All Comments on 'Three Square Meals Ch. 120'
by Tefler
- 271 Comments
Probably the single most irritating cliff hanger I've ever read.
I hope the next chapter isn't long coming out. I doubt I'll be the only one getting more and more grumpy waiting.
No, not our girls! What a cliff hanger! Tefler you have out done yourself. Excellent read.
Quite a refreshing and surprisingly different plot towards the end so many possibilities of turn of event from here ,Thanks for the shifting gears Great Work.
Holly shit! Pardon my french here, but that has to be the most HELLISHLY EVIL cliffhanger ever!!!! The Invictus is gone, and all of them is taken. It's game set and match for Larn. I don't see how they can get out of this. Is this the beginning of the end of Three Square Meals?
Well, John certainly will need his new levels of psychic energy. That is, if his nymphs and other girls survived. If not, the situation is even worse. And poor Faye? She is gone, forever, or maybe not. Her server could be intact, just offline. Or maybe her body survives. Maybe she and the service bots can come to the rescue. If the nymps and the other girls survives, maybe they can help to. But they are up against hundreds, maybe thousands of thralls. plus Larn himself.
One slight advantage John and the girls may have, if they survived, is that they aren't ordinary thralls, he has given them powers way beyond that of a thrall soldier. But in this situation that simply isn't enough.
I hate bad endings. Yeah, it doesn't need to be rainbows and sunshine and unicorns, but at least there should be a glimmer of hope for a better future at the end of a story.
This is the fire and brimstone ending i never would have thought any author had the balls to come up with. I could cry!!!
AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! (taking a deep breath)
I am better now. But the end of this chapter really shook me up. Logically i know there is a continuation. There was no The End at the conclusion of the chapter, And John, and his Girls if they survive, definitelly will at least go down fighting. Is there a glimmer of hope? Please Tefler! Pretty Please!!
Anyway, this is perhaps your best chapter so far. I just hope that it doesnt mean that the journey is soon over. I wish for many more chapters.
Keep up the freaking fantastic work Tefler.
Wow never been first before.
This is the chapter where Tefler exceeds himself.
If you guys think this chapter was amazing, wait to read 121 (already posted on patreon).
Geezuz ... Tefler exceeds expectations again.
si/fidave you did it . you broke my HEART HAD ME MAD AT YOU ALL WE WANT ..IS MORE .THANK YOU ...WOW...AND ...AND NEXT....121 YEE HAA
To all those frustrated about such a big cliffhanger and having to wait to find out what happens, ill make it even worse by saying that the next chapter is freaking AMAZING and probably my favorite one ever :)
My God you wicked evil wizard! What a rush! Two pages and this story is on it's head!
Nothing like leaving you hanging from the ragged edge of a Titanium hull hoping not to be sucked out into space.
Cheers
Tefler, any chance you design roller coasters on the side? I only ask because most of the ones I've ever been on (and I'm 60+) pale in comparison to this chapter.
I am not sure to say what a cliffhanger. It's beyond that. Wow just wow. Take your time and post after a month please. I want to be drunk in my thoughts at what comes next. Great creation. Thanks Tefler.......
this is the best cliffhanger yet, amazing use of characters and can't wait to see how this all pans out.... way to go John and crew....
Not that it is relevant for how this chapter ended. Rachel should have insisted on collecting one of the dead thrall from the previously unknown species. To study them.
Great plot twist though. I am curious how the progenitors mange to locate each other. Also how he knows where John is going to next; always ahead of him.
i feel like I've been shaken around.
so many thoughts and questions rolling around in my head.
best chapter yet but as said please don't make us wait to long for the next. lol
Spoiler Alert! They are all dead. They burn up reentering the atmosphere. Ship cut in half, power out...all...d.e.a.d!!!!!
And the most disturbing cliff hanger since Infinity War. Wow. I hope the next chapters post soon. Thanks,
Why do I have this nasty feeling that Dana's dread at the stated position of the damage just below the fire control tower is in reference to either her lab, or Faye's server room? Without the lab, the chances of getting back into the fight are slim, if they survive reentry.
As for the girls on the raptor, it's not stated, but I wonder if any of the other girls got into their armor after John and Alyssa suited up and went to the cockpit... Alyssa being in armor can survive in open space, but I'm not sure about Jade, since she never suits up, outside of testing new armor back in the early days.
