliri. And the Brimorians are going to attack what is left of the T-Fed. And John is going to battle deep into Kirrix space.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

w-8ben thing?

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

anyone else see the w-8ben thing?

keen_FlattendHedgeHog

Dose anyone know how long till chapter 101 please as I’m losing my mind.

Jim lynch

Should one man guide humanity no matter how strong he is? Is John to be right everytime? Life goal of a being with life span of 100 and 1000 can't be same.

Will the rebels like those earlier suppressed by John or Norwood join force with a reformed Terran Force. In retrospect was not Norwood right in rebelling, though he took wrong aid?

What is to be the punishment for surviving members of Admirality?

Last note said the 25th, although I suspect that date might be optimistic at this point. Still hoping to see it before the end of the month though.

Does anyone know when the next chapter comes out

Wonder when Tefler will venture back into the Unclaimed Wastes....

Wookey

Remember that Alyssa already has "had fun" bashing into the vault at Mikaboshi’s armoury, and I think that was just to check out what was inside, and that was after she did her personal version of the Nova Blast through several floors and at least one of Mikaboshi's gang.

Was thinking about John and the girls last night,don’t we all. Was brain storming about the upcoming Tartarus excursion. Had a scene play out in my mind. Weber, after seeing how easily the lion and his lionesses have torn through his defenses. Flees and hides inside some type of ultra secure vault. Now this vault in massive, perhaps it is made from some type of advanced metal. John and Alyssa are unable to rip the door off it’s hinges on their own. Sakura will freeze one side, Tashana will melt another, Dana will soften the molecular structure of the third side. And Ilirith’s lighting will cut through the fourth side like a plasma torch. I know what you are all thinking, we have seen the vault door before. John has smashed 5hrough a couple, Or Alyssa just ripped 100 meter engines off a battle ship surely she can handle a door. Maybe it’s because the team is low on physic energy. Whatever. I just think the team working together is a cool scene.

MJHSharkbait365

While infesting the Abandoned may allow the kirrix to create drones, the kirrix attack other worlds to pursue knowledge and resources. Maybe if they were taught to trade, they would not attack others. Free trade deters wars.

Benj

As a back story for the Kirrix, maybe they were created to be implanted into another species in a symbiotic relationship, potentially extending the lifespan of the host or granting psychic powers, similar to cybernetics. However, they eventually realized that they did not need their masters and rebelled. They may be the biological version of an AI conquest. Good science gone wrong. This seems more likely than a natural evolution of space travelling insectoids with the fatal flaw of requiring intelligent life to breed. Basically they were built to consume knowledge from their hosts.

Benj

Irillith at work? hacking your computer

Wookey

Has this happened to anyone before--> I leave patreon open when I go to work. I come back and normally it's on the the same post as before. Today it was on post from 9 months ago!

Big Dude

Can we perhaps get a status update on Ch 101 yet, please, Tefler?

GrandPaM

Now there's a disturbing thought. One that merits the same response the Terran pirates who did the same got from John.

Jedi Khan

Might the Brimorians be selling the Abandoned to the Kirrix?

Benj

How did you miss the different skill set of John, Carla, Rachel, Alyssa, Illrith and Faye?

Am not sure if anyone anyone saw the recent Economist article on the future of war. <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21738883-americas-technological-hegemony-under-threat-china-battle-digital-supremacy" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21738883-americas-technological-hegemony-under-threat-china-battle-digital-supremacy</a> The conclusion was "Wars of the future could be decided by algorithms, as autonomous weapons provide low-cost, expendable fighting forces." Maybe John should recruit a few more maths and programming PhDs rather than additional thralls for his fighting forces.

Wookey

And what’s next ch 101 or book 3?

Wookey

SMB - greatest hits used to be one of my favorite albums.

