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Three Square Meals Ch. 173 (Patreon)

Published:
2025-02-01 05:15:34
Imported:
2026-06

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Hey everyone,

I've been working on chapter 173 and it's nearly completed. I've got a few more scenes to finish, which I'll add on to the end of the chapter as soon as they're done.

Please let me know if you spot any typos.

I really hope you enjoy it.

Best wishes,

Tefler

Comments

Jeff

Wait for it..... wait for it..

Hendrix Morton

"as soon as they're done" = End of next month.....

SV

Where is the placeholder dude?

Joe Waldvogel

Same old B.S. 1 story and 2 more p,a echo,Dre’s, getting further and further behind. We have now paid advanced for 15 stores. That is almost a year and a half to catch up if he stopped charging. Instead by then he’ll be much further behind. This is insane. If he just did one placeholders per story, that would at least be not getting further and further behind. Remember back when he said he was going to stop? It’s only gotten worse.

Xexsu

it's not even fuckin funny anymore......... now it's just fuckin sad.

MVFast

Excellent, but that was a painful place to stop. I’m really curious about his matriarch. I guess I should consider it a temporary cliffhanger.

Michael56Smith

1st Error that I noted: (on Word page 8 of 33) , the rosy glow quite visible even through her orange complexion. When he pulled back, her blue were eyes like saucers as she gaped at him in astonishment"" -- obviously there are two inverted words, .... it should be ... 'her blue eyes were like saucers;.... I like the chapter so far, thanks .... '-) ttfn

John Doyle

Good part chapter. Finish when you can. I will be here till you are done.

Troy S. Cash

Finish Walker off soon. His story is boring and I really don't care if he's executed and no one ever finds out he was framed.

JD BREWZ

Incomplete chapter we already paid for a nebulous promise of production. At this point, go fucking die and let someone else pick up the pen

JD BREWZ

Fuck you, fuck your gallbladder and choke on a progenitor cock you insignificant cunt

Grandizer

What I see happening soon is people getting a clue and leaving and canceling. Collecting emails of those who have paid up to chapter XXX and sending the chapters to them once they come out. No more money to Tefler until he is caught up, once he has caught up, they can resubscribe. Can't be illegal as money has already been collected by Tefler for those chapters.

Myrnalin

Thank you :) Dont let the slime and ugly(on the inside) people get you down.

IanBio

I have long ago reduced my payment to one chapter a month, and can tolerate part chapters. But, to be brutally frank, the quality is declining. Tefler, you are dragging out this story - consciously or unconsciously. It is time to bring it to a conclusion - I very much doubt it will take 15 chapters.

Michael56Smith

another error noted: (on Word page 32 of 33) -- John speaking to Tashana: == “Let me ask you a question,” he said, stroking her azure stomach to soothe her. “Do you feel guilty about want to burn the Galkirans, or are you worried that I might look at you differently?” -- wanr s/b waning, .... a good chapter, so far, ... please finish it soon, ... ;-) ttfn

Tyler Derkearmian

I'm surprised Tef's number one kiss ass hasn't chimed in here yet

Michael56Smith

-- Another Error noted: (On Word page 4 of 33) -- “I have to do something,” John said, his expression filled with grim resolve. “I’m the only one can save her.” -- I suggest that adding 'that' to the sentence would work, .... example: ' I'm the only one that can save her" ... --- good chapter, good story, thank you, ... ;-) ttfn

Jim Owens

shame its so short. I could have written that in about half a day. I know you can do better than that Tef. There was nothing new there at all. A simple after action wrap up chapter, basically a copy paste from earlier similar ones. I know you can be a better writer. The earlier chapters were amazing. You have to do something to p ick up your production. Get to work.

Jim Owens
>>163199039

i feel it started out as a good idea, but too much time has gone by without any significant progress. Either someone is going to come in and read his mind and save him and kill the real criminal or he is going to die. Either way his time is way past. That arc should have finished up long ago.

Michael56Smith
>>163226482

Okay Jim. go write your own story, and if it's any good I would love to read it, ... good luck, ... l-) ttfn

Mapstar
>>163226482

Why don’t you do it then? Show us your creativity. Noone forces you to be here and pay for the story.

Mapstar

I didn’t reduce my payment, and I won’t unless you start dropping 3 placeholders. I accept them as part of the process. If you were to decide that ending the story and work conventional again bcs you can’t meet your monthly expenses I would be much more heartbroken. So thank you for trying and continuing. Best wishes man

TexanInParis
>>163221504

"I'm the only one WHO can save her." That refers to an inanimate object or action. Who refers to a person - in this case, John.