There are too many unknowns, so I won't speculate too much on the outcome of the two halves of the Invictus, may she rest in peace, and the Raptor, crashing. It's probably too much to hope for that everyone lives, since that just isn't realistic. Plot-wise, I'm comfortable with Jessica being the red shirt of the piece. Her death could be some serious motivation for John to kick this upstart's ass. If both his parents are killed before he has a chance to get to know them, or whatever, those are some serious feelings to channel against Larn.
The Nymphs might survive, since they have been strengthened by John, as well as being in the lagoon. Maybe the water, combined with their natural physiology and John's upgrades, could mitigate the worst outcome.
Faye could be saved. All that needs to survive are her data crystals. The rest can be rebuilt. I fear for Faye's daughter, though, as well as the boys and cleaning bots. Will all her work be lost?
As for the girls in the Raptor...the only way out I see is for Edraele to flood Alyssa with energy, having felt the danger through the Matriarch's link, and Alyssa using that energy to pull off a miracle. Whether that miracle includes saving the Nymphs as well as those on the Raptor, who knows.
As for getting back in the fight, I don't know what good it will do, but if Dana can't work with what they salvage from the crashed Invictus, Edraele could send at least one ship to rescue the survivors from Arcadia. From there it's up to Tefler to pull something out of a hat...
Now you have to wonder what Larn has planned for his two prisoners. Sounds like Rahn is still alive, so there might be a prisoners reunion between father and son. I'm not holding my breath for a touching father-son bonding scene, culminating in a cliche father sacrifices himself to save his son after imparting what knowledge and advice he can, situation.
All of this going down just as a plot against Johns allies on Olympus just sucks!
I foresee many late nights checking for 121, hoping against hope that it comes out on Lit as fast as the last two, being first 15 days, then 9 days, apart. If you start from 117, the last chapters have been posted three weeks apart, then two, now just over one week apart.
Unfortunately the previous poster's link to Tefler's Patreon page showed a message from Tefler saying the writing has slowed down, due to "half-term", whatever that is. (Ignorant Yank, here.)
Finally, I'll end with my feelings of loss at the destruction of the Invictus, especially with the ironically lazy mirroring of both father and son's ships being destroyed and crashing on the same GAIA class "paradise" planet. If Charles survives the assassination attempts, he is going to be wicked pissed at John for letting the Invictus get shot down, and from only two salvos at that.
We knew, from the obvious foreshadowing, that the Invictus was rapidly reaching a point where she couldn't be updated any further, and would need to be replaced by their version of a Progenitor Dreadnaught. That said, I don't think many TSM readers were expecting her to be "phased out" quite like this. So much of John's abilities and identity are tied to that ship.
Unless the Maliri sent to rescue the survivors on Arcadia come from the fleet in Trankaran space, and return there, where a supremely motivated Grand Engineering Overlord is introduced to the Star Forges, and the girls, with power from Edraele, use the forges to make the Invictus Rex, I don't know how they're going to get out of this one, except to say that they must or Tefler's promised sequel to TSM will end up a spin-off instead..
That said, I have this wild hope that the Maliri do rescue all of the women from Arcadia, take them to Trankaran space, where they go full A-Team, with all of them pitching in to not only build the Invictus Rex, but to have it be even better than Larn's Dreadnaught. Dana will obviously be motivated to not only recreate, but surpass standard issue Progenitor tech, from Paragon armor and weapons, to the Invictus Rex itself. If they can salvage Faye's data crystals, and possibly even her server, she will have access to all of the Vulkat data she hadn't finished going through, and she could use it to augment the hell out of the new ship.
Even with the Star Forge able to basically "pour" an entire ship in one go, building the Invictus Rex could take months to complete, and that's if Larn leaves them in peace to do it. Thankfully, John releasing his women from complete thralldom should help them not end up like Jessica is after only a week apart from Rahn.
If Tefler aligns the stars just right, Dana stands a chance to use all she has been given by John, as well as the Vulkat, to build a ship to save the day. Then, down the road, when John and the girl's progenitor daughters and sons grow up, hopefully without the Progenitor infighting instincts, they could build a fleet of white Progenitor Dreadnaughts to safeguard their territory for all time, while the others keep using the standard issue equipment.
Somnambulant rant over.
Haven't been inspired to post since the early early days, when things were still in the 20s or 30s :)
This was brilliantly good. The first half with the Nymphs was great …. the visit to Arcadia great … and then this!
