Three Square Meals Ch 92 - Complete!

It takes a village

Master Laurent

Great, thanks!

Tefler

Think I found a Typo, was rereading the chapter yesterday - Should be "it could BE seen" *******************************************************************original text “That’s excellent news, thank you. I’ll be there to greet you personally,” the stocky Trankaran replied. He lifted the black case from his desk so that it could seen via the holocams. “I have the items you requested. I’ll bring them with me.”

Master Laurent

Welcome as always!

Dark Storymaker

Fantastic, thank you! (I still use this every chapter) :-)

Tefler

Timeline updated

Dark Storymaker

Aren't we due a chapter update Tef?

Braw

So it might seem I'm a little late to the party, but I did read the chapter when Tefler first posted it; Patreon simply wouldn't let me post from where I was at for whatever reason. Anyways, interesting chapter. Nice bit of filler, some setup for later, some exposition, etc. I am a bit curious as to how Charles is going to play the admiralty (thanks for stating that the Trankaran's request for help made it up the chain, btw) with regards to John. Is Charles going to send John a message letting him know how the admiralty feels about John, or will Charles choose to keep quiet and not burden John with those details? I also wonder how Charles will deal with Henry Voss? It seems that John has decided to send the Maliri fleet to help the Trankarans instead of the Ashanath, even though he told the Ashanath first that they would get help as well as when to expect it. Is John going to tell the Ashanath about the change in plans? I expect he wouldn't want to do so over a comm channel that the TFed could intercept, but isn't Alyssa some sort of super powerful psychic? It's already been established with Edraele that distance isn't a factor when it comes to telepathy, so can't Alyssa reach out with her mind and talk to the Ashanath herself. or is that too tall a task to try such long distance telepathy without a bond? Either way, I think John needs to have a chat with Clara about where to send the Maliri fleet, i.e. a strategic analysis of which faction has a greater need for the Maliri fleet: the Ashanath who are not under imminent threat and/or fighting an active invasion, but have had the vast majority (I want to say something like 80-90%) of their entire military force completely destroyed which will take months, if not years, to rebuild, or the Trankarans, who are fighting off an active invasion, and have lost roughly a third of their fleet assets, but can quickly replace those lost ships and then some with the former rebel Trankaran ships whose crews are currently in lockup, which should take only as long as it would take Niskera to return to the Senate and order the release and reinstatement of the rebel forces. It's a bit of a toss-up really, reinforce a faction that is under imminent threat but can quickly regroup and mount a counter attack once they get a swift kick in the ass from Niskera, or reinforce a faction that isn't under threat but is incapable of mounting even a token defense for months to come. Speaking of Niskera, I hope Rachel remembered to get a DNA sample from her before Niskera left to compare to Niskera's pre-glow job DNA. Also, I'm a little surprised by John's reaction, or lack thereof, to Thandrun's response to Niskera's new look. I'd have imagined John to be just a little shocked by it, considering just how extreme it was and the fact that Thandrun declared her as his queen.

Jedi Khan

Dangit, accidentally hit enter! The real threat as far as other alien empires go I believe are the Enshunu. I think they were the Despoiler's version of the Maliri. It was good to find out not all Bolon are secretly sadistic bastards. Hopefully they find the one in question. So Irrilith still has complete memory loss about what really happened with Tashana, or is she starting to break through John's psychic blocks too? Keep up the good work, and go at your own pace. This epic should be as fun for you to write as us to read!

That was a great chapter Tefler! I'm excited to see the first Maliri, Ashanath, and Trankaran united front engagement against the Kintark. I bet the Kintark will eventually come around to John's side too once they find out how BSP is only interested in weakening their empire.

Considering that Charles was just promoted to an Admiral, it might be a bit too soon for that. I was thinking that might be a good promotion for Admiral Jayanti Mishra. She seems to be very level-headed and hasn't fallen into the levels of paranoia that the others have.

LunarLilith

Ah well spotted, thank you!

Tefler

Wanna bet after the admiral debacle that Charles becomes the new Fleet Admiral? Would wrap up ties to the Tfed and allow John to focus on more important things.

Forbsey

We are waiting on the earth news report on the Kirrix battle. Maybe once in comm range, Alyssa can do some financial wizardry.

Benj

I agree. Why not have save millions of damsels in distress. He is the great protector.

Benj

Henry Voss sounds like a major problem for the future, Tefler won't reveal anything on that.

