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Click hereFaye blushed heavily this time, biting her lip as she glanced at her blonde friend.
Alyssa leaned in towards her and whispered, "I overheard you speaking to John the other day and I know you wanted to ask him something important. Would you mind telling me what it was?"
The purple girl's blushing intensified and she stared at Alyssa with huge eyes, wracked with indecision. Finally making her mind up, she stood on tiptoe and whispered in the Terran girl's ear.
Cerulean eyes widening in surprise, Alyssa turned to look at Faye and saw the hopeful expression on her adorable features. She gave her a warm smile and said, "I've just had an idea how we can help. John won't know what's hit him!"
Faye giggled with excitement, eight of her avatars rushing to enhance her custom programs as Alyssa explained her plan.
***
Carefully aligning the head-shaped cockpit with the spinal mount between the mech's broad armoured shoulders, John waited patiently for Dana to give him the all clear.
"Sure, take your time... It's not like this thing weighs ten tons or anything," he grumbled, as he hoisted the enormous sparkling white cylinder above his head.
"Twelve tons, actually," Dana murmured as she stared intently down at the joint and socket. "Alright, drop it six inches and bring it three inches to your left, then you're good."
John bent his knees a fraction, then pivoted ever-so-slightly to his left before pushing the long crystal bar into the spinal socket. It slid in with the sound of well-oiled metal against metal, before the familiar hum of hydraulics filled the air as the rotating cylinders locked it into place.
"How are you planning to get this thing upright?" he asked, glancing up at Dana curiously.
She was sitting on the mech's shoulder, busy running through long lists of data on her holo-reader and she replied distractedly, "Just help me into the Pilot's Chair in a minute and you'll see."
Rachel and Irillith stood beside him, the three of them watching Dana as she finished her final checks, making sure that the cockpit was now hooked up to the internal power grid. Her wild grin gave them all the confirmation they need.
"Alright then, how do you want to do this?" he asked, eyeing the cockpit curiously.
The redhead climbed onto the back of the cockpit, then hung off one of the four sensor rods that swept back from the head. Pressing her hand down onto a panel on the side of the cockpit, the DNA reader scanned her genetic code then opened an oval shaped door in the side of the head. She swung in with the agility of a cat, then her hand reappeared a moment later waving him to follow her in.
John chuckled at her enthusiasm, then stared at the smooth armour plating, trying to figure out how to clamber up to reach her.
"I'll give you a boost," Rachel said with a smile, clasping her hands together to form a stirrup.
He gave her a grateful kiss, then put his boot onto her waiting hands. "On three," he warned her, then quickly counted down.
Rachel was surprisingly strong and she easily launched him into the air, giving him more than enough height to grab the lower rim of the door.
Dana grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside before pushing him over to the left. "No standing on the weapon controls," she said with an eager grin, jerking a thumb at the console to their right.
"Considering the firepower this thing's toting... that's sound advice," he readily agreed. He glanced over her shoulder at the Pilot's Chair, and added, "Are you ready?"
"Yep, let's do this!" Dana agreed, stepping over to the chair. "Just lift me up so my back's against the chair, and I'll buckle myself in."
John did as she asked, effortlessly holding her up, and gently positioning her against the back of the seat. He saw that the redhead's hands were shaking with excitement as she grabbed the safety harnesses and pulled them across her chest and into the locking slots.
"Shall I jump out?" he asked, looking out of the clear-crystal visor at Irillith and Rachel who waved back at them.
Dana shook her head, and replied, "Nah, just hunker down under that console then brace yourself. You'll be alright."
Not entirely sure he agreed, John did as she asked and ducked down under the console then held himself steady. Dana was sitting directly above him and he saw the look of glee on her face as she stabbed her thumb down on the big green button on the armrest control. A throaty hum filled the cockpit as all the systems surged with power, lights flickering on around him as the consoles came to life.
Some power chords boomed out, and a man's sonorous voice enthusiastically shouted, "Let's get ready to rumb-"
The voice and the music were abruptly cut off and Dana blushed furiously as she saw John looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Must've been some kinda glitch," she mumbled, hurriedly tapping away at more buttons.