Sorry John - I totally disagree. Lets just leave the Maintenance Bots as is. There is no comparison between Nexus - a high level AI and a simple functioning bot. Plus I don't think the story needs any more rabbit trails. :-)

"Faye's robotic body suddenly burst into life and she wrung her hands together in anguish. "I'm so sorry! We've lost three engines and there's a big plasma fire in the Galley on Deck Four!" "We need the maintenance bots to put it out!" Calara exclaimed. "They're on their way!" Faye replied, wincing as more plasma bolts struck the Invictus now that they were so much slower." I would LOVE to see a touching scene after the battle where one of the 'boys' got badly hurt. The other bots bring their fallen comrade into the briefing room and begin to offer parts of themselves to Dana to revive him. I think it is about time Faye gets her digital family. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uctu1e353os" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uctu1e353os</a> To ignore them much longer makes John and the girls no better than those who messed up Nexus.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

He suggested about the 25th, in reply to my post. Never trust John, he's full of s*&amp;%t, (big grin)

Shield effecting, not shield defeating. And the Dragon had the equivalent of a frigat's shields.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Tefler, on page 77. The hyper-accelerated slug was deflected by a shimmering green field that surrounded the onyx-armored terror. John using the latest upgraded Quantum rifle, shouldn't he get some penetration due to the field around the slug. The last upgrade was for shielded armor wasn't it?

Tefler said yesterday he has not started on 101 and is close to finishing ebook 3

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

There are some great comments on Lit. My personal favorite: "Invictus saves Terra – check. As a native Terran, I approve of this plot development" (Thanks ZZchromosome!)

John Jameson

Vlad the impaler

Tefler if John ever builds a the dominator class of battleships perhaps his new flagship name should reflect both the girls favourite appendage and the image he wishes to present to his enemies

While the timing is interesting, Kintark genetic manipulation has been stated as not being Progen based and the Forgotten are Kintark genetics hybrids.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

i hate auto correct . The Abandoned were created for BSP’s troll army.

Old Cruiser

If Helene gets connected with one feeding like the Malari, the Abandoned whenever we’re created for BSP’s troll army. (The vat is ready). Lymidia is probably one of the Abandoned. Deep Lord Atthgilio slave Celphna is a nymph given to him by the BSP for services rendered.

Old Cruiser

does anyone else have these thoughts....

Old Cruiser

She isn't dead. ;-). If she were, Tefler would have written it differently.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Tefler, can you confirm whether Deveroux is alive or not? Got a standing bet I need to cash in or out.

Forbsey

Wow Rapidly approaching 1900 patrons. Think it was only about 10 days ago I congratulated you on 1800 patrons. Tefler, you must be well pleased with the stratospheric numbers that TSM has been generating. All down to excellent writing skills. Cheers Mal

I believe Tefler said 4 days ago that he was starting chapter 101. Not sure on the estimated release date, but it should certainly be before the end of the month.

Jedi Khan

Has there been a update from Tefler on the status of book 3 or when he might start writing chapter 101, my tablet has a hard time loading 200+ comments. I am eager to hear about Jehanna and the Nymphs. Jade is in sooo much trouble from John by rushing ahead and not waiting for him and the girls!!

John Chillin after the battle with Helena and the Nymphs. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgDU17xqNXo" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgDU17xqNXo</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcCNcgoyG_0" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcCNcgoyG_0</a>

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Too funny

Question: Who else wants to hear John say to Calara, after she vaporizes the pride ship of the Brimorian Fleet, "Calara! you fried the fish too long! They are burnt to a crisp!" Calara: "Oh, I am so sorry Admiral! Here, let me try again! I will just do a controlled bake this time."