Forbsey

So Tef, what's the progress? any hints on the henry voss friend vs foe question?

Mael'nerak: Faye (gas mask breathing), I am your father...

Forbsey

I have one question. Faye is created by device that belongs to Valda which was found by Tashana at thrall facility. If that device created by Mael’nerak then ultimately Faye is also Mael’nerak creation.

I know that I'm late since this is already the final version, but just thought I would mention that eggs have a yolk, not a yoke. Yoke would be what oxen or horses would wear when pulling something.

LunarLilith

Well don't forget Alyssa has been growing John's wealth in her spare time. I expect him to be able to out and out buy out every military production company out there with help from Alyssa scheduling purchases through shell companies and such. Henry Voss will get a rude awakening. Unless that's just Alyssa taking actions through him.

Grimlakin

Yep I remember the station where they found Tadhana and how it is supposed to be so powerful. Also the probes on the Maliri border to which the response was basically "they'd be fools to attack us". That combined with the weakening of Maliri forces (no matter how altruistic the cause) and the incapacitation of the Maliri Matriarch seem to be setting the stage for something big in Maliri space.

Or "You're"

Dennis Aston

I hope John knows what he's doing. It seems like he's drawing more and more of the Maliri's forces into protecting everyone else. They're powerful but not unlimited. With all the backstory about buildups in enemy territory John's altruistic desire to protect everyone at once could be exactly what the other Progenitor wants him to do.

Tef said something about the 10th, if I'm not mistaken.

How long

Mark Hall

This was a great chapter how until the next chapter the withdrawals are already setting in

Mark Hall

Page 60, Alyssa's telepathy to Niskera "you’ll always welcome to join us" should probably be "you’ll always be welcome to join us"

"One of the cleaning robots bumped into Jade’s leg and let out an indignant beep. She glanced down at it and said defensively, “I said I’d help as well! I’m not stalling to get out of cleaning, I promise!”" The cleaning bots are sentient now? This is the second hint that Tefler has given us...the first being when a bot gave John a 'high five' for making the basket with his dirty clothes.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

That could be a clash of the digital titans! In the red corner, we have the bad guys with (poor version, remember the ‘don’t give out your best’ principle of BSP, as per the Drakar armour) progenitor inspired anti-hacking devices. And ...in the blue corner, we have Irillith ( a semi progenitor Maliri trained hacking specialist, backed up by Faye, AI extraordinaire, operating out of a full progenitor quality mainframe (or whatever it is). Seconds away......

Timbo

Ben, John's super secret project is a set of wedding ring for the girls and I'll bet his little detour of his to the Las Vegas of Space for a Wedding, IMHO.

Wouldn't the dreadnought that the Kintark acquired be fitted with countermeasures against hacking that BSP placed to make it harder for John and the girls to beat? I mean BSP did see what happened during the Terran/Kintark battle?

Forbsey

Thought crossed my mind, how much credits does John and the girls now have? Over a billion? Tefler, did you keep track?

Forbsey

Sounds likely, modified to the max with combined Terran/Kintark tech. Maybe BSP adding a little tidbit here and there

Forbsey

Oh he won't give that one away Kalen

Forbsey

I think that may be too much for the crew to handle, too much time to do and not feasible with Alyssa's 'preg' line.

Forbsey

If I were a betting man, I'd say Voss is planning on building his own fleet as protection against the other Progenitor (and possibly against John)

James Glass

My guess is that they are the ships for the Praetorian Guard.

James Glass

Is Henry Voss up to no good? I think John spilled all the beans to that guy which he hasn't even done for Charles Harris or Calara's family and he has less than a stellar track record. We're talking about the character of a man who was too cheap to rescue his wife. Now he has a perfectly healthy ticker and a new lease on life with complete inside information. Not sure why John trusted that guy unless Tefler decides to make him trustworthy.

Mark P

Why no one is talking about John super secret project. I think it is a cute scene. he always work with his girls on any project so he forgot to work on project single-handedly. & john should write project about how to surprise girlfriend with rings if girl friend having telepathic powers.

Sakura is going to become a great chef, I can just tell, John is giving her a cooking aptitude just like he gave Alyssa navigational aptitude.

Hinterlands Man

I'm glad Tefler is writing HIS story and not what some want Tefler to write. After reading each chapter one can say "I didn't see that coming!". Great work Mr. Tefler!

