Three Square Meals Ch 85 - Complete!

Jack L Veach : after taking some time to think about your nanite proposal I think you have something there. And if you are going that far, just make the nanites out of deca shaped Crystal Alysium hexagons with articulating, interactive, interconnecting edges (Irillith is already using the crystal as a medium for digital hardware circuits) like hexegons that interlock and stack/move/add length, subtract length in real time so there are no joints. It would just be nanites adding to the matrix to lengthen or subtract from the matrix to shorten length for joint articulation. Heck, with that you could have 360 degree vision and still keep your eye recognition for activation of target reticles, flight mode, etc. It could also be self-repairing. Additionally, it could easily morph into clothing or back into a light armor as a way to protect them during outings. Also they could be colored differently on each side to provide for environmentally sensitive camoflage coloration. With 15 layers of ultra thin, ultra light nanite cloth, you could have infinite color variations (combining colors next to each other to create any color like yellow and blue dots next to each other on a screen is seen as green) including clear for helmets/etc. While still maintaining a comfortable, skin tight, responsive, and elastic piece of clothing. Put several layers of Graphene Skrim between the halves of the top and bottom of the hexagons and you have added both heat dissipation as well as extreme penetration resistance into a dress or suit of clothes that wears/reacts like silk or cotton but is really light battle armor disguised as clothing and can morph very quickly into full coverage when/if necessary...or even become a javalin or sword or shield...the list is endless. Just incorporate a few packets of LOX or rebreathing filters for extended breathing time to protect against air borne pathogens, smoke inhalation, or times when being sucked into a vaccume. And make the shoes and shirt cuffs into miniature thrusters/antigrav units and you even have limited flight mode! Have the nanites capable of forming their own psychic runes as well and enable each of the girls to be able to create psychic compartments to maintain them.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Rachel could become involved and add some type of emergency nanite med pack to stop shock and blood loss. She could could control more serious treatment from her med consol on the bridge or from med bay. If, this was something you were interested in, you would add to the nanite ability or not add as you see fit. Just the wondering thoughts of a novice poster, thanks for listening.

After the crystal Allyssiun had been worked the correct number of times while still in the liquid ball nanites could be added, it could then be shaped psychically or use a current armour plate as a pattern. The ship's armour would look like liquid and could move as ordered, such as uncovering weapons. Paragon armour would not have any gaps in coverage and would move and flow around all the joints naturally. All armour would have a built in excess of 5% or better in the liquid armour and any damage not exceeding the redundit excess could quickly be repaired. In extreme situations the face plate on the paragon armour could be covered with armour with nanite sized audio, video, and other types of sensors sensory providing coverage.

Now, that you have and are continuing to upgrade dana's abilities do you foresee her building advanced nanites? Built out of the psychically enhanced crystal Allyssium, but with additives to have their own unique abilities. Yet, they would or could merge with other materials. These nanites could copy current armour plates for the ship, raptor, paragon armour, and the mech armour.

Hey. I don't know if I subsequently fixed those, but they look okay in my final version. Thanks for letting me know. :-)

Tefler

Tefler, in my reread of final 85 I believe I found 1 typo and maybe something you said had changed but didn't. 1. You posted that you had changed the use of a bowl for the Okonomiyaki, if the change is big that change doesn't fit for a large thick pancake like meal. 2. Typo, "Darting John a grief-stricken glance"; missing word or words. Thanks for you do for us readers.

John let out a heavy sigh. “That’s what I’m pinning my hopes on. Ultimately, I’m trying to forge an alliance between the friendly species in this part of the galaxy: the Maliri, the Ashanath, the Terrans, and hopefully the Trankarans too. Only the Maliri and the Ashanath really understand the threat the other Progenitor presents, and they’re both openly allied with me now. The Terran Federation isn’t ready for that just yet and I haven’t even tried broaching it with the Trankarans.” Jehanna caressed the side of his head with her hand, gently massaging his temple with her fingers. “You’re carrying so much on your shoulders,” she murmured quietly. “Trying to build alliances between empires, making preparations for a galaxy-wide battle... I’m amazed you can cope with the strain. I’d be crushed under the weight of all that responsibility.” “I guess it’s in the blood,” John said with a wry smile. He glanced at Alyssa and added, “Fortunately I’ve got an exceptional group of friends to rely on for support.”

MJHSharkbait365

Just re-read CH85 again. Anyone else think these paragraphs are more hidden clues to John's parantage.

MJHSharkbait365

The wait is too long....

DemonHunterCole

Why did SPC Othic pick up the severed hand he found laying on the ground during the Battle of Mogadishu, and place it in his dump pouch? When asked later about it, he replied, "It seemed like the right thing to do at the time." People under extreme stress do weird things, and despite Sakura having completed her vengeance, it was probably stressing her out even then, that it didn't take away the pain. She probably didn't even realize she was still carrying them.

T minus 5 days 30 minutes

Wookey

any one speculate why Sakura brought two black ningato's back with her after they wiped out the assassin's base?

rich ed

Tefler, could you start another thread with the 86 update please?

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

I googled it to check. "different than" is occasionally used in the US. "different to" is the English equivalent to that. "different from" is the most commonly used apparently. :-)

Tefler

Thanks Bob! It's great to see so many people joining the site.