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Wookey: It would just be the T-Fed fleet on the Brimorian border and the Invictus.....Dacres has to hold down the core worlds while the other ships are repaired. MAYBE the Maliri Fleet if the timing is right but not likely since they are already delayed getting to Trankara

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Apparently the histories of the Abandoned have been muddled and suppressed by the Brimorians. The Abandoned still speak the Terran language, calling it the Old Tongue, and only speak it in secret. From what we understand, the Brimorians watched the Abandoned like fishy hawks for a good long while, punishing those who would dare hold onto and attempt to pass on the Terran identity. After a few generations, the Brimorians didn't need to watch the Abandoned as closely, having ensured that the newer generations knew next to nothing of the past and that those who still remembered couldn't pass it on. Even if the histories were secretly passed on, the newer generations had no frame of reference to keep the histories consistent, or for the histories to remain relevant to them.

Jedi Khan

There is one thing that I stumble over with the Abandoned People and that is the complete change from human culture to an other non human culture in a span of 100 years or five generations. What about oral histories that go alongside the spoken language. That little bit I find hard to swallow.(lol .. in context)

Jade and her sisters were hunter gatherers on the savannahs of Lenarra, following the herds for survival. A water world without a continental land mass as a replacement home would be very different, indeed. Jade was not a planetary ruler, overseeing a multi-species community, but a "tribal" family head, leading a relatively small group of sisters. Helene is inexperienced, naive, and illiterate with no leadership skills. To thrust her into a planetary leadership role would be difficult for her to imagine at her current state of awareness, much less be effective. Even the Abandoned might look askance at following a "broken", "bad luck" woman.

Might John give the Brimorian home world to Jade (and her sisters) to coordinate the end of apartheid? She could prevent war and negotiate a peaceful co-existence with the Brimorians after John cleans out the Deep Pool. Eventually Jade could hand over the reins to Helene. Brimor may be an excellent nest for Jade to give birth and start a Lenaran colony. Also human males may have difficulty capturing nymphs underwater. They may even grow to colonize a new aquatic home world in Malari space. Just an idea.

Benj

Great final read telfer :) edits really Polished it up. Can't wait for the next one :) or e book 3

I tend to name the bigger ships after the more well-known gods, while cruisers etc get more obscure ones. The Loki was always going to be a badguy ship (Nexus taking it over), so I gave it an evil god's name. The dreadnought's are: Thor - Norse Sif - Norse Odin - Norse Heimdall - Norse Zeus - Greek Hera - Greek Shiva - Hindu So not quite a complete Norse theme. There's a lot more Greek gods than there are Norse ones, which is why you haven't seen quite so many Norse gods for cruisers and battleships. :-)

Tefler

Hey Tefler, quick question. Was rereading some of the older chapter, can’t get enough of TSM. Lol. And had a thought about the battle ship Loki. With Loki coming from Norse mythology. The name fits more in line with the Dreadnought class of ships than a battle ship. Any particular reason for breaking the theam. After all Loki’s sceptor would make a badass name for a Dreadnought.

MJHSharkbait365

Thanks David, I'm delighted you liked the changes. I tried to incorporate a bunch of feedback I got from editors and patrons on ways to improve the battle. :-)

Tefler

You're welcome! I'm really glad you enjoyed the chapter. :-) I saw the second post below. Yeah, the Orion is Eduardo's battleship. Big sister to the rescue!

Tefler

you can delete posts that are no longer relevant

It is possible that Mael took his tech secrets and schematics with him when he abandoned Valada and the Maliri, so all the Maliri had left was the lesser tech they could readily manufacture. Or perhaps they still had/have samples of original Progenitor tech, but couldn't duplicate it for some reason and let it be forgotten. I'm hoping those abandoned stations that Edraele mentioned to John when she called the Brimorians will have some of that lost technology.

Jedi Khan

Hi again, Tefler. Disregard the above I sent it before I read further down the page and saw the way the page was going. Hope you and your family are well. Thanks, Bob.

Hi, Tefler. Page 57, The Orion (Odin?) rocked to starboard as it was struck by several plasma missiles, deep craters blasted in the Terran battleship’s armor by the initial detonation. The impact sites were then doused in superheated plasma, the insidious green substance melting through titanium plating and superstructure alike. Great Chapter, THANKs.