Big Dude

Welcome to the fold! Just watch out for Crazy!

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Hey there, Tefler, I just opened a Patreon account (after reading ch 91) for the express purpose of supporting your story. I didn't realize that you had a Patreon thing going, or I probably would have done so a lot sooner. I first came across TSM when you were about 40-50 chapters in, and one of the earlier chapters came up on a random spin on Literotica (like chapter 5-10ish), so I went back and read the whole thing from the beginning and I've been following ever since. From one author to another, I love your work, and every time you publish a new chapter it immediately jumps right to the front of the queue among everything else that I'm planning to read. I'm a fan of the military sci-fi genre, that being mostly what I write myself, and your story stood out right away as being among the best ones I've come across. Looking forward to finding out what happens when Faye finally gets a real body, and can't wait to see where the Invictus takes John and the girls next. Damn fine work, bro, keep 'em coming.

I enjoyed it. Not every chapter can be all things to all people. Hints of future plots abound and as always there are so many different directions the story can go.

donald abbott

Tefler, other than a few typos, did anything change in the interim between the original and final version this time around? Sometimes, you add new dialog or scenes, so I wanted to inquire.

Evan

wow final came fast yay me

Great chapter Tefler. Thanks for including a certain someone in it again. I really do get a kick out of it.

Anthony Kester

Another great chapter! I enjoy these brief interludes from all the action, the story wouldn't have as much heart if the crew kept running from one major battle to the other with no development in between. As always Tefler, you do a great job of answering some questions and then giving us some new mysteries to ponder. Can't wait for the next chapter!

Raymond Jeffries

Great chapter Tefler, as usual! Ditto to all you said above. Most of us realize the importance of what you did with this chapter. Hope your Halloween was great, and that you got treated more than tricked? Keep up the great work.

It's on my, I mean her, to-do list. :-)

Tefler

I thought it was a great chapter it can’t all be space battles ffs you’ve built the characters brilliantly since the start. Keep up the good work tefler

Jim lynch

I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. The chapter was mostly focused on character development, universe building, and setting up the next part of the story arcs, so it was always going to be a tricky one to handle because none of that was particularly exciting. I could have just glossed over the Niskera stuff, but she's a significant character (leader of an entire species), which is why I gave her some attention. The changes to Jade will come into play later. The Trankaran kid and her family are just incidental to the story at this point. Sakura only helped them after she felt a surge of guilt because the little girl reminded her of the family Shinatobe murdered. The important part of that plot arc was lessening her guilt by saving them, which I'll come back to later after Sakura's had time to reflect on it. I decided to deal with it from Alyssa's PoV, because the actual dialogue wouldn't have added much value. The little girl and the family are never going to see Sakura again, so it would've just been a "Thanks, you're awesome!" line or two from the choked-up parents and hero-worshipping kid.

Tefler

I found this to be one of the most pointless chapters in the entire story. Big build up for Jade only to see it fizzle, really blew the piece with Sakura and the family she nearly killed the entire Invictus crew to save, gives them a hug WTF? Gee whiz Niskera glows and the Trankerans worship her. Yep a water is still wet moment there.

Dave2282

Another great chapter with loads more going on and set-ups for the future. One of the (many) things I especially enjoy are the little interactions that have nothing really to do with the plot(s) like Jade and the cleaning bots or John's ever growling stomach.

ringill

It could be the TFN Dreadnaught of the traitor admiral that escaped.

,,Identifying the legion of ships as members of the elite Praetorian guard.'' Does that mean this ships are full of Pretorians or are simply new class of ships ?

Hey tefler As free days are coming up for John and crew. Is tashana going re read her research on progenitors as john asked her few chapters ago.

Tefler - Another great chapter, really enjoyed it but I have a question. Since when jade first joined the group she was immediately connected to Alyssa after the first time, without John being pulled into the nightmare. Now that jade has been unshackled will John have to worry about the nightmare now? It feels like jade is now a full part of the group.

Kalen Turner

Welcome to Patreon Dennis, thanks for joining! I've had a few new writers ask me how I built up the community. The simple answer is that I really love the writing and chatting to the readers has been great fun too. You guys come up with loads of interesting, creative ideas, and it's fascinating to read all of them, even if I don't directly respond (because getting involved in any plot speculation is a minefield for avoiding spoilers!) :-)

Tefler

Thanks Ben, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Tefler

Well spotted, thank you!