Joel Wyrick

I admit I became obsessed with this story. I used to reread the entire story between chapters being posted, then I decided to put myself on a Tefler diet. I've decided to wait until complete chapters to read each one and I only go back and reread the previous chapter. I'm looking forward to each one, like a hug from an old friend.

AzureReader
>>163226482

I agree with Jim. 13823 words is a lot to say they claimed a new empire (not a surprise), still not sure what Xar’ is going to do, have Lynette tell Charles she’s expecting (not news to us), and explaining (for the 10th time) that everyone hates Tom Walker. That’s not wrapping it up, it’s dragging it out. There are so many important things to resolve in this story and this chapter resolved none of them with the most possible words. All of the other 172 chapters in this epic were more tightly written. Usually Tefler just adds to the end of a chapter but I really hope he edits out 4K words from his first draft of 173 and finishes strongly by resolving something of importance.

AzureReader

Tefler did pick up the pace from 7K words to almost 14K this month. I applaud twice as many words as last month. So far the chapter hasn’t cut any new ground or resolved anything. We knew another empire was about to be claimed (although feeding the existing matriarch was unexpectedly disgusting). We knew Lynette was pregnant. We knew everyone hates Tom Walker. We knew they didn’t know what Xar’ was going to do next. So far it has taken 14K words to tell us all those things. Again, in most cases. I hope Tefler edits it down the first 14K words a bit and finishes off the chapter strong by telling us something we don’t already know. I have confidence he will.

John the 5th

I enjoyed this latest offering. While I am not a fan of placeholders, I can't get excited about them. Has anyone bought a book at a bookstore lately? I can not fault an author that can write a story like this with so much character development and twists and turns and new weaponry . The whiners can whine on. I only ever see them once. Please keep this story coming and I hope your health issues are much improved.

ThunderBird Two

On a more positive note....... Oh, I wonder in what way the new matriarch is messed up, and is it fixable? They need to strip Gals Dread for spares, the cloak, annihilator and Wormhole gen. Maybe use what's left as a defensive platform? What with all those Q cannons it still has. Add the cloak to the Raptor? - not sure it could power the Wormhole gen. A Cloaked Raptor would be the ideal ship for boarding Prog Dreadnoughts. They could infiltrate without warning, before the Dreadnought even raised it's shields. Somehow get the Q annihilator on the Invictus, and equip another ship with the Wormhole Gen? An Invictus mk2 is needed, with a white metal structure, more power, and Danas' (soon to be?) new armour. It's still physically a bog std T-Fed Assault Cruiser under the armour. Not sure how keen they would be to do this, as it's their home..... but I suppose you could claim it's the same ship, in a Trigger's broom/Ship of Theseus sort of way. John needs some sort of "Welcome" message recorded, that can be played to the thralls to get them onside without John needing to be there. He has far too many things that need his personal attention - Jehanna is the girl for the job, maybe send a full nymph for recruiting Captains. On the subject of John needing to be in multiple places at once (sort of), Rachel really needs to find a way to make his "man juice" stretch further. Recruiting more Wards is important for their loyalty, instant communication, and for the extra power - they need to power all the girls as well as John. I think they will need to split up if X doesn't go for more "instant" attacks. - Not sure of X's full motivation for going after John. Is it just spite for not being able to control him? Does he see John as a threat? If X is just going after John out of Pettiness, he may decide it's not worth the wasted resources/psychic food, and leave him alone (after all, he is Millenia old, and has a Whole Galaxy to feed on/manipulate. Why bother with one rouge Prog that's hidden from the rest, and are accidently making stronger by trying to defeat?) If X doesn't immediately attack again, they need to send Dana to the Star Forges, Rachel/Irillth to Faye, and John and the Nymphs on a recruiting drive. All those disabled ships and crew need recovering, and the ships repairing/crews recruiting. I expect Ran will poke his nose in soon, when he sees more of the fleets from Larns empire appear, and moving in a patrol pattern rather than battle formation. Maybe he will have a bit of respect for John, when he sees he killed another 2 Progs, and be able to have a constructive conversation? Finding out how it all works will be invaluable intelligence. Do the ships go through the Soul forge whole to be fixed, or do they create spare parts? etc.. Dana really needs to find a way for someone other than John to run them. Maybe Mal did with his Star Forge? And I'm sure there are many other things too.

valiant8086

I get emails when these chapters are released. How do I find out when the chapter is finished?