It might be an uneven battle, Brimorians vs 1. All Maliri fleet 2. some Ashanath fleet plus Drakkar raiding parties 3 Trankarans 1/3 rebuilt fleet 4. Admiral Dacres fleet (largely untouched) 5. A revolt from Helene's species within Brimorian borders upsetting supply lines 6. The soooo hot Jehanna returns to tv and broadcasts such a summary that Deep Lord returns to tadpole size and leaves And if another week passes a new and improved Invictus will enter the fray then things get messy.

Wookey

I think they'ill be able to replace everything at Olympus: Besides, if the Brimorians try anything, couldn't Edraele and the rest of the Maliri just invade and crush them?

Mael'nerak took all the thrall ships with him, leaving the Maliri t build their fleets from scratch.

Frostfyre

Oh I think that thrall facility that Tashanna found has a soul forge.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Nothing says the Maliri don't have some relic Progenitor ships in mothballs dating back to Mael Nerak. Isn't Gen'thalas itself a progenitor relic? Might there be a Soul Forge in one of the disused sections? Might Alyssa's abilities to manipulate crystal be the basis for a forge? Without a psychic to manipulate crystal the Maliri regressed to an earlier stage of production? The Onyxium(?) added to the crystal slurry was originally from the other Progenitor via the Drakkar.

Well, they may not have the structural material to make the ships....remember the plating, etc. are made in a soul forge. Perhaps only a Progenitor can work the soul forge? While they would have the tech...they would not be able to re-create those items requiring the soul forge. Their Crystal tech was the next best thing...something Dana has radically improved upon AND probably will do so again with the Vulcat Crystals.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

SSH....I think the reference to Thrall ships would be more along the lines of a troop transports , to carry his thrall army &amp; not Battleships , Carriers etc. All of a Progenitor ships are crewed by thralls , Ailanthia mentioned the Maliri ships weren't "Dominator" class battleships . The Maliri obviously would reject the whole sacrificial thrall army &amp; have forces that were in line with the other Empires in the area &amp; since they were not interested in landing ground troops to aid the Trankians in defense of their worlds they wouldn't be included in the fleet arriving at Terra .

bigdawguw65

Some thoughts... I thought the ships that Maliri have are Thrall ships. I remember Ashanath are talking about the Nova lances as the thrall weapon after Nexus fight. And Maliri should have had access to the ship technologies (like dominator class battle ship). But now we come to know about the ships are not the thrall ships. I don't think Valadha didn't have the tech schematics. Since she repaired the cloning facility for creating the Draker she had access to the tech repositories.

Just reread the whole chapter. Some pretty large changes in the battle with the dragon. Very good changes IMOHO. Good job Tefler.

The Arbiters real advantage isn't in it's damage so much as it's range. That extended range could play a big part in building fortifications for the trading stations.

Cody Strong

Have a intriguing idea. Not sure if anyone has brought this up. Thinking of the defense of Olympus battle. I really found the Arbiter class beam weapons on the station fascinating. Think of how The GEO can upgrade those babies. If she can pack all the punch and power she does into the Quantum canons that mount on the Mech. Imagine what she could do with something of that scale. The Nova lances are awsome don’t get me wrong, not suggesting we get rid of those. But there has been lots of discussion on how to focus the 100 meter wide beam to be more effective. I say why. We saw how effective that wide beam was against closely clustered ships. But a upgraded Arbiter from the GOE may be in a whole another leagu of defistation that we have yet to see.

MJHSharkbait365

I agree, that crossed my mind as well.

MJHSharkbait365

No matter how you write it, John destroyed a flagship with a sword. I loled.

Felipe Andrade

Why not just use the same strategy like with Dana and fill up Irillith? She's the computer girl, and hence would be able to unlock Progenitor tech in that field.