Tefler

I'm not sure how that happened! Thanks, I've just fixed it. :-)

Tefler

Ah good point, thanks!

Tefler

Well the Pentagon buys a lot of weapons from H&K for example, which is a German company. I'd imagine that company could be bought out, or go bust, without the US government being able to do much about it. The Terran Federation is still a capitalist society, where the military engages private companies for various contracts. As a former project manager, the second point is absolutely how big projects work. With regard to scheduling, the power cores and FTL drives have to be built first before they can be installed. The schedule for the refit would include their installation in say... phase 3 to 6 of an 8-phase project. Those cruisers and battleships were battle-damaged, so phases 1 and 2, could be simply to concentrate on ship repairs while waiting for the upgraded components to arrive (and rollout the first batch of claymore fighters). Charles added a load more engineers to the project in phase 1, thus speeding up the repair part of the refit (hence chapter 83, they are ahead of schedule at that point).

Tefler

Great story so far, however I find the story arc with Henry Voss to be unbelievable in a made up story. Your saying that in the year 2778 that anyone could buy the companies that make exclusively proprietary terran federation military hardware. In chapter 83 Harris tells John that they are ahead of schedule on the refits, but not a single core or drive for a battle ship or cruiser has been delivered?

MKW

Scary good, as always Tefler. Just recently joined up on Patreon, glad I did! The community you've built around the novel speaks volumes to the quality of your work. Thank you for your time and effort, not only in creating such a masterpiece, but involving yourself with the community as well. Now for the withdrawl symptoms...

Dennis Banfield

Another great chapter Tefler. loved all interaction between characters. LOL Sakura thought head chef for week means She got John for herself for whole week.

12. How did they celebrate Halloween?

Wookey

A great chapter. Lots of twists and turns. 1. Nope, Jade was not pregnant. 2. Kirrix vs Kintark timing vs various foes becoming an issue 3. Jade vs Ailanthe in powers? 4. Charles Harris' options 5. TFF's response to the Maliri-Ashanath-Trankaran alliance 6. Whether Brimorian shields will be enough for to overcome Invictus upgraded power 7. Will upgrades to Ashanath and Maliri fleets be ready in time 8. How long will Trankaran fleets be out of commission? 9. What is Henry Voss playing at? 10. What specs and secrets have Trankarans been given? 11. Does TFF have any idea what has happened with Ashanath and Trankarans?

Wookey

page 56 'They finished dinner' it should be lunch. sakura sushi time

rich ed

this chapter is 92 not 93

Forbsey

I feel like someone that went through a weeklong bender, took a week off, got a single hit and am now feming for another one. I binged the first 92 chapters, got 93 today and am eagerly awaiting 94. Especially with the "cut to credits" type ending 93 had.

James Glass

I found this one "John took a few moments to decided whether to let back Alyssa into his mind" should be "John took a few moments to decide whether to let Alyssa back into his mind"

It will not let me write punisher. Finally!

Ahhh. Punished rifles should be quantum rifles.

I believe that all of the references to the punishment

Thanks JFL. :-)

Tefler

That's very kind of you to say, It's great to hear you enjoyed it! :-)

Tefler

Thanks for letting me know!

Tefler

Oh very well spotted, thank you!

Tefler

Ah, there should have been an "amount" in there. :-)

Tefler

John, possibly better yet... let Irrilith gain control of the Kintark ships accompanying Norwood's dreadnought and have them open up on him, so that he's the one who is 'betrayed' in this case... ;-)

Evan

The real question is: With the Brimorian shield tech, does John return Norwood's Dreadnought to T-Fed or does he now take it and upgrade the crap out of it as a new escort ship of his own?

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

LOL's at the upgraded Dreadnought. They are vulnerable to a Nova Lance burst or two for the shields....then the upgraded singularity driver and its shells of the Invictus...thinking there will be quite the surprise coming for Norwood. Better yet, just let Irrilith gain control of it's systems and turn it against the Kintark...THAT would be EPIIIIIIC!!!