Tefler

@Tefler, re: “You suffered more than all the rest of us put together,” Alyssa replied, hugging Tashana close. She hesitated for a second, then added, “Except perhaps Jade, but she won’t talk about what happened to her. In any case, her mind works differently to ours and she seems to have just brushed off all the torture she endured as a slave.” "differently to"? I would think "differently from", or even the more colloquial (and-less-grammaticlaly-correct) "differently than" would be a better fit there. ...or is this another of those "divided by a common language" things? Also, and likely even more picayune, "Calara looked away into the distance, gazing at the mist-shrouded mountains surrounding the Dojo as she tried to describe her own feelings. “Truthfully I was so focused on my duties about the ship that I’ve not even thought about Grant in months." - that "Truthfully" interjection is missing a comma.

GrandPaM

I think John takes it as battle spoils and has Dana upgrade the crap out of it to use it as a decoy/escort ship in a small flotilla. Changing out all the beam lasers for Nova Lances and the medium range lasers for Mk II Photon lasers, upgraded Gauss and Heavy Cannons with shield busting ammo...Progen power cores, etc. Would be a major leap forward in projecting firepower for sure.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Dana already has all the information from the Legacy's armor. "John was the first to land and he caught Dana before setting her down. She nodded her thanks before looking down at the armour plating beneath her feet. "Woah!" she gasped, as her mind was suddenly flooded with a riot of new information. "Everything alright?" John asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Dana nodded absent-mindedly, staring in awe at the dazzlingly complex analysis of the black metal plating. A sprawl of chemical formula danced across her vision, the symbols and notation all written in Progenitor Glyphs. "I wish you could see what I'm seeing," she murmured under her breath, her mind memorising and cataloguing the bewildering amount of data. "I'm fine, just give me a minute."

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Congrats Tefler, 1200 patrons. Great job !!!!! Bob

Or take him out first. The Maliri already know how to build singularity drivers,they built Johns.Spinal mounted singularity drivers on the house flagships would be a good idea.With Dana's inertia negation device,that they already have,it should be possible.

Braw

I thin John will give Norwood a chance at an honorable death.They both want the same for the Federation,peace and justice.I think John will turn him back mid-battle.

Braw

And upgrade the laser guns

What to do with norwood ship ? , I would give it to the maliri have them upgrade the powercores and Ftl and thrusters and subligth engines and 4+ dana's anti move tubes (whatever that word is) not sure on what else at the moment

Good suggestion BD65. Hope Tefler is listening....

Wookey

Be interesting if John & his allies could lay traps for any invading fleet much like the Ashanta did but using the nanoweave from Mikaboshi to hide mines & banks of torpedoes to spring the trap. Let the fleet go by & then attack their engines from behind . once immobile they would be sitting ducks no matter how powerful they were .

bigdawguw65

Ditto

I believe it's more being on the Astral plane , a different dimension , than any active blocking . When John had his first few bad nightmares Alyssa didn't know & in the last few where he shielded himself & didn't take the others with him they didn't realize what was happening . As to Pro-John , the girls were linked to John so he had limited control over them , as John he could order they but they resisted , so he went after Edraele to be his Matriarch . An earlier post brought up BSP stealing John's thralls but I believe that once they are linked to a Progenitor they are blocked from being influenced by any others . Makes sense since in a battle between Progenitors it would be a cluster f*** if thralls could constantly be changing sides . I think that was one of John's reason for sleeping with the other Matriarchs . Just my read on the situation , I'm sure Tefler will reveal his truth eventually .

bigdawguw65

Congrats Tefler for hitting 1200 donors!!!!

Anthony Kester

One thing that everyone seems to have just missed. 😉 When John and all the girls were pulled into the Ethereal Plane, Edraele noted she could not hear John anymore...that the leviathan was blocking her. This tells me that the psycic chords can be disrupted. We already know that a Progen can be blocked from using his thralls because Progen John could not use Alyssa and the crew when he took over in Trankaran space and on the return from there to Maliri space. Sakura and/or Alyssa need to practice that for when they meet with the BSP. John also needs to protect the minds of Edraele, the 4 Miliri Matriarchs, Sakura, Irillith, and Tashana, and the Maliri bodyguards. And he needs to reinforce the others he has already done.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Thanks DS

Wookey

Added to timeline doc.

Dark Storymaker

I think he might also be surprised by the upgraded technology on "offer" from each of the Malari, Ashanath & Terran fleets. Suspect the Trankarans will remain unchanged for 2-3 months.

Wookey

Well, one thing is for sure: The Kintark have no clue about Irillith's ability to take over Norwood's Dreadnought in the blink of an eye...especially after her familiarity with the battle of Regulus. The Kintark King thinks that Dreadnought will be pivotal in the upcoming battle, but he is mistaken as to which side will be using it to best advantage....lol. And the Kintark fleet will be facing not one, but two Dreadnought class ships with the Invictus intervention.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

But I wanted to vote for Jade!

DemonHunterCole

Its easy to get blase but Tefler's achievement of - 1196 Patrons and - $2069/ch are well worth crowing about

Wookey

Tefler is a machine with righting i dont know of many who could keep this kind of pace up as long as he has

David

So is it time for the Chapter 86 Update with a Projected Release of July 30Th? With all of the discussions on the things in the next chapter I can see a couple of 8K Days in Tefler's Future!