Several people have commented about Faye reaching her maximum performance limits during the battle in the Sol system and suggested that her capacity and potential be upgraded. There have been creative suggestions from adding additional Nexus servers to the Invictus as well as to the Raptor, Valkyrie, and any future manned strike craft or autonomous weapons platforms. I am not a cyberneticist and have no firm recommendations to achieve this end, but I still find these suggestions intriguing. How do you think this can be achieved in a TSM context?

I had gotten the idea now that the Maliri under John's reign would actively seek companions to raise the Maliri birth rate. It would be hot to see Murphy (yes I have a soft spot for Murphy as well) have sex with all 3 pilots that saved his ass. Maybe knocking up all three, but perhaps a permanent partnership with Krisalei.

Steven Allen

Alyssa as the Final Arbiter of who makes it to Command ranking. Considering her lifespan is now measured in millenia the T-Fed Military will become Paragons of Trustworthyness over time.

"It's not a problem, if the fleet commander doesn't have a head." Gets me every time. Alyssa needs to take a stroll through the ranks of the TF military and mentally highlight those that deserve to be promoted and replace Buckingham and the rest of those idiots... Wessex, Murphy and Charles just to name a few.

Hey, am i the only one that just loves Murphy? He sorta got shafted this time around, since he didn't get to see Jade or meet any of the crew after the battle. Can he please be the one to comfort Dana in her mental hour of need? I doubt Dana is in any right state to go help Jade kick Weber's ass (nor does she need it), so she should just land on Terra. When Murphy runs up to the Raptor, the last ship he saw Jade in, he sees Dana, and the two have a therapeutic chat! Not that i want it to be romantic, but it would be nice to have a male character other than Charles in John's inner circle, helping him save the galaxy... maybe Murphy should hook up with one of the Maliri pilots that saved his ass? Either way, he should be given a major upgrade in position and maybe even given a healthy serving of Alyssa's progenitor breast milk to make him even better than before. I've always had theories that Murphy was unknowingly physic anyways....

Tefler was just re-reading chapter 99 on SOL you have a reference to Lilyana spelled Ilyana. Alright, contact Almari and Ilyana, we need to reroute their fleet. They’re already following the Terran border with the Brimorians, so I want them to head directly for the Core Worlds. We’ll rendezvous with them there.

arbi

I spotted what I think is a typo: "His gaze snapped to Irillith. “Alright, the chains comes off. If they want to try to fuck with us, we’ll show them what happens."" I'm fairly certain that the s on "comes" needs to be removed because it doesn't make sense with the double plural. Otherwise it looks awesome with the new little details here and there!

Donovan Gibson

No problem, it was a great suggestion! :-)

Tefler

Tefler, thanks for adding the brown pants moment!

Frostfyre

Ah! I intended to mention this! This is the only place in the story where 'feet' is used as a measure. Just a conversion error, I think.

Outstanding work. Love the changes to characters and scenes. Lots of possibilities for future events.

morris ridgeway

I believe our old friend from the mines (the Kintark senator) will rice and help rebuild the Kintark empire in agreement with John and as member of the allianse.

Viktor Hauge

“Remember Port Medea, Mr. Ridgeway,” — I swear every time I read this I get goose bumps.

Amathew2

Yeah, I've been a busy beaver. :-)

Tefler

Literotica readers are going to be very pleased

Forbsey

What a monster chapter Tefler, 202 pages on a word document O.O

Forbsey

I've made a few edits this morning and updated the chapter (notes in the post).