Stephen Paynter

"and Tom only a dozen left until his execution" probably should be something like "and he only had a dozen left until his execution"

Stephen Paynter

Bravo! Another great chapter. I am a great fan of yours, Tef. A truly gripping story.

AzureReader

Not clear why the quantum flux cannons ‘need to go’ according to Dana. Changing types of damage is usually accomplished by changing type of projectile, not a whole new gun. Switching to runic penetrators in their small arms, for example, doesn’t require a whole new rifle. Guns themselves can have special features. The quantum flux cannons have some shield penetration capabilities which comes from the gun, not the projectile. It’s not clear what feature a gun could bring that would make it more effective at armor penetration. Perhaps a much larger quantum flux chamber that can hold a stack of 24 rounds of runic penetrators fired all at once, instead of the existing stack of 6 rounds. That would probably drill through anything and require a new gun design with a much larger quantum flux chamber.

AzureReader

It would be nice if John or one of the girls would come up with the idea that body armor plates can be made in the tiny soulforge they have aboard the Invictus. That advance alone would increase their survivability dramatically.

AzureReader
>>163338294

Tom has 12 more hours to live? Shitballs! And TSM time is progressing about 2 hours a chapter now? Double fucking shitballs! Please someone shoot Tom now. I can’t take another 6 chapters of that stupid side plot.

Unresolved Plots
>>163356518

Dana did propose a redesign of the armour to make it thicker (at least for the Wards) and double skinned sometime in the 130's. The armour has since been made double skinned, but the thickened design hasn't been incorporated yet. I don't think it is the case that they have not thought to use the Forge, but probably due to them being pretty none stop since that point in the story, John has always had more important parts to build with the Forge e.g. Wormhole Generator, Engines, Holographic Projectors etc... Now that they hopefully have some time until the next Progenitor, they should be able to build suits using the Forge. The issue arising from this is metal forged and not psychically shaped cannot be repaired in the field (by John or Alyssa) if damaged. One suggestion I have seen on Discord is to have the outer layer built using the Forge and the inner layer still shaped psychically, therefore allowing for it to be repaired psychically if required? Imho, this would be a good compromise.

Garrett

I spotted a typo: You said "best wishes" when you clearly meant "go fuck yourselves."

ThunderBird Two
>>163353728

Armour piercing needs a higher velocity that hight explosives= longer barrel on the gun. My first thought was to just change the ammo

20 ton
>>163356518

I think alyssum on the outside would make it easier to repair on the fly. Jade has proven she can use the forge while building the wormhole generator. With access to his mind all of the nymphs should be able to share the load. Even two hours from Jade and one hour from each of the rest would free John from being tied to the forge. None of the parts is two meters across so the suits should be no problem. The way the ships were being built in Tark I believe it will work if the forge spins in a vertical plane and the part is added to in a linear fashion. Having a 3 kilometer forge to build one dredknott would be impractical. Solves the problem of making barrels and could require less energy. I nominate Akita to be the clever sexy nymph to figure this out while trying to help free up John. Flip an anti grav cart over to support the completed portion as it exits the forge.

20 ton
>>163318355

What Dana needs to work on is how Mal was able to beak the cloak. Having the ability to, as part of a ships sensors and hopefully the use other houses manufacturing capabilities for satellites would be vital. Spider mines should also be able to be manufactured locally as well with alyssum only being used for manufacturing on the ship. Adding this load to the vats is proven technology. Since the amount controls the strength of the connection, dividing the portion doesn’t give more total power. While a nymphs kiss isn’t as personal as the recruiting room it does fit his desire to not take for granted his thralls as much as Larn’s oath of allegiance.

AzureReader
>>163356518

@20 ton: Interesting point. If they could build body armor panels out of the new super metal, even if not reshapable, there would still be every reason to do it. First, it would be far less likely to be damaged in the first place. Quantum flux cannons on Gahl’s dreadnought didn’t put a scratch on John’s quantum flux cannons on the ground. Second - they all have exactly the same body armor plates, except John. So they only need two commodity sizes of all panels: John-size and girl-size. They can mass produce panels, stock them, and start throwing away/replacing damaged panels. Third - once the suit is virtually indestructible I doubt Dana will reinvent the suit as frequently. In practice I don’t recall them ever fixing body armor in the field; I have seen John get a fresh suit from the Raptor after a ground campaign damaged his armor. So they already are finding ‘replace’ faster than ‘repair’, even if they do later repair their suits. Interesting point about the soulforge. I guess I assumed it would spin vertically and build ships bow-to-stern like you describe. But the small soulforge on the Invictus does not work like that or they would be able to produce 2-meter diameter by any length items - like long tacheon barrels, or barrels for the Valkyrie gatling. Dana has said it’s not possible. A spinning soulforge sphere more than 3km across for dreadnoughts doesn’t seem practical. I doubt Larn’s soulforge was 3+ kilometers across or it seems like they would have mentioned how absolutely massive the soul forge was when they went there. Perhaps dreadnought hulls are not built in a single piece.