Gripping the two control sticks with her hands, he saw her feet slip into some kind of pedal controls and that wild grin was back on her face again. He felt a sudden lurch and an unsettling sensation of movement, but tucked under the console it was difficult to see what was going on. He glanced up at Dana and as the mech abruptly shifted position again, he watched her long thick hair fall back against her shoulders instead of hanging straight down towards him as he dropped onto the cockpit floor. He swayed from left to right and then there was that same sinking feeling in his stomach as they rose higher until he felt the mech steady itself.
"All done?" he asked, peering up at Dana from under the console.
She nodded gleefully and said, "We're up and running!"
John climbed out and stood upright then peered through the canopy in amazement. They were now towering over the Launch Bay floor and he could see Rachel and Irillith running up the steps on the maintenance gantry to get to their level. He heard the hum of machinery in motion and glanced at Dana in surprise as he saw the muzzles of the Photon Lasers appear above the cockpit's visor. Walking around behind her, he saw the target reticle for the quad Photon Lasers appear in front of her, now that the four guns had shifted into firing position.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to fire them," she said, grinning at him as she tried shifting the targeting reticle, the long barrels following obediently. Letting out a rueful sigh, she added, "It's just a shame we can't make a pit-stop to shoot up an asteroid belt."
He patted her shoulder and said, "I've got a feeling they're going to get a very vigorous testing, but you'll be shooting Drakkar ships, not big hunks of rock."
"Are you really going to let me pilot the mech?" she asked him, eyes gleaming at the prospect.
John nodded and replied, "You're the only one who knows how to control the damn thing!"
Dana beamed at him in delight as she exclaimed, "I'd hug you, but I'm strapped into this chair!"
She pressed the button to withdraw the Photon Lasers to their dormant position and they could hear the loud sound of the ten-metre-long weapons being pulled back through the open door in the side of the cockpit. He watched her twist the control sticks and the mech crouched down, the sudden movement making him wave his arms around to keep himself balanced. The mech's huge robotic right hand reached out to slide through the arm mount for the rotary cannon and it grasped the handle securely before Dana stood upright once more.
"We got distracted earlier, what is that thing anyway?" John asked, poking his head out of the cabin door to stare down at the ten-metre-long rotary cannon.
Dana's eyes sparkled with a devious light in the blue glow from the consoles and she replied, "You're familiar with the Punisher railgun, right?"
His eyes widened in shock. "Is that...?"
"A Punisher Gatling, but scaled up for a mech!" she crowed, giving him a beaming grin. Dana walked the mech back a couple of steps, then hit the button to power the gigantic machine down again. As the lights around her dimmed, she began unbuckling her harnesses, freeing herself from the Pilot's chair. "Come on! Let's go hook up that bad boy to the power couplings and ammo hopper!"
He watched her step out of the cockpit door and onto the maintenance gantry, which now ran flush with the mech's shoulder. "Wait a second!" he called out to her as he followed the bouncing redhead through the door. "Have you got a name for this thing? We can't just call it 'the mech'."
Dana flushed and looking shifty she replied, "Yeah, I've come up with a few ideas..."
*We've been hailed by the Ashanath,* Alyssa interrupted, her voice urgent. *Calara's speaking to Ularean right now.*
*Alright, tell her I'm on my way,* he replied, before turning and giving Dana an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Sparks. The Ashanath just called, you'll have to tell me later."
***
Grand Overlord Vekrok glared at the burning wrecks and shattered remnants of once-mighty ships, standing in silence while readying himself to hear the scale of the destruction inflicted upon his fleet.
Grukig scrolled down through the reports and continued, "...along with the Defiler, which were all too slow to enter the minefield and survived unscathed. We lost practically all our destroyers and-"
"I don't give a fuck about destroyers!" Vekrok snarled, his four fists clenching in rage. "What about my cruisers and battleships?!"
Giving the massive Drakkar leader a frightened glance, Grukig continued, "Ninety-seven cruisers were destroyed, twenty-four are too crippled to fight and fifteen are damaged but spaceworthy. Five battleships were destroyed, eight are so badly damaged they'll have to be scuttled and twelve took damage but are ready for battle."
Howling with rage, Vekrok looked around for something to vent his fury, his eyes finally settling on his throne. He slammed his fist into the back, neatly shearing through it and breaking the upper half off the imperious seat. "How long until we're underway?!" he bellowed, watching through squinting eyes as the remaining cruisers attempted recovery operations.