Tefler

I'm editing the last couple of chapters for the eBook at the moment, then I'll go through my editors feedback. I'll probably make a start on chapter 101 tomorrow evening. :-)

Tefler

Thanks! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. :-)

Tefler

Hi Teffler, I may have missed it somewhere. However now the epic Chapter 100 in three parts is completed, what are the plans for the rest of the month. I seem to recall e-book 3, but wading through several thousand comments on this is beyond my ken? I would also assume that Chapter 101 will also be due out this month as well? Mal

It was completely gutted by plasma fires. It was one of the unsalvageable wrecks that Charles mentioned when talking to Calara about the defense of Olympus.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

I agree completely! With hefty contracts to build a new fleet of ships. He did take huge business losses to do what he did and his companies should not have to suffer as a result of his helping the T-Fed to survive.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Dr. Dadd: I really think the Admiralty that remains will have this all sorted out amongst themselves. The civilian population is going to be livid with the razing of Unity City and the best way for the Admiralty to survive at all is to enjoin higher levels of civilian participation in governance. The Admirals who supported Buckie and Web rot will end their careers if found complicit. All John needs to do is go public, through Jehenna, that he does not want to rule the Terrans but would like to invite them into an Alliance with the Maliri, Ashanath, Trankarans, and the other minor races to help ensure this never happens again.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

I agree, JFL. The TF is in disarray. I imagine their economy and government are under some stress. It is likely the Admiralty can be convinced to take responsibility for their actions in the Callopean shoals a century before that led to the plight of the Abandoned, especially if John and Jehanna makes it a cause celebre. The Brimorians are another matter. Their economy will be harmed by the removal of the Abandoned, but they are vulnerable to surrounding allied empires and can be made to act responsibly at risk of attack.

Hey! What happened to the Battleship Hyperion? It was not mentioned in the defense of Olympus or Terra.

Since they were abandoned by the Terran Federation and subsequently enslaved by the Brimorians, both should shoulder the burden and costs of education and relocation and facilities.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Helene should be a key part of finding the solution for the Abandoned. If John were to enhance her to be an uber administrator for this effort, she can be endowed with strategic vision and administrative skills to oversee the project. Alyssa, Irillith and Rachel could identify hundreds of the Abandoned to be trained as Helene's staff and tasked to work on specific projects in their people's interests. If Edraele or Terra offered up an ocean world for their relocation, Helene could manage, with the Maliri, Terrans and Trankarrans, to train Abandoned workers as managers, administrators, engineers, construction workers, skills trainers and infrastructure cadres to begin establishing surface and subsurface facilities to gradually transplant them into their new home world. Helene, as senior administrator, can guide this process as her people are educated to gain confidence, skills and experience. Edraele and the Matriarchs can help with skilled support staff and crystal technology. The Trankarrans can provide metals and ores necessary for construction. Dana can design worker bots that can function underwater in construction and maintence. The Brimorians can share their shield technology for the under water cities. Henry Voss can deploy servisorory engineers and construction teams as support. The Terran Federation can adopt the Abandoned -- if not recognize them as citizens -- and work with Helene to manage the project. This would be a long term endeavor.

After the Kirrix are repulsed back into their own territory, John should consider putting together a joint, combined fleet of allies, to pursue them and discourage them from returning to allied space. This should not be a solo mission for the Invictus.

Rachel's therapies to cure people from Kirrix infestation will be the salvation of many people liberated from their clutches. She can broadcast her design specs for modifying sonic cannon into treatment devices and make them available for free. The positive impact, interms of survival of victims as well as public relations, will generate immeasurable benefits across the board.

Doctor Rachel's cures for plasma burns will be in great demand by many of the survivors of the Kintark invasion. He cures and cosmetic treatments for skin damage will make a big difference in many lives.

Henry Voss should be recognized for his contributions to the defense of Terra and the TF. Charles should make sure that his role is widely understood and appreciated.