Breadcrumbs: Faye noticed something, but didn't tell John. Faye's daughter also learning about love … and the bots increasingly self aware. Are they all out with Faye, or do they have their own backup power, not tied to the ship's power?
Alyssa did something with Jessica. What? did she read her mind and find out more?
Jessica halfway said things to John, but did not finish. Is she Jessica? Did she know that she was bait?
Alyssa had on a progenitor suit. She will not have been depressurized.
Much was made of Jade's new psychic power being upped. She was piloting the ship, and is way more resilient than people. Seems unlikely that she would have been impacted by the "shaking" of the progenitor. In general - they had a few seconds to plan prior to John being taken. Is he really unconscious?
Can't wait for the next chapter!!!!
Tefler, you best not be imitating George R.R. Martin or I'm going to be really upset.
They’re going to need a new name for their next ship. Invictus is no longer correct. The team was surely conquered this time. Way more than the beat down they got from Shinatobe.
Can’t wait to see if Dana gets Rahn’s ship working. Does PJ give up knowing they’ll die otherwise? In the escape, does John stumble upon Larn’s vats and discover a lot more nymphs (my pet theory)?
I’m eagerly awaiting the next few chapters.
Omg did not see this coming at all
Merci
Gracias
For another excellent read
Who else wants to grab Tefler by the shoulders and shake the Hell out of him while screaming "Are the girls okay?"
Avengers: Endgame, the Battle of Winterfell, and THIS cliffhanger all on the same day?..
I just can't anymore.
With all of the stuff they were doing, they were only working at catching up...
But we just got shown they still weren't even closer to being in the same class and now they've got nothing...
You're going to have to pull multiple miracles out of your hat to have not just wasted half of this chapter building up the other nymphs and 119 other chapters building up John, his girls, and the Invictus...
Endgame... Then this... Then GoT... God, This week has been a crazy bitch so far ....
If you enjoyed this go show Tefler some love and join his Patreon. His next chapter is already posted there.
Page 2:
Caught totally be surprise
she watched a broad variety of alien shipping rush (intended?)
Page 6:
Shall I give you full access to mind now
I am reading free here, so I have no idea on how this unfurls (awesome work btw !), but I have hopes for the team, here's why : (spoiler-y reflection, read the full chapter first !)
Well, first, the Doylist reason : there are a few chapters and monthes down the road, and heroes are heroes, so they should probably overcome this major hurdle...
Now, the Watsonian reasons : that fucker has John, true, but he just discarded all of his harem of brutally efficient matriarchs and wards, probably thinking they pack as much of a punch as his own thralls, and are therefore insignificant... Then John himself is stuck in the ship, and while not as much of a badass as other Progenitors in terms of technique, he has a fuckload of renewable energy ressources, starting with the Nymphs, Team Invictus and the Maliri. He is not as negligible as he once was. And there's still his guide lurking around in his mind, that guy will pack a punch if John gets knocked out... Finally, on the girls side, some of their abilities are unusual : Rachel's healing, Alyssa's progenitorness, Irilith's psy-hacking, Helene's empathy waves, Calara's foretelling etc... : the other Progenitor is not ready for this kind of unheard amongst his people abilities.
So I'd say they have a fair chance of at least saving themselves...
We'll see in about 10 days...
I left a comment, chapter 42, it would be great if you corrected it for the book version.
37 comments so far and you are all forgetting that Team Invictus still has a Progenitor to lead them - Alyssa. So on the ship, John goes to jail, meets his dad, learns some things, we hear some Evil Villain monologuing giving us insight into what's been going on, John meditates and defeats his guide. Outside the ship, Alyssa saves and rallies Team Invictus, then leads an unexpected counterattack to rescue John, John and his dad escape their cells in the confusion and we have a ship-wide Thrall vs. Enhanced Thrall and Progenitor vs. Progenitor battle. There you go, endgame all figured out.
Is it just me, or has everyone forgotten about the person most likely to help John unlock his full abilities. His guide locked away inside his mind.. perhaps they will work together , in a most unlikely scenario. Freedom for both of them. As for Dana, now she has all the technology she needs, like a massive jigsaw, now is the time for all the pieces to fall into place.
Cant wait for chapter 121, Bravo Master Teffler, I do hope the story is heading in the direction the leads and red herrings have seemed to go to. I have followed TSM from the time I first read chapter 1 and hooked me in. Now with the Nymphs reaching their desired forms, with jades tutelage, something different is arriving.. A standing round of applause Sir.. Take a bow Maestro. The next stanza should be most interesting...