Master Laurent

He didn't forget it , It just pales in contrast to him & the other Admirals holding onto their power & influence . Self preservation trumps gratitude every time . The Admirals will have to come to the realizations that 1) John has no designs on taking control or starting a coupe & will be a stanch ally & 2) There is not a lot they can do about the situation right now . As powerful as he has become & as popular any move against him is futile . Once his ties to the Maliri are clear it will be even more so . They might have tried to play to man kinds distrust of aliens earlier but not after everything he has done so far . They should trust the judgement of their newest Admiral , Charles , who knows him best & longest . I did notice he wasn't included in their little "meeting"

bigdawguw65

Gee: this declaration didn't last long, did it? As he turned to leave, Fleet Admiral Buckingham walked over to join them, and placed a hand on John's shoulder making him pause for a moment. "I won't forget you coming to warn us like this, John," he said gratefully. "Thank you. Not just from me, but the thousands of Terran personnel in this fleet." "You're welcome, Vincent," John replied. "I'm sorry we only got to meet under such dire circumstances."

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Looks as though Tefler will break 1200 Patrons this weekend

Wookey

Thanks JK. Had forgotten about that. I wonder whether Tefler will bring it up.

Wookey

I just thought of something. Remember Irillith's trip into the TFed's archives on Mars? I wonder if that data she accidentally destroyed has been recovered yet? If I recall correctly, just before she got attacked by the defense bots, she spotted a file detailing an investigation on John. Might be worthwhile for her to go look for it again.

Jedi Khan

So in layman's terms, Dana essentially just made the metal more brittle rather than stronger?

Jedi Khan

I think he's mentioned Chron's Disease before, so it might not be a joke or a coincidence. Didn't one of the women John rescued from Underworld have that disease as well?

Jedi Khan

I think that assassin is getting the pleasure of watching one of Faye's boys go past his cell then hearing (recorded) noises that would indicate that there is another assassin in a nearby cell being tortured...

Also, having the Indian girl developing an inflammatory bowel disease. Was that an intentional joke, or just a coincidence?

Tefler, a couple notes on metallurgy, for your consideration. What you describe Dana doing in this chapter sounds like she's removing grain boundaries and making the Alyssium a single-crystal material. The reason alloys are strong (and the current Alyssium composition has been stated to be a complex alloy, if I recall correctly) are precisely because of those imperfections. Breaking up the regular grain structure of a pure metal with other allotropes or compounds in the spaces between, or simply shoving wrong-size atoms into a crystal lattice to bend it out of shape, prevent the new alloy from deforming and yielding under stresses that would cause the more "perfect" structure of a pure metal to give way. By tweaking the composition, and controlling how the grain structure forms (like with heat treating or work hardening), you can dial in an alloy's microstructure - grain size & shape, interstitial compounds, and other things - to get desired structural properties and mechanical behavior. Now, single-crystal metal parts are specially-manufactured so that the metal has no grain boundaries, and the lattice is uninterrupted (or as close as possible). This might sound like it should be a good thing for strength, but remember, metal is strengthened by breaking up its crystal structure into grains, interrupting the lattice so that planes where dislocations can occur do not extend for any great distance. Single-crystal materials are used in special applications where things like creep resistance or electrical properties are more important than strength. If you want, I would suggest having Dana "clarify" that she's not transforming the Alyssium into a single-crystal lattice, but rather "perfecting" the microstructure by tweaking the shape & size of the grains to be exactly optimal, evening out the distribution of the interstitial & substitutional compounds, getting the geometry of the grain boundaries just right, and so on. Or, just say it's "magic space metal" and move on. I'll still love the story either way.

I am with you Ben, Calara needs prescience! "Science" comes from the Latin verb scire, which means "to know" and which is the source of many English words ("conscience," "conscious," and "omniscience," just to name a few). "Prescience" comes from the Latin verb praescire, which means "to know beforehand." "Praescire" joins the verb "scire" with the prefix prae-, a predecessor of "pre-."--Mirriam Webster

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Are you sure? Like I said before, it seems unfinished. Maybe you should hurry up with the next chapter so we can see the scenes that were left out? Crazy hates being left wanting, and when he hates something, I usually have to put up with his bad mood until he's satisfied.

Jedi Khan

I've done a bunch of editing and updated the post with the FINAL version. :-)

Tefler

To use your own favorite quote, "Assumption is the Mother of all Fuck-ups!," do we really know if Dana's intelligence is unheard of among the Progenitors? We know Mael'nerak was rather intelligent himself, considering he created the Nexus AI, the Ashanath, Trankarans, and the Terrans. And those are all achievements that are currently out of reach of John and the girls. My thoughts on the Progenitor tech being the pinnacle of tech are not so much an assumption as a what if. I could be wrong, maybe Progenitor tech isn't the pinnacle, but it certainly seems like something the Progenitors would believe in their arrogance as the all-powerful, ancient rulers that they are: "Our tech is the absolute best. There is none better and it cannot be improved upon." It could explain why Mael'nerak wiped out the civilization that once inhabited the Unclaimed Wastes, because their tech was not Progenitor tech and Mael therefore had to prove the superiority of his tech. Perhaps, had that civilization been allowed to thrive, their tech would have eventually rivaled, or even overcome, that of the Progenitors. Plus there's the fact that the tech is being passed down via genetic memory. That sort of suggests that the tech is set in stone and cannot be changed, or at least the Progenitors believe it to be. We'll have to wait and see what Dana can do.