Sorting Out the Admiralty -- Irillith has a good idea about which members of the Admiralty were part of Buckingham's faction. I think, as Edraele recommended, they all should be purged and replaced with officers more favorable to John's goals. Irillith should scour the network at Tartarus to learn all of Buckingham's dark secrets. Where relevant, she could package his sins and crimes into a dossier for the Admiralty and the courts. Elevate the Admirals in the High Command who are not tainted by past TF crimes, and on an interim basis, charge them with managing the post-conflict crisis and electing a new Fleet Admiral. John will have to deal with the TF system as it is. He does not have the power or influence to compel wholesale changes. He has no time or interest in micro-managing the political transition. It would be better for the TF to do that themselves. If there is an interest in changing the government to allow civilian participation or oversight, John can support that idea but stay away from implementation of this longer term transition. John wants to stabilize the TFed, not rule it. His best opportunity is to support an organic transformation of the leadership in a manner that can garner wide popular support. John also wants the TFed to prepare to join the alliance against LK. This would entail a major ship building effort of upgraded vessels, new weapons tech and related systems -- as well as diplomatic outreach to other alliance members. Alyssa's trading stations could contribute to broad economic growth, and desirable products and technology from the various empires, as well as from Dana and Rachel, would be catalytic for bringing potential allies closer. John's influence should build on his hero status to support ideas and principles that contribute to his goals for the Alliance, and leave it to the TF to work out the pragmatic details.

I think the Kintark themselves are red,but the armour is green.With this in mind,both red and green could be used as descriptors in the sentence.

Braw

Holy shit. That battle was sick. Well done tef.

I think, it was announced by tefler that he would start the next chapter by 11th...... so maybe, it will be ready by 21st??

bob lakhanpal

Any news on the timeline for the release of the next chapter?

DTC

During his orbital drop, John thought they looked like an army of red ants...

The Kintark regulars/marines wear red armour.. the royal gaurd are wearing green armour

Red armoured Kintark marines rushed down the loading ramps, the soldiers eager to escape their confinement and get to grips with the enemy. Shouldn't it be 'Green armoured'?

ringill

it could just be me..?

read page 95 paragraph 4 doesn't sound right

Since Baledranax is 200 feet , call it 60 meters, in size; wouldn't the shield generator for a corvette be more appropriate? A destroyer is approximately 200 meters in length, more than 3 times the size of Baledranax.

Trying to open it now, it doesn’t open and says that it’s 320 bytes. It does download properly on the computer, just won't open on the IOS tablet directly anymore. Odd. Now it’s working again.

Evan

Tefler, you can be very proud that your story attracts such dedicated fans who debate and argue important ideas with erudite passion and vigor. It is a very good thing. Much better than the vapid and mindless natterings we are inclined to ignore in so much of popular culture. Thank you for being the hub of the spokes of our wheel in this collective fictional immersion -- one that sparks broad, incisive and fulsome debates about real history. It deepens and enriches our total TSM experience. Congratulations to the Creator. Huzzah!

Yeah that was a mess, thanks! :-)

Tefler

Noticed this (from 100-1) She shook her head. “No! I never would have heard such a thing was possible... Don’t people get confused which of you is which?” The phrasing there seems a bit odd, maybe change to something like 'I've never heard such a thing was possible'.

ringill

The Oracle said that a great empire would be destroyed if we attack tomorrow! You mean it was ours?

And the mother of all debriefs. :-)

JollyRodger

Thanks, Tefler, for TSM-100. A wonderful addition to your saga. Baledranax' hubris and ambition have crashed upon his erroneous prediction of a quick and complete victory. His body, broken, burnt and abandoned on the field of battle, his fondest dreams of conquest have turned to ashes. The investment in his person has been wasted and will never see a return for the Kintark. This climactic event along with its outcomes will be remembered forever by all the local empires -- but not as he once hoped.

I don't think John's sword is all that heavy, at least not enough to require enhancement to wield. It's probably not much heavier than a Scottish claymore, which most people can't lift except for those who are in pretty good physical condition.

Jedi Khan

My only question on the chapter is when John and everyone lost their psychic powers. John's super strength was due to psychic enhancement. So when he lost his powers how was he able to pick up his sword?

Any news on book 2 being released in print? Love your work!!

Dennis Banfield

This was, without any doubts, in my humble opinion, your very best creation. Thank you so much. I hope chapter 2 of the e book is selling like hot cakes!