Robert D Hixson

Love the story overall. I must say, a lot of subplots have been pushed aside while focusing on the Progenitors. Although it's understandable (and enjoyable to read) given the speed at which they have been invading his space. If I recall X just doesn't know about John, given he's under the shroud and the Progenitors haven't been reporting in to X. Perhaps with 3 unexplained Progenitor deaths he might back off or just send in one to do recon. So many other subplots to keep our interest. Reconciling with his mom, dealing with his dad, the Kintark queen, Core worlds revolution, Terra's Admiralty, Brimoria/Abandoned, Other races, the 3 new matriarchies including mopping up some of the invaders, etc. Although the Tom Walker subplot was interesting, it's really been way too protracted. Overall, I must say I do appreciate the quicker publications, especially in the face of cliffhangers. Regardless thank you Tefler and please stay healthy!

MVFast

Consider. A bigger deal than a progenitor death is the lack of thrall deaths… Now, two progenitors have died without killing all of their thralls. Also, does X gain anything when a thrall is husked by a progenitor? Or does 100% go to the progenitor to power his psychic abilities?

Buffy

I'm done giving tefler the benefit of the doubt. Canceling my membership now.

Myrnalin

The people feeling a need to announce that they will leave......... just fucking leave, slug.

Grandizer
>>163216586

That is never going to happen, remember according to him a long time ago, if the amount he made exceeded X amount a month then he would quit his job so he could write full time. This was easily done. He has said he quit his job. Once he finishes the story, no one will pay him. He will drag this out as long as he can. I seriously doubt he planned for retirement and has enough saved to retire on.

ThunderBird Two
>>163490621

I got the impression X fed on the pain, horror and suffering, rather than the physic energy (otherwise he would just keep all the thralls for himself). Hence why the Soul forge inflicts unnecessary pain, the Wormhole generator unnecessary nausea, the Battle tactics are 17thC etc.. Something Dana can exploit - all the prog tech is designed to be the best whatever at feeding X, NOT the best whatever. Dana can just make the best whatever.

MVFast
>>163490621

Yep. You’re right. I just re-read John building the wormhole generator for the Invictus.

ThunderBird Two
>>163318355

Yes, if Mal could make a sensor to track cloaked ships, I can't see why that can't be added to the ships sensors (assuming Dana can work out how to). Stalk a cloaked Prog in the cloaked Raptor. Portal in when they drop the shields and hey presto a free Dreadnought.

Garrett
>>163234561

There's no process man, it's survival mode on Tefler's end. It's folks like you resisting limiting your monthly contributions that are enabling Tefler's bad behavior.

Jonathan Seeley

Will there be another notification when the chapter is actually finished? I already read them too quickly, so I'd as soon wait.

John Lisbeth

John Lisbeth Feb 1, 2025, 11:29 AM (4 days ago) to Tefler Page 9 at the top - "stir her fiance." Should be spelled fianc'ee' as spelled on page 26. Same with : "The tantalising smells coming from the tray finally registered with her drowsy fiancé," and other places. Page 11 - " Ever since John told me about what we’re facing, I’ve been praying every night that never happens,” Charles said". I might be getting picky here, but I was under the impression that no one in this story was religious. Might you want to change "praying" to "hoping"? age 12 - " All our hopes and prayers are with you". Sorry, but this shit just bothers me. Not that you should care, of course. ;) Page 24 - “The idea of setting off a distress beacon makes much more sense from a Terran perspective than from a Progenitor’s. Gahl’kalgor’s fleets were scattered and defeated, which Aahn’laetar would have known, as there were no sign of them in the vicinity" . "There was no sign" or "There were no signs"? Is number agreement a problem here? Page 26 - "He’d just wasted several hours sleeping, and Tom only a dozen left until his execution." "He’d just wasted several hours sleeping, and Tom - had - only a dozen left until his execution." Page 32 - " “You have a very unique and powerful gift,” he explained". "Unique" isn't subject to qualification. I suggest " “You have a truly unique and powerful gift,”. John Lisbeth