Jedi Khan

This is response to the Jedi Khan comment about how the information that is being imprinted is the “Pinnacle” of knowledge that can be developed by a Progenitor. With Deepest Respect, John is giving Dana a degree of intelligence that is unheard among the Progenitors. Who are we to assume what Maximum is in the universe? I love to quote a movie "Assumption is the Mother of all Fuck-ups!" I am not saying she is going to do it right off the bat, however, we have years of exploring in the vast universe. Who’s to say the BSP is not just a Teenager on holiday. I seem to remember some SiFi Show - StarTrek/Stargate/Saturday morning Cartoon, do not remember had a similar episode. I do remember that at the end, it this all powerful being that had been fucking with the crew was interrupted by its All-Powerful Parents, got a scolding, sent to its room and everything was returned to normal. The space in the TSM Universe is very small compared to the Entire Universe and with Wormhole drives, that space is much more accessible. Our little region of space could be a “Summer Military Camp” for John and the BSP as their parents are getting them ready to be in the big universe. The BSP is just an slightly older drill instructor, brother or mean cousin jealous of the love John got from his parents in the way of his gifts and moral compass. All I Know is that I have no fucking idea who the BSP is because I know that any thoughts I may have on this subject is just more fuel for Tefler’s evil laugh! Just my 2 cents.

Master Laurent

The bots run on anti-grav cyclics, so they float above the floor. No reason why they couldn't rise up to reach the ceiling.

Jedi Khan

Oh and did anyone else notice that Faye has been watching to much Voltron or Power Rangers or any one of those were they pilot robots that combine together to form a larger robot? I'm fairly certain the normal maintnance bots couldn't punch something on the ceiling like they did when the Invictus was being boarded. I just forgot to mention that one before.

Cody Strong

I'm really glad you liked it and it stood up to repeat readings! :-) It's nice to hear you enjoyed the Rupert Grant scene. I wanted to contrast how bleak and depressing his life was with the generally upbeat and cheerful atmosphere on the Invictus. Faye's chat with John was an interesting one to write, but all the plot discussions on here made it easy to cover the opposing viewpoints!

Tefler

Glad you liked it! 1) He's working his way through them. :-) 2) Yeah, I like her being a bit feisty too. 3) Maybe... 4) I've considered it a few times... 5) She's still able to use multiple avatars, the meta-Faye scene was just her bringing all her processing streams into alignment. 6) Is still in the pipeline 7) I haven't forgotten about Jessica Blake. :-)

Tefler

You're welcome!

Tefler

Great! glad you enjoyed it. :-)

Tefler

Cheers Ben, It was fun to delve a bit more into the characters after all the recent action.

Tefler

No problem! :-)

Tefler

Not sure about two of those hints. For Clara, I don't think John's made her into a Progenitor. We do know from Tashana that it is possible for the third helix to become active under certain circumstances without the assistance of a Progenitor. However, in Tashana's case, those circumstances were rather tragic and stressful. I'm betting John is waiting for Clara to find the circumstances that activate her abilities, which hopefully won't be a time of duress. Or it could be that her third helix is already active, she doesn't know it yet and John's waiting for her to realize it. Perhaps her conversation with Mikaboshi was a hint of what she could do? She did predict how much time Mikaboshi had left almost precisely, a fact I doubt she's aware of. For Tashana, I bet he's not only giving her pyrotechnics a boost, but is also setting her up with abilities that will help with her archeology and historical analysis. Perhaps the ability to see environmental memories of the past like Alyssa has?

Jedi Khan

Ok: a few of the subtle cliffhangers have me thinking... “So, who was this person you wanted me to find?” I am thinking it is Sensae? “Now, do you want us to trigger your third helix for you, or are you going to prove how powerful you are on your own?” Ok, this one has me puzzled. My understanding is only a Progenitor can activate a third helix. Is John saying Calara is now a Progenitor? Walking quietly into the wardrobe, he grabbed one of the close-fitting bodysuits that he normally wore under his armour, knowing he’d be getting geared up later that morning.” Why is he going to need gearing up? “he smiled as he felt Tashana’s active connection in his mind. He continued his painstaking work on enhancing her DNA, imaging the kind of capabilities he thought she might need, without going into too much in the way of specifics.” Hmmmm....what other 'gifts' are he lining up for Tashana? Telekinesis? Telepathy? Hyper Speed?

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

With regards to point 3, now they know they can improve the underlying structure of the metal as well as incorporating the Progenitor runes, could both John and Alyssa make it directly rather than have Dana process it afterwards?

ringill

A good use of the stealth tech would be for the orbital defense platforms. You don't see them till it's to late.

Cody Strong

Ben, I think you (and most others) have been forgetting something. Do you recall what Dana observed when using the psychic sensor that she built, back when Alyssa was hurt and so, too, was John? (Progenitor) John took power directly from all of the girls, healed himself, and then proceeded to heal Alyssa, before the flows were reverted to normal. This was done without everyone having recently imbibed from John. It's not that John can't do it, it's that he doesn't believe he can do it. As always, it's his own preconceptions that hold him back.

Evan

This is what I get for reading these late at night...ideas pop into my head out of nowhere! So, if John can control the girls' healing when they're loaded up, can he control their absorption rate as well? So he could load them up before a battle, have them absorb the load at a fraction of the normal rate, and be able to heal them if needed after an extended period of time? Could he make his morning load last for all of them for an entire day, so he could have an active connection the whole day?

So I'm thinking Calara is going to get some kind of hyper situational awareness. Something that is going to help her predict how a battle is going to flow. Which ships will move where, when they'll move; that kind of stuff. Maybe she'll get some kind of awareness of the Invictus too. Something that would let her know the best time to move the ship or fire the guns. With John and Alyssa saying she's close to figuring it out, these are the best things I can think of.