Grukig read the report again, and answered nervously, "At least three hours to transfer the survivors to-"
"Fuck that! We've already been here an hour! We're done hanging around with our thumbs up our pod chambers!" Whirling around, he slapped his brawny hand down on the comms interface and growled to his fleet, "Prepare to jump in five minutes! We're going to slaughter all the little bastards who did this!"
"But Sir! What about all the survivors?!" Grukig yelped, shocked that the Grand Overlord would just abandon tens-of-thousands of elite troops.
"We'll come back for them alright," Vekrok said, his deep voice throbbing with rage. "As soon as I've had my fill of Grey flesh and gone for a swim in their blood!"
Grukig nodded, knowing better than to question his fiery-tempered Commander a second time.
***
"Your plan succeeded, JohnBlake. You have saved us," Ularean murmured in his whispering voice.
John met the Ashanath Senior Councillor's unblinking stare and said regretfully, "I'm afraid the fight's only just begun Ularean."
"But their losses... they were horrific," he said in his eerie, ghostly voice.
Shaking her head, Calara replied, "I don't believe the Drakkar will run, not if they're working for this other Progenitor. We've helped even the odds, perhaps enough to give us a fighting chance now."
John gave the quaking Ashanath a level stare and said firmly, "You'll be fighting to save your species, Ularean. You're going to need to ready your people for a hell of a battle."
"I will do so, JohnBlake," the Senior Councillor replied. He blinked slowly and his whispering voice sounded ominous as he added, "We have made preparations to meet the Drakkar threat."
- COMMENTS
Brave lightly crewed Ashanath Cruisers, with the mission to slow down those blood-thirsty Drakkar brutes, at the cost of their lives, ... Dana finishing building her Mecha, ... and Tashana (ole 'two-gun' herself) is busy getting up to speed to help out the crew if needed in combat, ... And the High Council is preparing to unleash the 'Legacy' .... wow, can't wait for the next chapter, should be exciting, .... ;-) ttfn
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Don't forget! I was the one who first called dibs on shooting fireballs from my eyes!"
“Get ready to RUMBLE !!!” Glad to see that it stood the test of time and lasted 7 or 800 years….
An anonymous commenter last year mentioned our lovely Ninja, Sakura, in regards to Dana's big Mech, I think the Clesha might just work out, .... with a wonderful, improved, control interface upgrade, that the Grand Engineering Overlord is totally capable of making, she could be totally AWESOME in that 30-meter-tall Mecha, ... and yes, that was a SPOILER, ... oops, that just slipped out, .... ;-) TTFN
abandoning the "blowjobs in spaaaaace" theme, we enter the ridiculous saga of Ultraman meets JohnnySakko with copy paste spurious banter intermixed
Could be much better, but that would take initiative.
The girls are working so hard and John interrupts with a thousand questions. Girls you have been working so hard we should take a break, ok give me a blow job. lol
Alright! Dana's 100-foot-tall Mecha is ready for is maiden flight, and its Baptism under fire, against the deadly Drakkar, and against horrible odds, ... the story just continues to delight, ... Well done, Tef! Can't wait for the next chapter! ;-) TTFN
Lots of interesting pre-battle prep, and some truly wonderfully obnoxious Drakker 'leadership' in this chapter, but I can scarcely wait for the 'real' battle to commence... and what is this "Legacy" that the Ashanath High Council keep bringing up? stay tuned, same Tef time, same Tef channel ... ;-) TTFN
- RE: "Sonic weapons are a terrible idea"
The guns would only be useless if the area the weapons were in had lost all atmosphere. In which case, who are they protecting? If the crew is on the ship and aren't geared up, then without atmosphere they'd be dead. If they lost atmosphere but were geared up, they'd survive, and they'd also be armed so wouldn't need the sonic cannons. Furthermore, the cannons have been placed at specific points internally around the ship, in corridors on the different floors and protecting the 'airlocks'. If someone is coming in via the airlock, the odds are good that there will be atmosphere on the ship.
For 'internal' security devices I think they'd probably be the best defence as they can be used to either incapacitate or to kill at the flick of a switch. It's also said that they won't damage the ship with any stray shots, which would be a bonus.