Michael56Smith

Oh well, it's the 6th, .... Are we going to be disappointed yet again? Tef has finished off a almost finished chapter and dropped it early in the month before, ... but that was fairly long ago, .... he remembers that he once did it, .... so, can he do it again? .... still have my fingers crossed for luck, .... -- hopefully we will see the completion of chapter #173 by end of first week of the month, and a completed or near completed #174 by month's end, ... that would still be pretty good, ... ;-) ttfn

Hendrix Morton
>>163756323

Yes, disappointment abounds around here....To have any chance of keeping his Feb "schedule" he would need to post the rest of 173 either tonight or tomorrow, and I don't expect it on either day....

Michael56Smith
>>163756323

... yeah, Tef's recent patterns are all to the negative, ... but, .... maybe things will turn around, .... maybe, .... my fingers are still crossed, .... ;-) ttfn

Myrnalin

I think john should make a troupe of Rachel apprentices that has healing abilities like her, perhaps not as strong... because by this rate they wont be done healing before the war is over.

AzureReader

Very surprised the after action didn’t mention Rachel, Jehana, and Dana not alternate suppressive fire so everyone isn’t reloading at the same time. Especially since that mistake nearly got everyone killed. Which is something you usually mention in the after action. Sakura, Tashana, and Irillith seemed to do a textbook job of suppressive fire.

AzureReader
>>163756323

Pretty sure Tefler will start writing again around 11 PM on February 28th, London time, and deliver the last 7K words of ch 173 by 5 AM March 1st. Then take all of March off to recover.

Michael56Smith
>>163981794

-- Can John grant the powerful Healing power to anyone else? He mentioned after he topped up Rachel with the Ability, that 'something' didn't want him to pass this power on to non-Progenitors, ... If he tried again would 'something' seek to stop him? .... maybe, ... ;-) ttfn

Myrnalin
>>163949570

I think the Matriarchs are busy enough as is, but I do like the idea of it being a bunch of different thrall groups.

Garrett
>>163488157

I agree 100% with the Walker line. I really want that to resolve in a satisfying way, but it's quite fragmented and I'm struggling to see any broader implications now that John and Co. Have moved on from the Bimorians. I often wish the timeline wasn't so short. Things feel chaotic now.

Garrett
>>163338294

I actually liked it, but the trial timeline doesn't make sense now.

Robert D Hixson
>>163488157

Actually, I'm hoping he will get back to the Brimorians. At the very least to stop them from trading the Abandoned to the Kirrix. Even better freeing them. Also, my "etc" incudes bringing Faye back, the Underworld/Enshu and other subplots I've likely forgotten. Thanks again Tefler!

MVFast

F5, F5, F5…

EroticPoetic
>>163199039

Jim Owens: Or it should have somehow been integrated better, by keeping the Brimorians involved, or the rogue Maliri hackers, or the genetic experiment lab, or an update on the Traitor (Mason?) in the Brimorian ship . . . Or somehow tie them all together into a side arc that introduces a new lioness. . . As it stands, Tefler has 12 hours to make this story relevant in the wake of 2 Progenitor battles with another possibly underway and another possibly jumping in within 4 hours. (Tefler needs to write a quick side story tying up this loose end and call it a chapter against his backlog of 15 placeholders.) Dana needs closure from this, but the Tom Walker arc needs some attention so it ca reintegrate into the main story without feeling like a forced hatchet job.

EroticPoetic

Not much got accomplished this chapter, but at least a lot of comments got addressed with the recap. Hopefully, we will see some storyline progression when the chapter finishes with the final 1/3 of the chapter? Maybe Xar’ will take a Breather to prep for a bigger play, allowing the story to progress… I.e. Fae, Dana & the Starforge, new Invictus, dealing with the 2 claimed fleets - especially strained Galkirans & their unconscious matriarch, securing Kythshara etc. and that’s just what’s happening immediately. We’re all wanting to see the main story progress as well, with John’s parents, the Maliri & Genthalas, Trankarans, Brimorians, Kintark, and T-Fed, but the only way those can be updated is if there’s a lull in the Progenitor battles, that John is aware of so John can start Empire planning and tying in loose story lines.

col ulrick

Dana can get help in building engines, from the Collective, and have them install them too. Problems solved.