Why did you do this?!!! In one fell swoop, we have John's hopes dashed and then everything he has been working for just crushed and literally thrown away. And I thought it was going to be such a nice, touchy-feely chapter.
I don't know why I trust writers really, you want to believe in their work and world and get sucked in, mentally and emotionally and then just bash you in the head, break your heart and make you wait for the next chapter to see what happens. Well, fuck. I'm drained. And I can't wait to see what happens in the next chapter! Because I'm a fucking masochist obviously....
Due to circumstances I missed it going live yesterday.
Tefler has left us some nice cliffhangers and some bones to gnaw on, and what a cliffhangers and bones they are.
Great installment of a masterpiece of a story.
Thanks for letting me know about the typos! I've fixed them in my master copy. :)
Tefler
Even though Dana just found the progenitor stealth tech, I too failed to make the jump to “Larnkelnar could be anywhere and we’d never know, he could even be watching us right now!” Rachel is the one who could be expected to make that leap, but perhaps she was still distracted with concern for John.
Holy crap Batman!
At least Larn continues to be caught in his paradigm of thralls being disposable and treats them with contempt, and judging by Jessica’s behavior, so does Rahn, not realizing John’s women are so much more than mere thralls. So now the women are stranded, but on a habitable planet, with a wrecked ship made of phsychic-shaped material and allies who can be called on telepathically. Edraele has probably dispatched the closest Maliri fleet already, even though John would not want anyone put in jeopardy for his sake.
Y destroy the Invictus and kill off all of Johns girls? and for what? I'm all for cliff hangers but this is just stupid. I have no idea how you are going to be able to fix this, but this is a really messed up ending to this chapter. I'll read the next chapter when it's posted, but if you're just going to kill off everybody then after that I'm done reading this story.
Wow, now I'm checking for updates by the hour. Just . . . wow . . .
Just wow. You have thrown the doors wide open to possibilities and changes in direction. A family reunion arranged , the nymphs made strong enough to survive, the girls protected by Rachel , Faye with her son and Dana with the knowledge to build a new ship
Everyone seems to be wondering if the girls are alive and if Faye will make it through and how John can possibly overcome the big bad wolf. And yet you have been setting up the answers to all these questions for us quite nicely. I haven't seen the next chapter but am looking forward to seeing how close I am to what will happen. Excellent writing as always.
I am continually amazed at your ability to keep so many characters and story threads both distinct and interesting. However, you also have a tendency to base plot twists on the ineptitude of your main character. Once again, John, who is supposedly a seasoned combat veteran is completely unconcerned when he discovers that after 40 years, his rival just happens to have arrived at the planet where he was conceived one week before in a ship that can cloak its self. Instead of acting to avoid a potential ambush, he decides to have a long discussion with his mother... If John was a real US Army officer, he would have been court-marshaled for incompetence long ago. I don't understand why you keep writing him as a fist first, think later kind of guy who seldom seems to learn from his mistakes and also seems to posses little tactical or strategic military knowledge.
Another beautifully crafted chapter Tefler, as always! You're getting really damn good at writing these cliffhangers! I want to know what happens next! It's been quite a ride, hasn't it? I remember stumbling on chapter 1 of this story back in November of 2015 and though it didn't seem like much, I thought that it had potential. I'm glad to see that I was proven right.
I've been a big fan and follower since and I've read every chapter, twice. I know that some comments I've left behind have been... less than kosher and for those, I apologize. I'm glad to see that you've taken your idea and made it into something big! That you've built a universe that people love and are eager to see and read more of.
Speaking of which, I know that you're a busy man and that you have much to do. But if you could give my work a read and leave a review? I know that you're probably like the Doctor, with so much to do and so many plans to carry out, but if you could manage it, that would be awesome! Keep on keeping on Tef! Everyone here is rooting for you! Cheers!
I knew I should have waited for the next chapter before I read this one!! Damn what a cliffhanger!! Now I have to start over at 117 so maybe I can stay calm until 121 comes out. Damn! Thanks Tefler for keeping it interesting for sure. JT
Who was on watch.? There was a fight there 6 days ago? Losing containment can never be good. I guess next week's vacation isn't gonna happen
DON'T KILL THE KITTENS or there will be hell to pay. I'm serious. I'm going to find you and cut *your* swimming pool in half if you do.
