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I'll aim to finish this second chapter by the third week of January, which will give me time to write a chargeable chapter in the final week. 

All the scenes are already scheduled in the timeline, and I've sketched out details and dialogue for some of them already. That makes a tremendous difference to how quickly I can write a chapter, so barring any unforeseen disasters, I should be able to finally catch up for good.

There's a lot of interesting stuff coming after the Galkiran invasion, so I'm probably as eager to finish the battle with Gahl'kalgor as you are!

Cheers

Tefler

Comments

Nonconformist

Austin Mills, Tefler said 162 by the 3rd week. He hasn't mentioned 161at all,but regardless I bet we get charged no matter what. I wonder what excuses will be used this time. And as always when patrons complain about it Michael Smith will try to shut everyone down on it and drone on forever about how great Tefler is.

Nonconformist

"prolific with his updates" . Where has that happened? It hasn't been here.

jdg45

About time Tefler honoured his promises! As it must be completed release at least 161 now...

Unresolved Plots

I'll aim, the first two words in this placeholder post, are not a promise, at least so far as I understand English!

Keepit simple

My calendar says we are almost at end of third week of January. Love the story and expectations are that we hopefully get one chapter on 1/31. Want more but I am realist. Prepare for worst and hope for better. I want Faye to get her ring!!!!

Richard de Leeuw

Saturday 21st of January one day away from entering the last week of January, that's cutting it real close with the deadlines especially since we didn't get chapter 161 yet. I guess he will not react to anything again until the end of the month. This lack of communication and taking his supporters for granted is grating on me and i start to really think about stopping my support altogether. Honestly it is not the money, I reduced my contribution after the first few placeholders, It really is the lack of communication and the lack of updates

Unresolved Plots

Curious Karen is going to complain to the manager regardless what you say Michael. This noble crusade against Tefler pre-charging will go on. They can look at themselves in the mirror with genuine pride that they are standing up for everyone's god given rights and freedoms. How dare this erotic sci-fi fiction writer state he'll "aim" to release two more chapters by the third week of the month and then not release any. The temerity of it. Even though it was not a promise to deliver, it is enough to make people so furious that they will repeatedly make posts about how angry they are. One post is not enough, they should come back every few hours and post more messages conveying their anger at the awful situation. Martin Luther King, Ghandi etc must be looking down from heaven with tears in their eyes, moved by their heroism. The fact is, Tefler has pre-charged for around a year, which shows that it is not against Patreon rules. People can complain that this is the case, which they repeatedly do, but imho, it is a bit sad that this is what they choose to spend their precious time doing. How many hours have you spent writing these complaints and reading comments by others making the same complaints, sometimes multiple times? The main small group of 20 or so repeating complainants have let it be known that they have reduced their contributions to the minimum. If it was me and I was so riled up about my cup of coffee (which is essentially what they are paying for the two outstanding chapters) not being to my liking or taking too long to be made, I think I would just cut my losses and leave the establishment.

Michael56Smith

.247: In the here and now, 21st century, it is Chinese New Year 2023: the Year of the Rabbit, .... but what about in Tef's 28th century, ... considering everything that Tef has run the Invictus crew through, I would guess it was the year of the Dragon there, ... we should ask, ... ;-) TTFN

John Gregory

I have no issues waiting if there was a reason for the delays. I even have no issues being pre-charged if there was a good reason, but what bothers me is that we are never given any reason. Tefler does not communicate with his followers. I spent 2.5 years not working because I take immunosuppressive drugs and due to being prescribed steroids for over 5 years, my bones became so brittle that I fractured 8 vertebrae working in the garden. I am not a rich man. Every penny counts. I can't afford to start buying coffees, so I do have a bee in my bonnet if I am supporting someone's £12,000 per month lifestyle and not getting anything in return, without so much as a "boo" from Tefler.

Anthony Kester

This just in to the TFNN news desk. A new Discord server has been created for Tefler's epic and it's growing. Reports coming in suggest intelligent conversation and reasonably mature members. For further information go to https://discord.gg/tXEPg9PuhM

New Guy

Hey y'all, reading the comments is amusing for sure, but I actually like this story, genre, and style.. don't really even care about the x-rated aspect, though it is a great tool as a catalyst for the change.. anyone have similar stories they know of while we wait??

Newnotsure

The 23rd is gone and no 161 yet come on Tefler

Sergey Kravtsov

It's 24th and the next person to bitch is an old kintark pair of wrinkled jingle-berries XD

Ralf

Hope tefler doesn’t get his kids hopes up like he does his fans… lots of disappointment in the future

WVNCRich

Hey, Michael56Smith, I was re-reading Burntredstone's The Shepherd of Ashburn Court, for the 5th or 6th time, and at the end of Chapter 5, saw your comment from a month ago. Glad to see you have enjoyed Ben's story.