Michael56Smith
>>164221169

Problems with grafting new engines onto PBM (Progenitor Black Metal) hulls is that all the Thrall Fleet ships are made from PBM, and are filled with Negative Eldritch energy, .... and if Dana constructs Progenitor level engines out of Crystal Alyssium, like she did for the Invictus, then the Positive and Negative energies would cancel each other out, leaving the fleets stranded once again, ... -- Alternately Dana could use top of the line Trankaran engines and bond them onto the stranded vessels using Maliri Crystal (6x to 10x strength of Titanium), not as fast an engine or as strong of a support material, but they are pretty good, and with a few extra engines the ships could be made almost as maneuverable again, ... -- that just leaves the problem of all the warped and twisted PBM that will need to be removed from the damaged ships before the new engines can be attached, .... that PBM is awesomely strong material, ... -- I think that most of the damaged fleet vessels should be cannibalized, and their engines, weapons and gear can then be grafted onto Maliri vessels, .... making them as fast and as dangerous as the Thrall Fleet ships, just not as structurally tough, ... Do the limited repairs to just the Thrall Battleships (10 stranded fleets with 6 Battleships each = 60 Battleships), as they are a much smaller percentage of the stranded Thrall fleets, (less time used on the repairs by John and Alyssa), ... And also save the food and other consumables from the stripped ships, ... And while repairs and crew transfers are going on, have the Nymphs Kiss the Galkiran Personnel, ... give them all white hair, ... -- anyway, that's what I'd do, ... :-) ttfn

Chandler
>>163710202

also, . “Do you feel guilty about want to burn the Galkirans, or are you worried that I might look at you differently?” wanting to burn instead of want to burn

MVFast
>>164221169

That is an idea for a possible weapon. Think of a spider mine with a rune filled with positive energy. It attaches to the hull, and either by contact, or transmission, it melts, or blows a hole in the hull.

ThunderBird Two
>>164221169

Pretty sure it doesn't work that way. It was the positive psychic energy coming out of John and the girls that started turning the black metal white, and fractured it. Not white metal touching black.

ThunderBird Two
>>163981794

MS I got the impression it was the Prog programming that he was having to overcome. The Progs all have the same powers, skills, troops and tech. Only the colour and specialisation changes. X wouldn't want one getting too much more powerful than the rest. That would reduce the pain, suffering and death if a Prog could conquer others relatively easily. Much better to make them all (relatively) equal to turn it into a meat grinder. It could have been the secret Keth programming I suppose, not wanting a Prog to empower his thralls?

MVFast
>>164221169

Touching isn’t enough, but bonding? They are incompatible, like trying to mix oil and water. The energy flux from Helen, John, and the twins shattered the metal on the progenitor shuttle. Think of that, but imbued in a rune. Remember the progenitor fight when Alyssa hit his hand with an energy lance? That’s another variation on this theme.

Dads Gonna Kill Me
>>163488157

I've been wondering when "Dad" jumps back in... You figure at some point he steps in and helps... Does he get rewarded with his own World? Maybe john sends him to an unclaimed world and allows it to happen? to have an actual Progenitor with power avaulable as a "partner" maybe John or Alyssa Plants a "non Compete" in his brain

Florida Reader
>>164221169

I imagine there may be some trick to “purifying” the PBM — like an exorcism. Maybe Helene will come up with a way to soothe the pain of the souls poured into the metal.

DigitalDreamer

I want to know — who actually cares about the fate of the poor schlep that was framed by the Brimorians? Tom Walker? Was that his name?

20 ton
>>164221169

I’ve been thinking of this but there was no mention of Helene affecting the wrecked drop ships while helping the red forces. It may have been overlooked and she would have to focus to not shatter the black metal. Larn’s focus is still in Dana’s shop. Might be still there for some plot reason.

MVFast
>>164221169

Intensity, and locality. If you’re out in the rain getting wet won’t hurt. But, there are cutters that can output a jet of water that can slice your finger off. If it’s aimed at you from thirty meters away, you might not even get wet.

Michael56Smith
>>164510292

Ah well, it was a rogue Maliri Hacker that provided the Brimorians with the opportunity to take back the Calloppean Shoal's from the Terran Federation, as well as to stack the deck against poor Commander Tom Walker, (thank you Mason Neuman) ... However, this all took place slowly over many, many chapters, so by now a lot of fans are quite tired of this side story and more than ready to move on, ... Especially since there is yet to be a real tie-in to the Lion, ... Tef thought up this side story literally years ago now, ... I think that it would be nice to see it through, .... ;-) ttfn

Grandizer
>>164221169

Hmmm, I thought that when he and a Lioness made screwed on a bed made of PBM it changed white? I seem to remember this happening on a ship that they had boarded and freaked Alyssa out and she had to leave. But once they had "turned it white" it no longer bothered her. I suspect that the soul forge is using the dead energy from thralls killed and Dana will make some sort of soul forge that uses the energy from thralls loved?