I understand the reason for the cliffhanger, but it still irks me. I’m glad it was there though; it gave me a starting point for the masterpiece that is chapter 121. Love your work Tefler. Keep up the awesomeness.
Wow, what a rollercoaster of emotions in this chapter. This has to be my favorite so far. Kudos to Tefler!
John just got to know that his crazy father got abducted by another crazy progenitor last week and based on the intel provided by his Jessica, he was not sure if Larn was there waiting with much superior techs to hide and capture him. But we are making our minds for this confrontation for a long long time and now it is here so why the are you guys are bitchin. It may be the case that John is not as able as other two evils but he was preparing (subconsciously) for this moment. All we know that his guide acted as other progenitors by nature but whenever John was in life and death situation and had no help from his fiances, his guide helped him. So I am sure John's guide is going to be the surprise for both. Also as some of comments suggested that Other progenitor doesn't know how John's matriarch (thralls) work, they are in great surprise too. Allysia and Jade as progenitor are going to be the great in rescuing John and fu#kup other progenitors plan for John Royally.
As I mentioned in my previous comment, I can wait for another month Just to be in the fog of my wild imagination of what is coming next. Again as some comments mentioned, last week was crazy as Avenger's end game, GoT's night and then this chapter. I need some time to recalibrate my adrenaline level.
Larn, you're fucked. Seriously, brutally fucked. You have pissed off not one but two progenitors, father and son no less. You didn't eliminate the thralls, who were armored, meaning the young one still has his power base. You have no idea the reckoning that's coming your way, but you will. You will.
Now THIS was one hell of a chapter. Larn brought the fight to John, thinking an easy victory. Make him pay Tefler, make him pay...
- Obviously, he doesn't know about the strength of John's 'thralls'.
- He doesn't realize all the power John can get from his girls.
- He probably doesn't know about bonding and two-way communication.
- He believes John has a lot of skills that our hero has not been that proficient with.
- He may not know how much stronger John has gotten lately.
- He doesn't know Alyssa is a Progenitor.
- He doesn't know John has a second and third matriarch.
- He doesn't know that John's girls are not actually thralls.
- I assume he doesn't know how powerful nymphs can be. (I am betting it's not a coincidence we just saw them juiced up.)
- He knows John doesn't know certain things, but he doesn't know the situation with John's 'guide' and that the situation could change.
- Despite his tech advantage, he may not know how much tech John's team has.
- He may not know how many babies John has on the way. (We haven't heard a lot about Progen babies, but not sure if that is significant.)
- He may not know how beefed up the tech is with John's allies.
- He may not know how recovered and at truce many of the races are.
- He may not know about the ability to communicate with the Ashanath.
- He may not know about John having Vulkat tech.
- He probably doesn't know about Athena and John's other history in that realm.
Still it appears that:
- Dana hasn't created anything beyond or different than Progen tech.
Anything else?
LOTS of surprises in this chapter. Love how the Nymphs are developing their own personalities and all of the Ladies are getting stronger. Real surprise was Faye showing fear and terror: " Faye's expression contorted in horror as she clung to the Command Chair. "Oh God..." " seems she is becoming more 'human' all the time. Hopefully the Ladies will survive and then it will be payback time.
Tom
They need a lot of couch sessions with a whole team of shrinks. Okay .... so meeting moms didn't go so well .... Will he be seeing pops under prison conditions? And Larn could be his uncle for all we know (smh).
Big mistake on Larn's part, (that's no way to treat family) turning his back in such a dismissive way on John's GIFTED crew. A counter-strike might be sooner than later. I think Dana's modified paragon suits (with runes & shields), Tachyon pistols and rifles ARE better than what Larn has. I wonder who survived this deadly ambush. Will they return the favor? He crossed the wrong crew and he will live to REGRET.
On pins and needles waiting for the next chapter to drop. Will it be the penultimate?
Thanks Tefler for yet another great chapter.
Fan of the Lion til the bitter end (and beyond).
That cliff hanger....
Beyond wanting the next chapter ASAP I just want to say please please please happy endings for the entire crew. I’m ok with tension and conflict. But please no losing someone.
How about if Larn is not careful, he may release Progenitor John who can open up can of Whoop Ass?
Wow, what an amazing well written story this is, Each of the 120 chapters have so much action, drama and of course hot sex scenes. I've read this story from the start and am very much looking forward to the next chapter, I agree with some of the other comments, let's not lose anyone as each character is now integral to the continuation of what I'm sure will keep your readers very interested. Keep up the good work.