So I know there's been a good deal of speculation on if John has set the girls up to become superior to Progenitors, at least in terms of tech. I'm somewhat of the opinion that the answer is no. Even though John has freed the girls of the compulsion to obey him, and they are free thinkers, that doesn't necessarily mean that they can improve upon the Progenitor tech that's been locked in their DNA. As far as we know, that genetic memory may be hard coded with something akin to fine print that says "this is the pinnacle of tech, there is no improving upon it." However, I think Dana should go revisit the Legacy and have a look at its armor plating with her new ability. If she can do the same to that black Progen armor as she did to the Crystal Alyssium, then there is hope that she can actually improve upon the other Progenitor tech and create superior versions to counter the BSP.

Jedi Khan

I was wondering the same thing, then remembered that conversation. He told them some of the truth, but not a whole lot.

John told the Admirals himself in his meeting with them around the time of the Battle of Regulus.

Jedi Khan

Yes, I was wondering that myself. Why are they in that system? It wasn't mentioned. That's part of the reason why I felt like the chapter was missing (more than) a few pages.

Jedi Khan

See my comment to Master Laurent #7 post above. How did this happen? Alyssa’s telepathic voice echoed through John’s mind as she said, *His office is clear. Irillith has disabled several audio and video recording devices – not set by Charles - and has established a zone of white-noise to disrupt all surveillance.*

Big Dude

The redhead stared at him in open-mouthed shock for a moment, then fell about laughing.

Master Laurent

No Mention of the Assassin in the Brigg this chapter.

Master Laurent

What is on Alpha Ursae Majoris? Foreshadowing? “he grabbed one of the close-fitting bodysuits that he normally wore under his armour, knowing he’d be getting geared up later that morning.”

Master Laurent

Dana is a red head correct? From Shower Scene He pulled her head back by grasping a fistful of her thick auburn hair and held her firmly in place so that he could gaze into her eyes.

Master Laurent

Maybe that is coming in Chapter 86? Or... they will use Admiral Harris' friendship to prod John to give more tech to them. One thing not covered here. How did the Admiralty know John was an alien species? Remember, Irillith scanned Harris' office for bugs yet this paragraph is intriguing. “You heard it from his own lips,” Vincent Buckingham said, his expression bleak. “John Blake is a member of an incredibly advanced species of galactic tyrants. We’ve all seen the footage of that cannon hidden in the moon, and after Regulus, everyone’s well aware what his ship can do!” Very interesting! See below how Irillith supposedly created white noise.

Big Dude

...Kirrix^h^h^h^h^h^hKintark...

GrandPaM

With Dana's new abilities, can she create the crystal like Jade's heart for Faye?

Master Laurent

I actually see this happening. Several Faye bots that go out on missions with the girls.

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Ben, I recommend reading Heinlein's stories for some well-thought out information on how functional immortals would live amongst the short-lived humans. Moving around, changing appearances, leaving one's wealth to one's grandchild (who looks remarkably like grandmother/grandfather used to, you know), etc.. It could be done, especially given their abilities to modify DNA, but there are issues that would need to be addressed.

Evan

BAD IDEA!!! Not your idea, Master Laurent, but John's doing it! You think it was bad when one Master Assassin and his clan were after them? Do you have ANY idea how bad it would be if everyone knew that "Rachel Can Heal Anything!" - Every wealthy individual wanting better health, would be commissioning a Kidnapping detail right *after* they attempted to 'hire her services' away. They would be literally bombarded with more requests for care than Faye could handle. "Can you please..." - Orphanage/Hospital/Hospice/University/College/Institute/... The requests for her to perform healing would be quite literally never-ending, all for one or more worthy causes, of course. "Come heal (fill in the blank) and I will donate (fill in the blank) to (fill in the blank)" requests would come pouring in from all over the Terran Federation! The only reason why she can get away with it in Ashana amongst the Ashanath is that they are a remarkably close-mouthed society for a bunch of telepaths, and they actually understand that their 'goddess' has limitations, since they have some understanding of how she does what she does. Let's not even (ever!) touch on what would happen if it became generally known that John was able to grant functional immortality, much less restore youth! You think that they have a problem with a handful of admirals now? The entire Federation population would be on their knees trying to service... errr... worship, that is, John and Rachel. They'd never have the life that John wants them to have. In fact, if you think about it, Rachel has the power and desire to heal... to help... and if she does it as she can, she will be doomed to never be able to have the life she wants with John. And that is the curse that John has inflicted upon Rachel, although I am quite sure that it was not intentional nor consciously realized upon his part when he did it. I do wonder if that was part of the 'resistance' that he felt, though... as his Progenitor Guide - which is, after all, a part of him - would probably have that realization, which is possibly one reason that the Progenitors seem to tend to work through others. It's worth noting that Tefler already touched on this when the Maliri Matriarch in this last chapter quite clearly made a deal in order to gain access to her own youthfulness. I'm not saying that the deal shouldn't have been made, but John's going to have to have a serious conversation with his Matriarchs about those sorts of deals. Even he can't feed planets of women sufficiently, and in fact, he shouldn't, since change is important. Consider what would happen in the Maliri Regency if every Maliri Matriarch now in place were to keep their positions, not for the span of a generation (however long that is for the Maliri), but for hundreds of generations. Would one be able to gain for her progeny her own immortality? Would she be doomed to see each of them born, grow, age and die, on into eternity? What would that do to her? What impact would it have upon her progeny, knowing that they would never become leaders of their people? When would stagnation set in? How stultifying would it become? Immortality is not a blessing in and of itself, neither to the individuals who have it, nor to the society within which those individuals exist.