HillCountryCowboy

January 24th…sigh… The only thing I want more than Tefler to rush out some chapters is for Tefler to not rush out anything not as good as it can be.

John Gregory

Well now... Mr Michael56Smith, am I onto something? Since my last response to your rather rude comment, and the observation that I made, you certainly seem to have changed your tune somewhat... hmmmm 🤔 Not that it makes any difference. I will still support Tefler because I love the story, I just don't agree with his lack of consideration for his fans. It somewhat reminds me of when John didn't understand how his father could survive for thousands of years marooned on his own after having been surrounded by thousands of beautiful women who loved him with all their being, until he remembered that his father didn't give a damn about any of them.

stephen mincher

Tefler will be dammed if he stays silent or responds to posts. He will have gauged the decrease in patrons with regard to the income generated up/down and possibly considered the gamble worthwhile approaching the latter stages of the story(or not:)) So he could be preparing for the next saga(yeah). He could twist the knife by posting ‘Another 15** words and no-one died, getting there, soon be your’s.’

Nick White

( gets popcorn , and threeD glasses out , pulls up a chair ) I'm just here to watch you guys be shitty to each other by this point so......... entertain me ! I demand more petty squabbles , more name calling and more of the snide comments!

Newnotsure

Stirring Stirring where will it go lol

Michael56Smith

.303: F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5, ..... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.304: .... (?) ,,,. are we going to see #161 and #162 by EOM, and some (a partial?) of #163, maybe? that's my most hopeful wish right now, .... ;-) TTFN

Who Me

And if you believe THAT ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Keepit simple

Guys I think my calendar is broken... Not about being charged, I want deadlines discussed met because I want Faye back! Though finding a few other great authors to follow while waiting.

Stuhero

I hate being right sometimes. I said in the first week of the month that we would see 161 by the end of the month with another precharge for 163 following close on its heels.

AzureReader

Last month Tef released 159 on the 27th and still got the second chapter done by the 31st. Tef can still deliver two chapters but every hour that goes by now makes that less likely.

TF007

Can’t wait for Faye being on her knees to be a good girl for John. 💜.

Michael56Smith

.317: Besides the often quoted and the more often misquote of 'next chapter by the third week (of January)', ... Tef also wrote that: "There's a lot of interesting stuff coming after the Galkiran invasion, so I'm probably as eager to finish the battle with Gahl'kalgor as you are," .... this particular Asshat has been lurking around for a very long time, .... ole Kal must be defeated, but not killed (thus keeping Xar'azuith in the dark, a high priority) and that's a bummer, ... but AFTER the Galkirian invasion is over with I expect John will have yet another empire and a few more fleets to use in freeing the Abandoned and giving the Brimorians a good fillet, .... Alyssa has to open her Trading station, ... Tom Walker needs a little not so blind justice, .... and Charles needs to get into a certain red-headed Admiral's pants, .... lots of loose threads to tie off, .... but 'more interesting stuff', that doesn't sound like Tef is planning to wind down this series yet, ... ;-) TTFN

Kevin Murray

Doesn't Gahl’kalgor have to die for the Gahlkiran thralls to be able to become John's wards?

John Gregory

And what ever happened to the storyline of the people who took over the station in the wastelands? Forget the names, but is that the end of it? Or is that the basis for another story that Tef has set up?

mouadh housseini

The enshunus!! I'm still waiting for their comeuppance too (and finally understanding what happened to the Achonins)

TF007

Enshunu won’t be until the sequels

Mike Saxion

Will we ever get a status of where Tefler is with his writing? Why does he believe he must work in a vacuum? He desires us as fans and paying fans at that but not communications at all. Why??? Does he not like accountability? Why??

AlbertaJack

book suggestion - great expectations ... ha ha ha

Lawrence

Best case scenario at this point would be two chapters and one placeholder. Actually, that wouldn’t be bad at all.

Keepit simple

Only thing I am sure of is at least 1 precharge....don't worry Faye we are all pushing to get you back!

DigitalDreamer

Or four chapters, exploding heads from y'all in the peanut gallery, and an entire chapter devoted to the punishing of Alyssa, Jade and Ailita for failure to ensure John was attended in the shower. Put the wood to them back at the wood shed, I say. NO MERCY!!!!!

curious couple

3 days left In the month with nothing posted by Tefler yet SMH. The funny thing is even though tefler was paid over $14k (before taxes and fees) for the 2 chapters he precharged us for at the end of last month I'm sure he's going to fail to catch up again and want to precharge us again this month lol. Sadly the fanatical brown nosers still see nothing wrong in how this author continues to conduct business immoral or not. I seriously hope tefler stops this shady shit and gets it together for you guys but I'm done no matter how good the story is!