Whew! I'd decided I would leave the comment below mid-chapter, before they got to Arcadia. Clearly, the end of the chapter is an awesome return to the main plotline, suspense, excitement, etc. You've been lulling us to sleep with domestic tranquility foe a while, Tefler; nice pacing! Can't wait for more!
But the little diversion I was going to comment on was the crew of a Malari capital warship putting on sexy togs and doing lap dances for the Ashanath high council. WTF? I think you just jumped the shark. Yeah, Fleet Commander Amlaril wants to be friendly and appreciative, but WTF? And how do the crew doing the lap dances, presumably they have rank and MOS's that define their sense of self, see this assignment? Can't picture any sexual/romantic interest towards the Ashanath. Just ... wrong.
Where can she see this leading? OK, we like you guys enough to get you excited, now go home and bang your sexless Ashanath wives thinking about what you can't have.
People keep suggesting Larn'kelnar doesn't know what he just did by taking John captive, how he'll channel all of his multiple matriarch's networks of energy, then open a can of whoop ass on Larn.
NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!!!
Doesn't anyone remember the "wand" Larn is waving around, obviously a full power version of the device the Kintark emperor had on his armor, which BLOCKED JOHN'S AND THE GIRL'S POWERS, ESPECIALLY TELEPATHIC COMMUNICATION AND ENERGY CHANNELING!!!
If Rahn'hagon hasn't escaped his own captivity, it's probably because there isn't a way to break free of that null field. Besides, John wouldn't be aware of that information unless he got it from his guide, and I'm sure that bastard is thinking that this is the perfect opportunity to take over by offering to "help".
No. It's going to be up to the survivors on Arcadia to call Edraele for a rescue/ride, hopefully from the fleet in Trankaran space, so that Dana can be taken to the Star Forges, which I still think are actually underutilized Soul Forges, which will let her build the Invictus Rex. She has all the pieces except for the wormhole drive and the black metal, as far as I recall, so seeing the Star Forge should trigger the black metal in her mind, at least. Once she builds the Invictus Rex, with her and the crew's own twists and improvements, they will be capable of rescuing John, if they can find him.
For those who said John's allies have fleets modified enough to help take on a Progenitor dreadnaught, think again. The Invictus, though I don't think it had it's shields up, still only took two shots to be utterly destroyed.
I still find it ironic that the father and the son's ships were both shot down and crashed on the same planet, named Arcadia, a paradise planet.
My only worry for Dana and the girls going to the Star Forge would be that this could be who Larn was referring to when he told his matriarch that he planned to have someone else build his transport gates to bring his fleet across the vast distance between his empire and Mael'nerak's former territory, now John's in a sense.
Neither the Trankaran's, nor the Maliri, truly have a chance of standing up to a Progenitor dreadnaught. If it took Mael blowing up a solar system, or even a region of space, to take down Rahn's ship, then even with every single Maliri capital ship with Nova Lances firing at the same time, it probably won't be enough to take it down.
The network, no, family, that John has built with his girls will need to come together to build the Invictus Rex in record time, hopefully before Tefler has Larn show up at the Star Forges. That way, they don't have to search the vastness of space to find and rescue John, and hopefully Dana's upgrades to the standard Progenitor Dreadnaught will be enough to tip the balance in their favor. Then there will be the possibility of their attacks knocking out the null field generators on John, and maybe Rahn, allowing John to link with his matriarchs again. THEN the can of whoop ass can be opened.
Awesome chapter tefler. For me this was the best chapter till now. Even better than ch79.
My theory and speculations:
1. Finding John would be difficult for the crew. But I think Sakura can help with that one like the way she recently did while finding John in Astral plane, via that energy cord that connects John with all his thralls. Only Sakura can see that thing.
2. Larn has a huge technology advantage over John and crew. Specially now that even invictus is gone. But Dana getting all the new Blue prints they might still have some chance. Plus I think the timing of vulcat data translation might be deliberate, so that might make a big difference too.
3. There is a huge difference in thrall quality between larn and John that is a definite advantage for John.
4. Larn missed the 3rd progenitor, Alyssa. It would be the something that larn would never expect. And it will be a major boost in John's rescue. Even progenitor John was not prepared for that while brainwashing edrele.