Evan

So Tefler, I have a question for you. With the concern Calara and now Jehanna have about leaving their families to the ravages of time, have you thought about the possibility of Dana and Rachel researching some kind of prolong? Even something that would expand human life to the equivelant of the Malari would go a long way in helping the girls out, as well as giving John and the Pride time to roam the galaxy before they become recluses in Malari space.

LOL, I got the same feeling, even @ 34K words, I am sure the pages will be weaved into chapter 86

Master Laurent

It's the Kintark who have the Brimorian shields not the Kirrix (unless of course Tefler hasn't told us about it yet!)

ringill

With Deepest Respect to Tefler and his ability to Create Content, and I know that I suck @ it, however, I will from time to time offer a little light reading. Faye: “Ohh Great Engineering Overlord, *pause* I want to help Make the Invictus / The Team Stronger. We need more powerful weapons, better shielding, what Can I do to help you???” Sparks: *Startled out of her Hyper focus looks up from her new ESP Heavy Cannon Modification designs* “What did you just Say?” Faye: “I want to help make the Invictus / The Team Stronger. We need more powerful weapons, better shielding, what Can I do to help you??? I have been thinking that we can also create a Battle Attachment and Software Modification enabled with the Battle attachment for the Boys. They can travel with you and the team when you leave the Invictus!” Sparks: *Work with her Sparks, I know where this is coming from and will explain more later, John is on his way* Alyssa sent to her red headed Engineering Overlord. “Faye, you already do so much during a battle and most of the upgrades we are doing is based upon my ability to reverse engineer / enhance technology from others and the knowledge I am getting from John’s Feedings.” Faye: *Sighs* - “I can help, I know I can help. I can create a schedule for the upgrades you are working on - we can have the “Boys” focusing 24x7 on the upgrades. I can go out and look at other technologies and see what we can “requisition”. I can also do calculations on performance enhancements and the benefits to help prioritize your upgrade schedule.” Sparks: *Alyssa, what the hell has gotten into our little girl?? She is becoming a task Master!* John enters the engineering lab, big smile on his face. “What’s going on girls?” Faye: “John, I am glad you are here, please feed Dana, she needs to unlock the info in her Overlord Mind as soon as possible! I know we talked and I want to be more proactive in making sure you are all safe and my calculations show that helping Dana will provided the highest return for my efforts.” John: “Faye - Let’s get the team together come up with a plan. We have always come up with the best answers when the Team provides input!” Faye: “Okay, after you feed Dana. - I will let all of the others know that we are having a strategy meeting in 30 mins on the Bridge. Come on Dana, Get to work on John, we have things to do!!!” Alyssa: *Laughing at the situation in the engineering lab, “It looks like our little girl is growing up and needs to have something to focus her energy on”* Faye: “What, What’s going on, Alyssa, Irillith what are you doing in the Computer core - OOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my heavens, what are you doing to me????” The holographic avatar disappears from the engineering lab. John:”I think she needed to work off a little stress, we will see how she is when Alyssa and Irillith are done with her. *Evil Grin* She does have a point though. We should have a meeting soon and review our action plan.”

Master Laurent

I disagree with you there. While I agree that John should contact his old swordmaster that could easily be taken care of in a vid-call (and I believe the assassins killed his family after he interfered with a different assassination attempt). John asked Irrilith to 'find' someone. Although the context seemed to be related to Mikaboshi in some way, I'm drawing a complete blank on any guess.

JCFenton

14. Utilizing Mikaboshi’s stealth technology on JFL’s Torpedo platform and the Torpedo's.

Master Laurent

13. Vacation is going to also include some Upgrades to the Invictus. Edreale will let it slip about the Kintark and John will want to be prepared. Also with Faye wanting to protect the Team she will put the "Boys" into high gear to make things better. I can see her becoming a little obsessed with making the Invictus as powerful as possible. A Girl after My and JFL's Heart!

Master Laurent

12. Thinking of the new space stations and the weapon platforms that will both be on and around this stations as a part of the Defense systems.

Master Laurent

11. More Alyssa/Irillith “Quality Time” with Faye!

Master Laurent

10. What’s going on with Faye’s “boys” - Dana / Irillith will discover the “New” software

Master Laurent

9. Still hoping to find the cloning facility to get a Jade body for Faye. Cannot imagine her without her wings.

Master Laurent

8. Rachael healing of the Bombing Victims, I know this opens up a can of worms because why should she stop only with them. Maybe a trip to the hospital and do a Mass Healing for a Day to get some great PR, or a couple of hours a day during the vacation at different children’s hospitals. I know that John want’s to keep a lid on the powers the Girls Have, however, if he shows the good he is doing it will get him/them some Great PR.

Master Laurent

7. Before they leave Terran space, John is going to have a call with the Admiralty. I am surprised that they let the Invictus back to take Jehanna home with no quibbles from Space Command.

Master Laurent

5. Another Easter Egg from Comments IMHO - Tashana’s pyrokinetics are getting stronger, however when John was feeding her he was alluding to the additional enhancements he was going to give her, no clue yet, Another Tefler Cliffhanger!

Master Laurent

4. John’s Mystery Call - The Master Swordsman John studied under to let him know that Mikaboshi was the assassin that killed his charge - I don’t remember if he also killed his family are not - I am sure somebody will be able to fill this in for me. John wants to let him know who took out the contract so some justice can be served.