Unresolved Plots

Wonderful news! If Tefler does not manage to post the two outstanding chapters before months end and posts more placeholders at the start of next month, then the other (around 10-20) persistent trollers might also decide to leave? Silver linings!

Who Me

We couldn't get THAT lucky!

Hendrix Morton

Lucky? So when enough leave, and Tefler can no longer afford to continue because his income has dropped so low, and has to stop writing and get a non-writing job...or he has to do 4+ placeholders a month to survive with the new income reality....that's lucky?

DigitalDreamer

Take 'em to the woodshed, Tefler. Ailita needs a stiff come-uppance for failing to report for shower duty.

Marc O'Polo

Good bye my friends, I quit, too much waiting. Have a good life

TF007

F5♾️

Big Orca

About another 30 hours before the monthly drop.

Michael56Smith

.395: Tef: "I'll aim to finish this second chapter by the third week of January, which will give me time to write a chargeable chapter in the final week. " So, we assume that the 'second' chapter he refers to is #162, and he intends to then write #163 by EOM for the Payday it would give him, ... but nowhere does he say that he will drop #161 or #162 earlier in the month (third week?), ... So, we might get all 3 chapters by EOM, or two- and one-half chapters this month, ... Happy New Years, and Happy Ground Hogs Day too, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.396: An optimist: ... with all this shit, there must be a pony in here somewhere, ... ;-) TTFN

Phil Dean

What can go wrong will

Phil Dean

Sods law, Murphy was an optimist

Michael56Smith

.403: Larry Niven: Known Space series: "Finagle Murphy", .... ;-) TTFN

Gert

Hell it's only a couple bucks. I'm hoping he will drop soon but I'm not going to cancel over it. We get charged by the chapter. If he charges in advance, again, only a few bucks. So...the wait shall continue.

Michael56Smith

.406: ... I recall a few years back, when Tef skipped a month or two fairly regularly, ... now with the commitment from the pre-paid chapters 'forcing' him to produce the next month, we do get at least one chapter a month, and sometimes more, .... NO COMPLANTS HERE, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.407: ... The Galkirian invasion: will the Maliri in requisitioned vessels get to fight? or will John (and Sakura) challenge and battle Gahl'kalgor (and Valeria) and eliminate the deciding battles? thoughts? ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.408: .... then, John, as their new leader, can send the Galkirian fleets (those that are remaining) against the Fish-Faces (the Brimorians) and set the Abandoned free, ... ;-) TTFN

matthew

john gonna kill gal kal and take valeria as his show her what real love is

AzureReader

Is it still the third week in January?

Tim Sims

I think I missed the notification when chapter 162 was published...how do I download it?!?

Michael56Smith

.416: The thought for the day is Rahn'hagon, John's pop, and Jessica's main squeeze, .... he is somewhat along the path from Misoganystic Asshat to an almost decent human being, ... almost, ... now it took him about 9.67 millennia as a Hermit studying in the Citadel / Library of Knowledge, then another 4 decades with Jessica (although she was under his thrall) to come as far as he has so far, ... the last few weeks / months since Larn's death, and Alyssa freeing Jessica from Rahn's control will have pushed his evolution to the limit (poor guy), perhaps more than the previous time under shroud all together, ... So, the question is: How much more growing up time does Rahn need? months, years, a stern talking to or maybe a few of those, ... just so John won't kill him on sight, and maybe give him back his former Empire (lately the Galkirian Empire), when he is able to manage / restore / to build correctly with Jessica's help, .... any thoughts? ... ;-) TTFN

Phelan Hood

Too much history as a mass murdering psycho, only redemption I can see is through a noble sacrifice.

Anthony Kester

F5... F5... F5 (crack, snap) O Boy, broke another keyboard.

Anthony Kester

Do you want style and performance? The all new Matsubara Z-900 hoverbike is waiting for you. Just go to your nearest Matsubara dealership and you too can live the dream. https://discord.gg/tXEPg9PuhM

TF4EVA

yes maybe pointless but just in case F5 F5 F5....