5. The most important factor in this mission according to me would be Faye. No progenitor might have an answer for that. As no one would have thought of feeding an AI with cum. I know till now it seems like John's cum has had no effect on Faye. But in other girls too it took atleast 3 times to take effect. And as I recall Faye had her 3rd dose in this chapter. Which might take John in the Astral plane like what happened with other thralls. I think that John asking Faye to join while feeding in this chapter might also be done deliberately by tefler.
I would like to know what others think about this and would like to know other theories too
Regards
Mg
a trap of some sort earlier, but after being lulled into a false sense of security, the sudden onslaught of violence and the evisceration of the Invictus in an ambush style attack caught me off guard. Personally, I am surprised that Calara did not foresee this happening with her tactical and strategic prescience.
Furthermore, we (but not the crew) have known for a while that Larn has closely observed John's every movement. How he does it is unknown, but after his interaction with Athgiloi's nymph, it was suspected that nymph's are akin to a cell phone in the secret DROPOUTJEEP program.
Honorable mention, Jade did not go rogue and rescue her sisters.
Finally, this chapter raises more questions then reveals answers. Here are a small sampling: What is Jessica's game? And what was she trying to say? Is she pretending and playing another role like before? What was behind her coy smile? Was she thinking of a hard 18 inches or something more sinister? Did this cause Alyssa to get curious and stroll through her mind like she did with Maria Fernandez? Will Batman find his lost Batterang????
Stay tuned for the next installment of TSM......
To help kill the time until the next chapter, check out the Grrl Power web comic. Tefler is and I think the 2 writers have a mutual admiration for each others work. I know I enjoy both.
It's so disheartening to see Invictus... destroyed in flip of finger....after all the upgrade and all..... Eagerly waiting for next mystery.... Awesome as usual
Mg pointed this out and I almost missed it.
The AI had her third feeding and now has Maternal feelings .... feeling horror .... satisfaction ... Love ... etc.
Wonder where Tefler is going with this.
Excellent chapter.
can you and all the other patreon users just stop discussing chapters that havent been released yet
Tefler, Tefler, Tefler
What hast thou wrought!
Where for art thou, John
VERY DARK!!!, but what a cliffhanger
It has taken me this long to respond, and I haven’t even reached the comment section yet 😩
Still 7*
Wolrab🐝
I have a feeling "moms" won't survive. She wasn't wearing a paragon suit. Maybe one of the twins as well. It's tough when u r left to fly by the seat of of your pants.
Bye Jessica???
Finally noticed that Tefler titled this chapter Nine Lives. I’m choosing to believe that the kitty cats will be saved, not that nine lives will be lost.
On the other hand, I’ve never understood Tefler’s chapter names.
I can’t think of anything you left out. Except that Larn captured Rahn, but Rahn’s network is limited to Jessica, so it’s not like he was at full power. Also, in a dead spacecraft plummeting to earth, I think the biggest advantage is Jade. If anyone can survive vacuum (Alyssa and John are the only two Tefler specifies are in armor), gather survivors, and survive a re-entry, I think it’s Jade. Also, I think Jade’s sisters are about to have their limitations on shapeshifting removed and they're about to receive a psychic crash course in shapeshifting. I also assume Jade’s sisters will save Helene. I’m most worried about Faye’s server, and the rest of the Invictus collective.
I’m guessing John’s first step will be to battle his guide on his own to achieve his full power. However, I’ve also been assuming that’s a fight he won’t be able to win on his own, that he will require help from the girls and that help seems doubtful now. Not because I’m assuming all are lost, just that since Jessica can’t hear Rahn, John probably won’t be able to communicate with his matriarchs. Perhaps Athena will be of some assistance? I’m thinking John can battle PJ even in a null field, because that battle will be on the astral plane, but at the same time in John’s head. I do slightly disagree with a previous comment, I don’t think Larn’s magic stick generates a null zone, I think it is a tool that focuses and amplifies Larn’s power using progenitor runes, like John’s sword, Gandalf’s staff or Harry Potter’s wand. Ok, the last two don’t use runes, but hopefully you get my point.
One last piece of worthless speculation - we’re probably at least a week away from the next chapter. Sigh. :-(
And this comment has to be the biggest steaming pile of unsubstantiated assumptions and guesses ever thrown on a manure pile.
Oh heck, just thought of one more steaming pile of speculation. Dana went through the Rahn’s whole ship, but the most important piece of Progen tech wasn’t mentioned!! Da da Dum!! The wormhole generator. If they don’t have that, how will they ever catch up to Larn to rescue John?