Master Laurent

1. Dana will be putting her hands on a lot of things, The New Photon Barrels, ESP Heavy Cannons, Raptor Plating, Body Armor, the list goes on and on. The Best part is how she will now be an integral part of the new ship construction and retrofits. I know my first speculation is with weapons, So sue me! 2. ESP Cannon for the Raptor and Valkyrie 3. With John unlocking even more of his powers, I can see him being able to help Dana with the metallurgy. She will do it first so he can copy it.

Master Laurent

Great Chapter as Always, Bravo. I have read it twice. I have found that I spend most the time during the first reading waiting for the shoe to drop on some type of curve, or I get anxious as I watch the scrollbar move down the side wondering how much content you are going to be able to fit into this chapter. Okay, so I’m a little neurotic. Maybe a lot neurotic. LOL. I love how you handled Rupert Grant, quite satisfied! I am sticking to my guns on the 200 chapter Mark, based on my calculations this Chapter barely covered a day. Your style of the intermixing the timelines between the last chapter in the story is amazing. With the TFNN Report going on well Rupert was being apprehended was great storytelling. I also noticed several Easter eggs throughout the story where you address various speculations (Nod to JFL’s metallurgy obsessions with Dana’s new ability, and I am sure more is on its way!) I think you were spot on with the way that you handled Faye and John’s interpretation of her actions. Quite a satisfying chapter, and a wonderful addition to your amazing body of work! Time for some speculation, I will break these up with as several comments to make it easier to respond:

Master Laurent

Tef, great chapter. I would like to add a few thoughts. 1. Rachael needs some time; otherwise you have covered all girls well. 2. Irillith should keep her evil side. It makes her interesting. Like Dana's snarkiness and Sakura's sub/dom. 3. Apply stealth to raptor. 4. Find other nymphs, please: 5. Faye's multiple avatars disappeared, why? 6. Alyssa's financial efforts and domestics line to support orphans. 7. John's mom....lastly, a disclaimer that these are not criticisms, just venting my possibly constructive thoughts.

Benj

Nope*. Not yet, at least. Tefler is working on compiling the chapters into ebooks, but due to the fact he's approaching 2 million words, it's likely going to be several ebooks, not one. *At least, not officially from something Tefler's put up. Other patrons have done their own thing and put up a compilation on the Community tab..

Jedi Khan

Hi Tef. I have been following you on SOL for some time, and now picked you up here, along with another brilliant Author of Long Stories, Nick Scipio. Quick question. Can I download the whole book up to Chapter 80 in one file (docx or PDF)?

thanks tef for the wonderfull chapter

Hi Tefler, loved it, and arrived on my day off so could laze in bed at leisure

Teffler's English nature emerging again, Pots, Midis, Schooners, and Jugs here

And now time for the obligatory promotional advertisement. ATTENTION EVERYONE! Voting is OPEN for the 2016 Literotica Awards! Tefler has been nominated for several categories, including: Most Influential Writer, Sexiest Male Character (John Blake), Sexiest Female Character (Alyssa), and best in Sci-Fi &amp; Fantasy (Chapter 60)! Click on the below link to go straight to the voting page on the Literotica Forums! Note: You'll need a Literotica account in order to vote. If you have one for commenting on Tefler's stories, that account will work on the forums as well. VOTE NOW! <a href="http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1443374" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1443374</a>

Jedi Khan

So...where's the rest? Feels like there should be more. Are you sure you posted the whole chapter Tef? You didn't leave out like, oh I don't know, 20 pages there at the end?

Jedi Khan

Another awesome Chapter Tefler. Lot of character development.

"He spilled your pint." LOL loved that, Outstanding chapter well done, again! Tef is the progenitor writer

I had a nasty cold at the beginning of the week, so I was channelling my grumpiness into that. ;-)

Tefler

Thank you! It's good to hear you enjoyed it. :-)

Tefler

You're welcome! The scenes with Dana were a lot of fun to write, so I'm glad you liked them.

Tefler

Cheers Bob, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Tefler

Thanks, I changed that to a plate. :-)

Tefler

I agree, very well made especially how scared out of his mind the former commander was lol

Forbsey

Another great chapter Tefler.

Anthony Kester

Thank you very much for the release of this nice chapter! I love Dana and her new tech inventions. I am so waiting for Fayes new body.

MaydaysSin

Each Okonomiyaki pancake is normally 8-10" in diameter, and can be 1-2" thick. Think of them as small and thick pizza. I've never seen them served in a bowl, but usually in large plates. Some are actually served on the grill they were cooked on. So having the team eating them out of a bowl seems really odd.

Big Orca

Thanks Tefler, Great Chapter and getting better all the time.

???? You must have read a different chapter than I did. The whooping defense was added to their suits is what I read.

Hmm how is john going to carry his sword now that the whooping defence is taken off the suits ?

Thank T! A nice break, very calming. Hmmmm...

Ausgezeichnet!

GrandPaM

I just aim to write 3k words a day, which usually keeps me on track for a 30k word release every 10 days or so. I only tend to be able to write 8k+ if I'm really enjoying the scenes I'm writing and if I can avoid too many interruptions!

Tefler

Good timing then! :-)

Tefler

I'm glad you liked the ending. There were a few bits of tech that Dana needed to go over, so I thought I'd go through several of them in one long sequence of scenes. I quite enjoyed just writing it with the two of them, rather than trying to work in multiple characters for a change!

Tefler

Nice catch, thank you!

Tefler

You're welcome, glad you liked it!

Tefler

I'm pleased you liked the more emotional scenes. It's always tricky not to get too corny on the dialogue, while still making it feel sincere!