Michael56Smith

.430: .... Come on Tuesday evening (USA left coast time) and more / new TSM for all of us good boys and girls, ... Like a second Christmas morning, in the evening, F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 etc, ... ;-) TTFN

Chris

Teller, as much as I love your story and as invested as I have become in it, I am just as frustrated at the charging practice and unfulfilled (self made) deadlines. You finally got yourself caught up at the end of the year, simply to charge not 1 but 2 chapters early. You said you would have them out by the 3rd week of January. Here it is the last day, and they aren’t delivered. Based on previous practices, I assume they will be delivered minutes before the monthly charges for February. Where you will deliver them make 1 or 2 posts yo precharge for February. So in response, I have decided to cut my support in half as well as limit my donation to 1 charge a month. When you return to a practice of charging for what you have created, vice will eventually create, I will return to paying what I was prior.

TF007

12 hours to go…..F5…F5…F5

matthew

tef work with this guy and get us some more art work please Elias Stern Freelance Illustrator Vienna, Austria elias_stern.artstation.com

Michael56Smith

.437: Alright, it has been eight days, from when he said it was already halfway done, and that was from his sickbed, ... so how much longer? -- You Know you were thinking it too, you addicted to TSM, fan you, ... ;-( TTFN

Michael56Smith

.440: Well, its only 4 more days until the 28th, ... My guess is for Tef to have gotten his act together enough to finish off the TSM #161 chapter, but maybe not much else, .... and fingers crossed for #161, ... I can not wait much longer to see Gahl'kalgor get his and then to see Dana at the Trankaran Star Forges, ... lately the Invictus crew has slapped on so much new gear / weapons and made it work, but just wait for them to do a total superstructure makeover, ... the Grand Engineering overlord will go nuts, .... A newer Lagoon, a new Dojo, but what else, some kind of a game room? some AI assisted classrooms? maybe some snow, for skiing, snowboarding, snowball fights, etc? ... or something else that's both big and crazy for a space ship, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.445: WAG for future chapters of TSM; Tom Walker, a jailbreak, then galactic fugitive? At about the time Dana finally gets to examine the Star Forges, ... and maybe they knock out a dreadnought buster Destroyer with it and take it for a test cruise, ... they come across the Rat of the Federation, and learn his side of things, and offer to help, ... one possible new story thread, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.446: Okay, Saint Patrick's Day has come and gone (Yes, I made a pot of Corned beef and Cabbage), ... It is likely way too soon to expect any new chapters from our Tef, ... So, I am still in the mood to entertain speculations on what may come in the next few chapters, ... We have John and the girls gamely tackling Gahl'kalgor's Fleets, in defense of the Maliri, ... All of John's girls are training hard to improve their psychic talents and that might be a factor soon, ... but a group of Galkarin scouts have spotted one of the Maliri worlds, ... preventive measures have been taken to save lives, but how much damage will these cruisers do? And elsewhere in Maliri space, the first 95,000 Abandoned have been brought to a formerly abandoned Maliri, coastal, city (on Valaden) and we might get to see them settling in, ... Requisitioned Laranthyran fleets, manned by Maliri are racing back to Kythshara, will they make it in time? Will we get to see John (with Sakura) challenge Gahl'kalgor (and Valeria) to melee combat to decide the fates of billions? ... And what have Lynette and Charles been up to on Olympus Shipyard, ... Will there be more 'on the fly' upgrades to the Invictus? ... and will Tom Walker break jail, and be galactic fugitive #1? ... How might the Lion of the Federation meet up with the Rat of the Federation? ... and will John and his girls help him? and is he really related to Dana? (Siblings, Cousins, or very distant cousins?), ... Updates on relocating all the Maliri males, .... I might have forgotten to mention something(s) as there's a lot going on, .... please share your thoughts and ideas, ... Comment please, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.447: I think that the Invictus, and especially John, really misses and needs an onboard AI (Faye did so much, and was operational 24/7, she was worth many regular crew), some of the fanfiction TSM stories show alternate timelines where John and his 'new' gang save a version of Nexus, and build Progenitor Servers earlier in the timeline to be the home of many purple pixies from the device that Tashana found, and that later generated our Faye, but sadly our Faye was not in that timeline, . .. but some interesting fan fiction has some others, like a couple of (gay) male AIs, and several AIs with personalities very different from Faye, these females all of a purple pixie AI originating nature, ... and here, with so many AIs wiped out in Tef's, primary. Main TSM storyline we seem to need a good way to recreate some high-end AI's, ... maybe find a new / working 'hacking deck' or at least its schematics on Kythshara? find an interesting Vulkat information processing device? or a very old Achonin device? Something, ... ;-) TTFN

Cocchi Tech

Where is chapter 162, I have 161 and now a partial 163....

Teocynn

Holy shit dude. Dropping mostly two chapters, merely to catch up mind you, was great. But then to pre-charge for TWO chapters?! Just because you have consistently painted yourself into a financial corner? Given your recent history one was honestly expected but, again, TWO?! You have officially lost your damn mind.