Anonymous wins the day!! (And he’s right about the lap dances too. But I don’t want to quibble with Tefler, because dayumm!)
Ok. Think of the logistics and timing of everything:
Rahn, has been alone with his torn up ship since the battle with Mael.
That's nearly 10,000 years. Of vegetable farming. Alone.
Then comes Jessica Blake 40 years ago. They get her pregnant and deliberately send her with the kid back into Terran space. Then it's just Rahn and Jessic for another 40 years. But still: he was alone on Arcadia for 10,000 years! He should've gone pretty much insane.
A lot of the commenters here are worrying about the ladies dying in a vacuum on the Raptor. There is one factor that has not been discussed yet: Rachel. Could she possibly extend a shield to keep an atmosphere inside the riven ship? If so, that would save everyone aboard.
Rhan had spent about 10,000 alone stuck on that planet. Then Jessica arrives, drops their baby off in Terran space, and returned alone with a WORKING spaceship. Why are they still there growing vegetables after 40 more years? I would think that Rhan would have had more than enough of that place.
On Patreon is the second part of 121 out. According to the Discord discussion 121 is double sized so about 60K words, so expect a whopping 20 pages here.
The problem is now when will Tefler release it here. I hope soon but it probably will be a about 14 to 21 days...
Well Tefler, you got our attention. The word sadistic comes to mind. Having these absorbing characters as part of our lives for years and well over 100 chapters, if this turn of events is as bad as it now appears this reader will be unhappy to the max.
I totally missed the obvious point that Jessica returned to Rahn with a working spacecraft. And yet Rahn and Jessica remained where they were. So over the millennia Rahn became anti-social? Gave up on progen conquest? Had a change of heart? Is injured somehow and his abilities weakened? And what about Jessica? So far she seems like an immature self-centered teenager. But she has been the sole recipient of Rahn’s attentions for 40 years. Look at what John unknowingly turned Alyssa into in a month of solitary attention. What might Rahn have knowingly done in 40 years, if he became “enlightened” and broke the progen/disposable thrall paradigm?
That’s a really good question! Why is Rahn still on that planet if he has a working ship brought to him by John’s mother?
Top three possibilities I can think of:
1. He was barely alive when Jessica found him and it’s taking a long time for one thrall to regenerate him. He can’t just drain her totally because it’s not enough to heal him.
2. The ship was attacked/damaged while traveling back. It was able to get Jessica to Rahn but is not capable of further flight. Thus he’s still stranded.
3. Rahn has a reason to stay that has not been made clear as yet. Mr. Tefler, being the devious writer that he is, has a new plot twist to introduce.
On a side note, I’m on pins and needles waiting for the next chapter to drop. Any word on when that might be?
Just been thinking, GoT is in its final season, they have already made the the 50 shades movie's, maybe it's time you Sidel up to Hollywood and see if you can get you a piece of that pie, I mean pussycat girls and rayguns, what more do you want in a movie, seriously though, do you go for the big dollars or try and retain some kind of creative control, but who would be playing the parts of John or Allysa,hmmm.., this could be the Barbarella movie for our generation, still think John needs an Ashanth girl in the crew!!
Exciting, isn't it!
Indeed, and I wondered, many chapters ago, why Rhan'hagon didn't simply kill or enthrall the rest of the Cora's crew, and hijack that ship to escape Arcadia. Given what John has managed to do in just a few months, you'd have thought that in 40 years, Rhan'hagon would have completely conquered or enthralled all of the Terrans, Ashanath, Trankarans, Maliri, Kintark, Drakkar, Enshunu, and any other races in that sector.
Of course, there were other spacefaring races that surely would have investigated Arcadia over the 10000 years since the "War of the Heavens" - the Kirrix, or the Ashanath - I'm sure the cataclysm that created the Nyrean Rift wouldn't have gone unnoticed by any competent astronomer at the time.
I guessed that he may have been so badly injured in the war with Mael'nerak that it was only something on his wrecked ship that was sustaining him, and he couldn't survive away from it. So he'd need someone to help him rebuild/repair his ship (i.e. another progenitor - John) before he could get off Arcadia.
But then along comes Larn'kelnar who kidnaps him and takes him off-planet. So maybe he's about to die anyway, or there's something else he's planning, which, no doubt, Tefler will reveal in the next few chapters...
Regards,
AL