20 ton
>>164221169

I’ve speculated that the nymphs were used to make the white metal. Valada talked about their service and that was 50 or so thousand years after the Achonin. Jade has already powered the soul forge to finish the wormhole generator. Unless being close to the star replicates the psychic energy infusion process, something other than Mal was used to produce the white metal under the summer home.

20 ton
>>164221169

As far as engines to repair Gal damaged fleets, Malari crystal could be used as an insulator if they haven’t learned how to exorcise the black metal. Because of the number needed, if the proginator engines can’t be built from crystal Dana may be able to build a super Tark engine that is mass producible. I can’t see them wasting all those ships and crews.

Greg Hill
>>164510292

It can tie in with the gifted children's plotline from a couple of years ago, when Dana was traced back to being part of that program. Now that we've seen Admiral Walker abandon his son on the path of expediency, Dana can finally find her long lost direct family member in Tom Walker, as Alyssa did with Pearl?...I know, I know, it's not exactly that straight forward!

Greg Hill
>>163710202

"I might be getting picky here, but I was under the impression that no one in this story was religious. Might you want to change "praying" to "hoping"?" .............besides, both Charles and Fleet Admiral Devereaux, should know by now that God(Mael') was taken out in the battle against Rahn', and now he's just a restless, subservient soul, confined to the deep astral...so praying to him would do nothing whatsoever....John needs to share more info/intel with the T-Fed.

Joel Wyrick
>>164510292

As much as I love this story, I admit I skimmed over much of the Tom Walker stuff once he was arrested.

Greg Hill

"John felt a sudden surge, and a soothing wave of psychic energy washed over him, allowing him to redouble his efforts. The black cable began to vibrate, the tremors intensifying as the internal battle of willpower raged within Caerthyna. The vibrations became more pronounced until the eldritch cord began to judder uncontrollably, then it finally blew apart, exploding in a burst of dark slivers that fled from her body like shadows fleeing a breaking dawn." So, what exactly happened here? where did this soothing wave of psychic energy come from, and will this be long awaited breakthrough in John's case, as it relates to his untapped potential? ...did either of these 3 things have anything to do with it? 1) additional power from his nymphs. 2) additional power from the recruitment of new allied thrall troops, via the nymph kisses. 3) finally, a breakthrough in his own Kyth'farien, unknown and untapped, inherent powers with this battle against the "Darkside"? I missed the significance of this "sudden surge" the first go round as I read, but it seemed like it came from him(John) this time...it opens doors for the story... Anyway, I'm hoping it's #3

Michael56Smith
>>164629525

-- I thought it (the soothing wave of ... power) was Eldritch energy just gained from his just claiming of the Aeltari Empire's many. many Thralls, through his claiming of Caerthyna, ... ;-) ttfn

MVFast

F5, F5, F5

MVFast
>>163488157

They do know what the Maliri are, and have knowledge of progenitors, but I don’t think they are a thrall race. If so, they are the only ones ever mentioned with males in charge.

stephen mincher
>>163488157

If the women were husked previously then they would be more men left to creat a matriarchal society.

MVFast
>>163488157

But, just like the Maliri, after a single generation had passed, they’d be back to 20 to 1.

MVFast
>>163488157

Another point. He cut his bond with Valada, so she would suffer, but (apparently) the link that makes the thralls kill themselves was cut too. However, what about Mael’nerak’s thralls. Weren’t they still linked to him? If so, when he died, every adult female but Valada would have died too. Perhaps just before detonating his wormhole drive, he must have cut himself off from everyone then.

Michael56Smith

-- Monday, 02/17/2025. so only 11 more days until the End of the Month when we all expect Tef's Habitual dropping of any new material, .... I guess that a slow but good story is better than no story at all, ... -- and F5 F5 F5 F5 F5, .... ;-) ttfn

Frice65

Tef, I can’t access TSM Ch. 173. Wondering if I needed to change pmt option sooner. Done now. Can you give me access to Ch. 173 or am I SOL?