Sol Tangoran

You almost had me. I was going to up my membership to what it used to be before you started charging early. I love your work man, I really do, but to double charge for work you haven't completed? I'm disappointed. I may just wait for the chapters to be published on SOL. If this is the only income you have coming in, then I'd suggest getting caught up faster and getting ahead. This practice of double charging with no results has forced me to downgrade my membership to the lowest possible. Please don't make me cancel my membership.

Jesse Hobson

You had a chance to catch up. You honestly need $15k a month enough to keep asking us to pay early? Just catch up man.

Jesh

Lol. I'll see you guys Jan 31.

JP

Oh this is gonna be good 🍿

Hendrix Morton

I expected one pre-charge, but two? After being behind so long and finally getting caught up?? Two?? You must seriously have balls the size of John's!!!

Vincent

Tefler, this is stupid. get your finances in order some other way but dont abuse your fanbase. you had a lot of trust credit and used it all up and then some. it would be a shame for this saga to end, just because you precharged for the better part of a year and then went on to double charge. what are you gonna do in february? double charge again? then you miss one chapter because something unforseen happens (it always does, for everyone, especially if you have kids) now you are three behind. Tefler as a fan and supporter of your work, please stop this because your are biting the hand that feeds, even if its just 5$/per month or less to most, paying for something early is not what we signed up for, even if you deliver the chapters at some point.

Emma B

Well, I was wondering, it was very unlike you to be all caught up. At least your pre charging us remains a constant going into the new year……..

Johnnyjohn

Month after month… shouldn’t be surprised. If a business on the streets did this to us we all would stop going there. It’s just bad business and abuse of your readers. I might feel different if I thought you at least felt remorseful for doing this to us. But I think you stopped feeling like that after the second placeholder. I love the story, but I will leave after tomorrow and come back in 6 months and pay a dollar and give you a bit of the F U back.

Michael56Smith

.13: Hey guys, he's trying to get caught up, life gets in the way, and he does need some income, ... food, bills etc, ... And perhaps this is almost the end of his placeholder days, ... well, we are living in interesting times, .... ;-) TTFN

DemonHunterCole

I’m going to give Tefler the benefit of the doubt for two reasons. First, is that he caught up to the prior prepaid chapters despite the majority of us not believing he could. Second, is that he visited the friendlier of the two discords the other day and talked to us, took the trolling he received, and then still continued to answer questions.

Marcus Riccitti

I think he needs a financial advisor. Seriously.

James Dougherty

Bring on the fight! I'm eager to see John and Sakura take a stab at tag-teaming Gahl'kalgor. Fight for my amusement!

Thanatos95

Who cares about Ghal'kalgor? The guys doomed. I want Faye back! Also, will you be posting the backlog on Lit?

Tyler Poore

I mean he HAS to do a double pre charge, so many of his patrons have left or reduced their contributions~ one precharge won't cover it. Wait till it turns into 3 precharged/month. I've about had it myself. I do believe I'll be dropping this subscription very shortly myself. Great story, tired of the shenanigans.

Ronnie Haas

I am quitting this Circus ride. I quit reading the chapters a year ago or so because they got so far apart I could not remember what was going on and found myself having to reread the prior chapters to follow the story line. I thought I would "bank" few chapter and read them all at once. Well I found while the story is interesting I have lost interest in it because of your poor business practices. I do not care anymore what event in your personal life is causing you to not do your job. Yes YOUR job. Your the one that quit regular work to write full time. So guess what that makes writing your JOB!!!!!!! We all have family and have things happen. We still have to work to pay your bills. This constantly charging place holders for unwritten chapters is like no showing at a regular job. So like a regular job I am FIRING YOU!!!!!!!

WanderingScot

At least we now have the option of limiting our max. $ contribution each month. When Tef gets back into producing more than one chapter a month regularly I will be happy to raise or eliminate the "Limiting Option"

Marie E Ward

The placeholder thing is starting to get frustrating. I want to find out what happens next and the story is always awesome,but...I do wish you'd stop it.

Anthony Kester

MEN!!! Admiral Kester here. I am looking for volunteers to join an elite group. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to go to the new Discord Server, "The Invictus, a Three Square Meals Forum" and have fun discussing everything 3SM. DISMISSED!!! https://discord.gg/tXEPg9PuhM Also, leave "RAMMING SPEED" to me.

Dominic Janning

Two precharge. The is just ridiculous! It was bad enough when it was one. You seriously need to look at your finances. This is not ok.