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Tefler: Fantasmigorical chapter. Very well written. I must confess I am curious how you intend to handle Edreale's finding out what she did to Tashanna when she wakes up and joins with her mind again. Going to be verrrry interesting to see the Trankaran and Maliri Fleets working together. Curious which Fleet commander will take over battle opps. Even if there are just 4 Maliri Battleships with Nova Lances and a light carrier with the necessary escorts, it will be a massive force multiplyer for the Trankarans. And with the extended tactical sensors of the Maliri, the Kirrix are pretty much toast.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Page 19 after john talk with Faye in the ready room. Says John crossed the Bridge and entered the Ready Room... should be breifing room

Tefler, Outstanding chapter. Such should every writer aspire to write in their books or short stories.

Hey, Tefler, page 59, I believe you left a word out of the following sentence tremendous of experience. Clue how much?

I like the historical reference to Richard Dacres. For non-UK readers he was the first Field Marshall who was not a member of the Royal Family.

Wookey

A bit of Game of Thrones like with the downed dragon being turned against the wall. Replated in Brimorian shields rather than shooting ice fire.

Wookey

Tefler, I just found another typo on page 41, John gave her an (understand) look. I believe you left off the (ing)

Oooh! A Halloween treat! Sweet!

Youkai-sama

You're welcome! There were quite a few scenes that were fun to write. :-)

Tefler

Oh, nice catch, thank you!

Tefler

Cheers! Yeah I remember you guys speculating about that one. ;-)

Tefler

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! Jehanna will crop up again in chapter 93...

Tefler

Brilliant chapter! Thanks Telfer! ;)

Kin Asdi

John gave her an understand look. “We can give you some privacy if you want?” understanding?

zingowner

Lol, an upgraded Terran dreadnaught, vs an upgraded Terran dreadnaught. Who will win? Enhanced shields vs enhanced lasers.

Well..... Finally got it finished.... (Stupid work...) Interesting ending to the chapter.... We wondered what had happened to it.... Great chapter as always :)

Muledrvr

From chapter 89: While John still looked the same as he’d always done and two of the girls flanked him as before, the other Terran girls had actually merged with his portrait. Calara and Sakura stood beside him now, their faces filled with love and respect as they gazed at him with shining eyes

Tefler

Bravo! As Always, another magnificent piece of work. I loved the White Queen and they way you handled it. My only comment is that I am missing our favorite reporter, Jehanna. I was fully expecting the "For Public Consumption" Video to a part of this chapter and, IMHO, It would have played well to come on during the Admirals Meeting. I will be off the grid for a bit, wishing you all the best and hope to see you soon.

Master Laurent

"...remember I said you three share a portrait now?" - to clarify, Calara and Sakura now share a portrait, but do they share the portrait with John? Is John in each of the individual portraits, or is his portrait separate from each of the girls' portraits in Alyssa's mind? I'm not clear on this.

Evan

Thanks for those one, I fixed them. :-)

Tefler

The Kintark appear to have replated the dreadnaught...

warmachine -> war-machine or war machine ? icecream -> ice-cream or ice cream ? posessed -> possessed ?

Evan

Great! It's always good to hear you guys enjoyed the latest chapter.

Tefler

I'll aim for the 10th for the next release. ;-)

Tefler

Have you been trying to download them via the Patreon app? I've heard that has trouble picking up the attachments sometimes.

Tefler

Well spotted, thanks!

Tefler

Thanks for letting me know about those. :-)

Tefler

Hey Tef, great chapter! I noticed something on page 13 that might flow better if you changed the word ending for end. It seems to me it flows easier.

Loved it as usual😀

Kim Biel-Nielsen

more more please

page 3 “I’m sure there’s still loads of fun we can with Jade’s new" Do? page 8 "as they stepped into the blue glow of the anti-gravity field" If they went down, shouldn't it be red?

Muledrvr

Thanks! Happy Halloween!

No idea why but i haven't been able to read the last two chapters here they wont show up, I even made sure to update my pledge

What a lovely way to have a chapter finished when I come back from work. Thanks Tefler!

Forbsey

"“They were easy to find,” Faye replied, a soft smile on her elfin face. She glanced up at the blonde. “Thanks for asking me to help, this feels wonderful...” Now that's interesting....

Dennis Aston

Groggy waking up.... what happened - last memory Crazy with the pads. In coma for many days. What a new chapter - saved ... thanks

Kim Biel-Nielsen

Im just leaving for work. Aargh! Thanks for getting the chapter out, Tefler., no matter the time of day

MuddMaxx

yay

I just came home from work, perfect timing!

Thank you !

Evan

cheers

Braw

Super-sweet!

CJ Mora

Yay even lol

Muledrvr

Yat

Muledrvr