Michael56Smith
>>165039907

--As of 31 January 2025, only a 2/3 length chapter #173 was available, .... posted between placeholders #187 and #186, ... his note made us think we might get a completed chapter within the first week in February, ... but so far, it's been Nada, ... ;-) ttfn

Michael56Smith

---- Where oh where are you tonight? -- Why did you leave me here all alone? --- I searched the world over, --- and thought I found a truly lovely story, ... -- But 'til the End of Month, phutt! ,,,, you wuz gone, .... ;-) ttfn

Michael56Smith
>>165422426

--- it was a warm and sunny weather day today in California, and I felt a song bubble up, ... ;-) ttfn

MVFast

A week to go.

Mapstar

I can’t wait for the next placeholders

Myrnalin
>>165422426

I am impressed, I would be singing funeral songs atm, If I was living in Murica. Hope you are good!

Michael56Smith
>>165422426

"What you talkin' about Willis?" .... here in the good ole USA, we have finally gotten the 'Ship of State' going in the correct direction again, ... things are looking up, ... So, I'm good, ... Yay! ... ;-) ttfn

Michael56Smith

-- 02/24/2025, Monday, ... looking forward to Friday (EOM), and all (?) the New TSM words that Tef will drop on us, ...I at least expect a completed #173, .... and possibly a few additional chapters (#174-#175-#176?), .... fingers crossed, .... 'til later this week, my hope remains, ... ;-) ttfn

MVFast
>>165820768

My opinion? The rest of 173. Yes. Part of 174. Yes. All of 174? Possible. If (and only if) we get all of 174, then it’s possible we’ll get some or all of 175. All of 175? Unlikely. If we get all of 175, will we get part or all of 176? Extremely unlikely, but we can dream.

MVFast
>>165820768

Addendum. We won’t get part of 176 under any circumstance. It’ll be all of it or none of it.

AzureReader
>>163353728

Doesn’t this imaginary gun already fire at faster than light hyperwarp speeds? How much faster does it have to go?

MVFast

Not much longer…

Michael56Smith

-- Yeah, not much longer, ... it's 2/27/2025 as I type this, Thursday, ... can hardly wait for late Friday to get here, when I'll have some new TSM to read, Yay! ... ;-) ttfn

Michael56Smith
>>166165816

-- but a ghostwriter's credit might be nice, huh? ,,, -- and if he does hire you, see if you can get some fresh chapters added on to the free sites, he's fallen way behind, .... thanks .... ;-) ttfn

Michael56Smith

it is Friday, 02/28.2025, so it's EOM, when Tef likes to drop us a present or two, ... it's about 9:30am, so about 11 to 12 hours left to go, .... yay, I can't wait, ... ;-) ttfn

Michael56Smith

,,, F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5, .... ;-) TTFN

andrew finlayson
>>165767533

Well it certainly shows an active imagination. He relies on us for the 'suspension of disbelief' bit though ;)

MVFast

F5 F5 F5…

Michael56Smith
>>166303901

...it's here! and before 7pm (PST), just a bit early for Tef, .... but I'm not complaining, .... ;-) ttfn

John Lisbeth

Page 24: Gahl’kalgor’s fleets were scattered and defeated, which Aahn’laetar would have known, as there were no sign of them in the vicinity. Should it be  - as there was no sign - or - as there were no signs? Page 30: Helene and Ailita were able to make a big difference by helping me claim the Aeltarians and saved a lot of lives.  Should that be, "save a lot of lives"? Page 34: Have fun the twins, they both deserve some attention. Should that be, "Have fun with the twins"? Page 38: If he loads up Lina and Tamar, then they spend the next few months pining after him, you can forget about recruiting anyone else. Would, "If he loads up Lina and Tamar, then they'll spend the next few months pining after him and you can forget about recruiting anyone else" be smoother?Page 42: John pretend to give her question serious consideration.Should that be, "prended"? "An author is a jealous god".  But I always have an editor or two. John Lisbeth

Greg Hill
>>164510292

It would seem that all of the crew has had some kind of family closure...except for Dana! Alyssa=Pearl...Calara=entire Fernandez family...Jade=5 additional Nymphs aboard...Rachel=Mother & Father closure...Irillith/Tashana=new mother dynamics...Faye=A gifted child in Daphne...Sakura=afterlife familial experience...Helene=questions yet to be answered but possible new matriarch...Jehanna=issues with family still to be resolved but not too serious......But Dana???=no one! Tom Walker may be the perfect answer...

Garrett
>>165767533

Did anyone have. "My made up family gave me the pretend flu" on their shitty-excuses bingo card?

Garrett
>>164510292

I did, genuinely. I liked that story a lot when it was still relevant... which it no longer is.