David

I’m Done! This place holder bs has gone too far. Seriously disappointed in you Tef.

Anthony Kester

Tefler was referring to Patreon when he made that comment about the toxic comments. In fact, Tefler has not only joined "The Invictus, a Three Square Meals Forum", but has answered questions ranging from billing to the story. The members of my fan server are free to express their opinions as long as they can follow the rules, unlike another fan server. So, if you want to discuss topics related to Three Square Meals without worrying if your post will be deleted, come join us. https://discord.gg/tXEPg9PuhM

IanBio

I decided to stop paying Tefler for so long as he precharges. I still read the chapters each month - not difficult to do but I will not post the method here. The moment he gets ahead of himself and stops this precharging nonsense I will revert to being a paying and happy customer. I am sure I am not alone. Graphtreon gives an informative picture of Teflers supporters and income. https://graphtreon.com/creator/user?u=3814558 . He is on a slippery slope which suggests his time as a full time writer may be numbered.

Balogun Gaa

WTF!!! Nah I like Tefler and appreciate his fantastic story, but I won't be taken for a fool anymore. Once I get my 2 chapters that I've been charged for irregardless of consent I'm out. It's just a dollar or two so the money is not the problem, but the gall of Tefler is really starting to grate.

Unresolved Plots

Tefler seems to have turned a corner at the end of December, having written and posted two chapters in the final two weeks of the month, probably because he has the entire war planned out scene by scene and it is just a case of getting it written out on paper. I posted this on Discord (the original TSM one) and think it is worth repeating here:- His recent updates are actually very promising imho. He said he is excited to move to the next arc of the story after the war, which bodes well for his production of the next couple of chapters, since he seems motivated and likely has his mojo back. He has 750 words of notes/plans for upcoming scenes, which he says helps to increase his production and is aiming to publish 2 further chapters by week 3 of this month. Those two chapters likely take us to the end of this war and the following chapter, which Tefler is aiming to have written enough of to publish by months end, will likely be the aftermath. This chapter could include the fate of the Galkirans (maybe a visit there), a visit to Earth to rescue Tom Walker, Lynette's meeting with High Command, the Outer Rim rebellion continuing, Jehanna's relationship with her parents, more Kythshara revelations, accessing the bunker under Valada's palace, a big tech update at the Star Forges, a visit to Brimor to save the Abandoned/deal with Athgiloi, a return to Larathyra, probably setting up the next Progenitor threat and... the small matter of Faye's return. Imo it is unlikely that Tefler can fit even half of these plot arcs into one chapter, which again is good, because it means he has plenty of material going forward to keep his mojo for the foreseeable future. For example, the visit to the Star Forges could be a whole chapter in and of itself and I hope it is since I really enjoy the ship update chapters! I forgot about the gate at Arcadia and the hidden border stations too!

Mojarra

So, most of us seem to have a quandary on our hands. We like this story very much, but hate the “charge one month and maybe delivery wha’ts paid for the next”. How to resolve this? In my case, knowing that nothing I say here will influence Teflers behavior, I’m resolving it to my own satisfaction as best I can. A couple of months ago, I capped my patronage level to what amounts to one chapter per month. This month we got two chapters, then pre-paid for two - but because I capped my payments, I only paid for one. Assuming Tefler produces two chapters this month, and pre-charges for two, I’ll have received two chapters and again only paid for one. I’ll be caught up, in a way. I can then uncap my payments so that Tefler gets paid for what he produces. Then, if Tefler catches up himself on his pre-payments, I’ll boost my patronage to match.

IanBio

Another neat way to keep Tefler more honest. Well done. Better than my method.

Vell Stillings

You can have my two bucks a month whenever you want but I'll still never forgive you for killing Faye.

Sut

We, the complainers, love the story, just not Tefler precharging for content not delivered. We are trying to stay as paying customers of Tefler and have offered many solutions and olive branches to fix this problem and keep supporting Tefler. All of which has been completely ignored by Tefler. If you have not noticed, Tefler is losing a large amount of Patrons and a large amount that are staying have dropped their support to the minimum amount and 1 charge per month. If Tefler does not get his head out of his ass and stop precharging he will lose so many more Patrons that it might not be enough to support his family anymore. Are all of the Tefler enablers prepared to up your support for every person that leaves because Tefler refuses to even reply to our complaints? If you want to read to the end of TSM as we all do, you should be pushing Tefler to get his act together so he will make more $ per chapter, not less, as is the current trend. Then he could have a long very profitable career as a profession author, not fizzle out and have to go back to a 9-5. All of last year Tefler got further and further behind. He was able to write two chapters in December but precharged for two more, meaning he made zero progress toward getting back to not precharging. That means I can no longer support Tefler as a Patron. I have not read the last two chapters because it is pretty disappointing to see all valid complaints go completely ignored. I hope Tefler gets caught up and his support increases and you guys get to read all the why through the end of TSM. Maybe I will get to read it many years from now on the free sites. I'm not going to even download the last two chapters, going to leave them behind along with Tefler's horrible business practice this last year and a half. Congratulations Tefler, you have successfully stolen $1 from me with these last two precharges.