Tefler

Thanks Tefler, glad the download was earlier, I have been dying to find something to do tonight You sir are brilliant at writing on a schedule. Better than many news reporters.

I took this whole week off to read this chapter! (not exactly, but I did have the week off and it was nice to see the chapter come out today.)

Timtom12

Very nice chapter and really loved the ending, Tefler.

I wondered the same thing. Each House had (or should have had) a fleet that could patrol their whole 3 dimensional border, protecting themselves externally and from rival Houses. Where did all those ships go?

Timtom12

Thanks, I'm glad you liked the end to Grant!

Tefler

After lucky number three. Prior to that he can heal injuries and cure diseases without fundamentally altering their DNA.

Tefler

Small error: "You two completed scrambled my mind!" should by "completly"

Kim Biel-Nielsen

As long as you guys are enjoying them, that's the main thing! :-)

Tefler

Beautiful - thanks!

Kim Biel-Nielsen

:-D

Tefler

No problem, I'm glad you liked it. :-)

Tefler

You're welcome!

Tefler

Thank you! I've fixed that and updated the attached version.

Tefler

Oops! Thanks for pointing that one out. :-)

Tefler

I'm curious if Calara is going to get some co-progenitur abilities like Alyssa since she is his second and her skills have been marinating for so long. It seems she has deep a very deep relationship with John and Alyssa -- even more so than many of the others.

Florida Reader

Oh I so hope Calara gets prescience and telepathy! BTW: extremely well written and touching scenes Tefler. John's psychic abilities to see into the hearts of his girls is improving right under his nose!

PLRus--Founding member of the TSM F5 club.

Now it's time to read it again in case I missed something sneaky that tefler slipped in.

Jim lynch

That was a lovely change of pace plus we finally got rid of grant and in a nice 14 painful days way too really nice touch lol.

Jim lynch

So when do the genetic changes start in the girls? I would think it would be when John starts healing them, which would make it difficult for Jehanna to use the building DNA scanner.

Wow Tefler! Another enjoyable chapter, I love the plot twists!

Kin Asdi

Regarding the fleet disposition of each house, where is it? Is each house responsible for its own borders? Only? So where are the rest of the fleets. Why aren’t they helping each other secure the borders? What is the percentage of each fleet of ships that is being upgraded? Did they keep the fleets on their home planets? Or at the inter house borders. Like they used to? The Malari probably have 3-4 times the fleet size compared to the other races, of equivalent size. The Malari also have a racial history of practically closed borders. Which means they have a larger fleet defending their borders. All of their borders, including the ones to the other houses. Where did THAT fleet go? (an idea) If they were to each contribute 1/3 of their total fleets to the universal defense of the regency, they would be able to send another 1/3 to the shipyards for refit. While the remaining 1/3 goes to the borders. Which means the 1/3 that is used for the universal defense could be placed in a staging area near the Kintark Border, to act as either a sledgehammer, or a speed bump, to work as a force to slow down the upgraded Kintark ships. One thing I noticed about the status update that Eredale received regarding the Kintark. It wasn’t mentioned to John, or the other matriarchs… Something like that would be given to the military commander as an observation. (Update status; empire relations) (update status; our planned response) no they don’t realize that the BSP has given the Kintark the Brimorian shields, BUT they wouldn’t treat things lightly. No one would to a foreign power who has proven themselves to be hostile. Even if they aren’t currently hostile to us, we would still prepare (CYA). We would prepare a response to potentially make them wish they didn’t attack if they do attack. An overwhelming response.

a couple of questions tho regarding this chapter... kinda discussion... also. i'm trying to look up information regarding projectile damage, penetration effects, potential splash damage, potential explosive damage (from a stopped penetrator), vs explosive damage.

Awesome!

Master Laurent

I like the chapter, thanks for the fix

Excellent chapter, Tefler! Thanks for the fix! Lol

"The pale faces looming out of the ran looked" should rain

"Now that he’s dead, I’m afraid he won’t be able complete your contract" - there is a "to" missing here

Thanks Andrew! It's great to hear you enjoyed it, :-)

Tefler

Hah! You think I have any time for gaming? :-) I've not played Overwatch yet or bothered to watch any videos to be honest. Which character is tracer and what does he/she do?

Tefler

yea i have officially decided tefler has been iether playing overwatch or watching it

Morris Crawford

so first thing i think of is after reading this is have you been playing Overwatch tefler cause you just discribed tracer to a T in there

Morris Crawford

Luckily I'm self-employed and can get away with reading this now. Unluckily, I'm self-employed and won't make any more money today. Work harder tomorrow!

Michael Johnson

Another great chapter Tefler. There's a reason I'm sitting here at 3.41am - it's because each new chapter is definitely worth the wait! Congrats ;)

andrew finlayson

Thanks

Thanks!!

Old Salt

at last

I'm already late for work.... Meh, what's another hour?

DemonHunterCole

Yes.

Nickcap

Awesome!

Yeah!

Master Laurent

Thank you!

Evan

R u friken serious!!! I just started work! Won't be able to tear into this until tonight, no sense try to start it during lunch, won't be able to go back to work! Argh! 😜

Koa

Arigatou gozaimasu.

Awwww yeah! This is the reason I have the Patreon app on my phone, so I can get my fix immediately. Keep up the great work Tefler!

Ohh O, not the first one. Thanks Tefler , You are a life saver... :)

Liar liar pants on fire

Just as I log in to check, woo

Very nice!

First one ...... yeeeee

Thanks, Tefler!

Dark Storymaker