From the other times Alyssa has done a memory dive, such as with Sakura and Nkkrrt, she saw images, like she was watching a movie of the person's life through their eyes.

Jedi Khan

wonder if she only sees thoughts/words or if she could see what LK looks like . Be interesting how much LK &amp; john resemble each other . Also if Baldranax knew much about physic-blocker or just knew how to flip switch . Also what LK told him about John , his origin , strengths , weaknesses etc. give them idea about how much LK knows about them &amp; especially interesting what he knows or doesn't know about his Girls .

bigdawguw65

Prolly whatever the other progenitor wanted them to know at this point. I’m curious about this as well though.

ILRibrarian

Question - Just before John killed Baledranax, he asks Alyssa is she's "got it." Alyssa responds "Yeah, I got it all," her eyes glowing with a radiant white light. Obviously, she was using her mental powers to read Baledranax's mind. What information do we think she extracted?

Bigfoot

Yep, I can see that going over real well with Dana's arachnophobia. lol

Jedi Khan

Hmm, John and Alyssa want to make their uniforms more protective. Jade can turn into a spider that can create spider silk. Spider silk is much stronger than steel, pound for pound. Have Jade turn into the biggest spider she can and create as much travel spider silk as she can every day. Considering she would be thousands of times bigger than a normal spider, it shouldn't take too long to have enough white spider silk to weave a uniform. If she copies a Gold Orb spider, she can make gold colored thread to do the highlights of their uniforms.

Frostfyre

Awesome doesn't begin to describe either the Chapter or the amount of work you put into it. Thank you !!! Hope the work on the e-book goes smoothly &amp; you get a chance to relax a little &amp; take some time to bask in your well deserved praise .

bigdawguw65

I totally second this!

93, 165 words in this chapter. Damn. That's what, 30k words more than the previous largest chapter? And it doesn't even finish the Reckoning of Terra arc, which ends with Jehenna's rescue and the reformation of High Command!

Jedi Khan

Suggestion for an "oh shit" brown pants moment. &gt;&gt;Knowing he’d have to time this perfectly, he flexed the muscles in his shoulders, firing both shoulder-mounted cannons. Two huge plasma bolts shot out towards John, and Baledranax chuckled with triumph as John slowed his descent at the last minute, the roiling green balls intercepting the falling figure with a verdant plasma blast... &gt;&gt; Add the following sentence to enhance the scene: His triumphant grin turned to slack-jawed amazement as John climbed to his feet, seemingly unscathed after taking a direct hit from a plasma cannon, a weapon normally mounted on a destroyer! --The Emperor just had a brown pants moment.

Frostfyre

Awesome, loved it!

Thank you, Tefler! The 'flow' is so much better as one chapter. Whew, that was a read!

thank you Master Writer

Reading through it now. Thank you, Tefler!

Evan

Excellent. Time for a re-read.

Thanks again Tefler

It's a bit of a grind... The dialogue structure isn't great on the old chapter, so I'm having to rewrite a lot of it (rejigging sentences etc). I've just finished chapter 26, so quite a bit to go.

Tefler

You might have to wait a bit. He might be feeling a little drained after pushing out this monster!

Timtom12

How's ebook3 going?

DemonHunterCole

In terms of charges? 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 were all paid posts, as they were each ~30k words. This is just those three added together. I'll wait another day or so in case anyone spots any other typos, then I'll post this to literotica. :-)

Tefler

Thank you! Time to reread 😘

NomNomWat

Cool, time to read it all again. Does this mean you released 4 chapters as Patreon counts it?

Timtom12

ty

Mjk154

Wheres chapter 101??? Lol... I can't wait to read 100 as 1 big chapter.

Thanks Tef!

Amathew2

Awesome! Thanks! This chapter was awesome!

Damn I just finished reading parts 1 - 3 again too lol