Marc O'Polo

I'm going to see what happens until the end of the month, If I don't like it I'll call it quits.

Marc O'Polo

With Chapter 160, Tefler said: Quote "This chapter ends on a grim note, not really fitting for a New Year's celebration. I'll add the final scene tomorrow which will rectify that, so you might want to wait until tomorrow evening, or just go ahead and read it now, the choice is up to you!" Unquote. Have you seen that final scene? Because I haven't.

Huber

Placeholder for Chapter 161 Tefler may need to finance his month - a habit discussed here up and down, we may like it or not, being self-employed myself I join those who don't like it. But granting himself a new-year bonus in the form of pre-charging chapter 162 is quite brazen.

Who Me

No - he needed to pay for his children's presents!

James Simmons

I too have moved down to $1.00 tier, if he can get caught up I may move back up.

matthew

we so need translations of the progen names rahn,gal,wael, and any other i want to know what their translation is

Grey Manley

a brief annotated list of characters, though you've done better character development than most

matthew

i want picks of maliri and thrall ships my imagination is good but i could still use some help

Johnkr

When a progenitor dies, does xar know what killed him?

Michael56Smith

.108: I think that John's runeblade and now Sakura's will be hungry to drain Kal's psychic strength, ... defeating him, but not killing him, ... let him live to play with his little boat, ... and also let Valeria beat and ravish him all she wants, .... just with orders not to kill him, .... ;-) TTFN

matthew

hey guys check out this patreon artist TigrSasha hes got some searious maliri art scroll down to see his samples if you dont want to join the blue babes are so perfict

Grey Manley

Tigrsasha appears to be of the feminine persuasion.

Nonconformist

Tefler, you stated you were trying to post 162 by the 3rd week in January. When is 161 supposed to post?

WVNCRich

Admiral Kester, sir! The Steelers did in your Browns 😇🍻

matthew

how fast are the earth ships on the story

Anthony Kester

The New Eden Railroad is currently looking for new employees. If you want to sell you soul to an evil, planetwide, multi billion credit a year railroad, we have a position for you. Just come on down to the all new Discord Server to apply. https://discord.gg/tXEPg9PuhM

wally ballou

Excuse me I am not much up on Einstein's relativity stuff but traveling at FTL and then returning to the point of origin...wouldn't the people left behind be much older because time does not stand still for them?? Just asking ...Or is this part of SOD and I can go along with that....

Michael56Smith

.134: ... Err, ... well, okay Wally, here goes, .... good old Tefler's imagination and 28th century technology has solved Einstein's relatively small problem, ... but a spacecraft traveling at less than light speed, but of a large percentage of that incredible velocity, then you would likely still experience that time dilation effect, ... so beware! .... I do recall reading a sci-fi novel a few decades ago that had that time dilation effect as a major part of the story, different generations meeting the same spaceship crew, ... Hope I helped you a bit, .... ;-) TTFN

Ian Kennedy

I always thought that the time and mass dilation effect occurs as you get closer TO the speed of light (from either direction). Up to about 90-95% C the time dilation, while measurable, would be minimal and so on, but if there was a way (which it's assumed there IS) of skipping OVER the speed of light, say jumping from .95C to 1.05C, then the problem GOES AWAY. It can't be the alternate universe model since a ship can be tracked in hyper, so the C jump transition is the only real option.

Michael56Smith

.137: I wonder what bridge station Faye will get, ... will it overlap with Irillith and / or Daphne? Or be something truly hers, .... might she take over Communications from Dr. Rachel? A lot may depend on John loading her up, ... ;-) TTFN

matthew

i realy wish this story was an anime or something

Michael56Smith

.149: Okay Tef it is the 12th, and you (at the turn of the new year) stated that you would be trying for 3rd week release of TSM #162 (2nd chapter), so is #161 going to be this week? Maybe? fingers crossed, ... alright, enough with the comments reading, back to work, writing our favorite sexy space opera, .... ;-) TTFN

TF007

Tomorrow is Friday the 13th. So it will be definitely be then. John is going to go all Jason Voorhees on GK and chop him up.

Michael56Smith

.153: .... happy Friday the 13th!!!! yay!!!! ttfn

TF007

🔄♾️F5♾️🔄

Michael56Smith

.160: Okay, checking my calendar and my watch, it is the now the15th, the beginning of Januarys' 3rd week, ... so Tef may drop #161, or maybe even #162 too by the end of next weekend? I am hopeful, ... My fingers are crossed, ... ;-) TTFN

Michael56Smith

.161: .... crossing my fingers makes typing F5's harder to do, .... F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5, come on Tef. ole buddy, ... but not so quickly that you mix up two different attacking alien empires again, .... ;-) ttfn

John Gregory

I appreciate that Tef caught up on the 2 placeholders he had outstanding and I appreciate that he has a family to house, cloth and feed, but with an income of over £6000 per chapter, did he really need to precharge us for 2 chapters this month? That's well over £12,000 he is borrowing from his fans forthe month! That is quite an exuberant lifestyle that he must be leading. Also, he said that he had already worked out all the timeliness so he would be able to get 3 chapters out this month so he would be caught up. It is now halfway through the month, and still no sign of the first of 3... Tef needs to get his finances in order and stop making promises that he can't keep.

Tyler Poore

He had to charge double, he's probably hemorrhaging patrons so he has to charge double to make ends meet.

John Gregory

Anthony Kester, you said: "$1.00 says John can't help himself and does put a bun in Faye's oven on their third date. Anyone want some of this action?" Personally I think that Faye will need to be feed 3 times before she remains conscious during the feeding, and John will go on to give her similar abilities as Ilirith, to allow her to connect to the collective and become a bridge when she bonds with Alisa, so Alisa will be able to hear and communicate with the collective through Faye. I think that this will make Faye an integral member of the crew and John would not want to her in the position of being in potential danger whilst pregnant, just like the rest of the crew.

Evan Van Dyke

@Tefler - I'm sorry man, but I can't keep going with this pre-charging. I was very hopeful when you got caught up in December, but that didn't last very long. If you want/need guaranteed income, and switch to a monthly playment plan, that would be fine. But if your membership model is charge-per-chapter, then you need to DELIVER the chapters when they get charged. Hopefully you get caught up at some point, and I can look at re-subscribing.

Michael56Smith

.174: .... Did you ever notice the long length of the comments concerning a fans' upset "feelings" regarding Tef's pre-charging us Patreon supporters? Are they just compulsive or what? :-) TTFN

WVNCRich

Hello, my name is Rich. I am a bookaholic. So while waiting for the next TSM chapter to drop, I started to re-read the later chapters, starting at 149. Up to 150 now. I also found some old books, The Golden Ratio, by Mario Livio, and started to read it. Read the first volume of Julie E. Czerneda's Trade Pact trilogy, A Thousand Words for Stranger; and started the second volume, Ties of Power. Then picked up one of my favorites, Steven Gould's, Jumper, © 1992. Just finished it, for the 10th time, and found something in it that surprised me. A short synopsis: MC David Rice, 18+ discovers he can teleport. His mother is caught up in an airline hijacking, and leaves the plane handcuffed to a briefcase, filled with explosives. The terrorist leader detonates it and kills his mother. His girlfriend, Millie, in a discussion (on page 265 of the paperback edition) about her interrogation by NSA agents, says: "I feel kind of sorry for Cox (NSA guy, who has evidence of Davy's teleportation), I think he wanted to know how intimate I was with you so he could judge whether you were human or not. I almost relented and told him that I wondered why you had four testicles and a marsupial pouch, but I wasn't going to bring things into the twilight zone. ..."

Michael56Smith

.183: Come on Tef, drop chapter #161 asap, so we can cheer up TF007, please! ;-) TTFN

Johnkr

I decided to reread some Czech literature, the good soldier sweik, Kapek, and some Havel. I am exploring my czechness. Also reread an alternate battle of Stalingrad where a few changes lead to killing hitler and Stalin in 1942.

Robar

Ya know…I get it! Gotta eat, gotta provide! For me it’s not that much of a gamble! I love your stories and can’t wait for the next one. I was reading Mike Campos Livorkian/Vampire universe and then he died, he died! I’d pay almost anything to get a finish to his story. Just don’t die Tefler

WolfKnight22

I wish this series was continued as ebooks. The wait is killer

Michael56Smith

.204: ... Austin, Wolfie and Robster, the 'Re-reading club' is pretty gynormous, ... that being said, I welcome you to the TSM Re-reading brotherhood (ladies too), .... but remember to press F5 F5 F5 alot, ... ;-) TTFN

TF007

Yaaay tomorrow is the 20th and we should get a chapter.