Sonic weapons are a terrible idea on a spaceship, since sound can't travel through vacuum. If their hull gets breached their turrets will be completely useless...
If one bad progenitor can cause this much destruction maybe John having dozens of children who will all be progenitors isn't a great idea. Even of he tries to raise them all right there's a good chance a few of them will turn out bad.
What I don't quite understand is why Dana can't come up with a simulator or training rounds that provide the right shooting sensations (recoil, etc.) without the destructive forces treating up the range and ship.
Commonly known as "Trigger jerk". A right-handed shooter will miss down and to the right and a left-handed shooter down and to the left. It is a lot more evident when shooting with pistols. When shooting one should not "pull" the trigger, but rather "squeeze" the trigger. The exact moment the weapon fires should come as a surprise.
With a psychic (lol) crew and only limited my the imaginations of that crew I'm sure one of them would have designed a shooting range that shot through a shield into space. Using that shield as a projection screen to create a visual of calculated damage done by any rounds shop through it.
You may have already solved this problem as I'm only to chap 73, I still thought i'd bring the issue of resource reclamation to the fore.
BTW, awesome story so far,
ANYoONE
On page 5 Tashana fires a single round, which sails above the head of a target dummy, and she looks surprised, saying that she "wasn't ready for the recoil." That's not how recoil works. The barrel of a firearm doesn't kick up until after the round has left the barrel, so in order for a shot to sail high, that is where it would have had to have been aimed. As a matter of fact, people are most often guilty of firing low because they are expecting the kick of recoil and flinch just prior to the trigger pull.(though, that is almost always seen with pistols).
What would have made more sense would have been a single round being close, with the second and third rounds of a 3-round burst climbing too high.
automatic rifles and pistols don't click when their magazines run dry, the slides on pistols lock back and the bolts on rifles also lock back to let the shooter know they need to reload, revolvers will click if you keep squeezing the trigger after all the rounds in the cylinder have been fired
I am sure I am just half way through this amazing story. Maybe it will run forever. I don't know. What I do know is that Tefler, if he is not John Blake, will probably make us live forever just to see his next chapter. My respects.
Holy crap! This is actually kind of genius.
Onward, ever onward for John and the ladies. So exceptional. This epic cannot be allowed to end. 🚀
Love this story but I personally doubt the use of hydraulics in this advanced technical world. They are already loosing ground to direct electric on our world. Great story - thanks.
Stupid site keeps flippin me to the make comment page. Not sure how to fix it..
Have Dana create some shaped charged, armor piercing, crystal tipped, auto homing, target discriminating torpedoes that can be inserted as a rack module through the front loading door of the cargo bay...two racks, one after the other, separated by the back end of the rack modules, which can be expelled via small charges.
It could be easily powered by a miniature Progen power supply, a small integrated shield generator, and 4 directional thrusters with half a dozen thrusters as the main propulsion: The torpedoes could then fly irratically to create misses by field defense lasers, could actually take a hit or two by energy weapons before the shield overloaded, and use the power core as an additional explosive material.
The Raptor could easily hold 50 Dana improved torpedoes that way and be much more effective against larger targets. Have the initial 50 torpedoes go after engines, one or two apiece depending on the size of the ship, and you have effectively eliminated a minimum of 25 enemy capital ships or 50 smaller vessels in a matter of minutes.
Eject the first pod, and do the same. Taking out 50 capital ships or 100 smaller vessels within minutes of engagement is a serious strategic advantage. And you don't have to take out their shields to do it.
They could be shoot and forget weapons due to being able to discriminate which targets to hit...so you do a quick fleet insertion via a hyper warp jump to get into the middle of them, release the torpedoes, and hyper warp back out of range. Reload inside the Invictus cargo bay and hit them again via regular engines (due to the now littered battlefield).
The Raptor is the perfect vessel for such a fleet insertion mission as it is immune to energy weapons, is the fastest ship in the field by a large margin, and is more maneuverable than any ship out there.
This would also help negate any Brimorian shield advantages the Kintark are about to field.
I have submitted chapter 78 for moderation, so it should be up on literotica by Monday or Tuesday, depending on the queues!
Tefler
Is that ashanth are like to go against John after the drakker battle or they just let John to see their secret weapon
Given that the Maliri are the tops with laser weaponry, it seems to me that the Houses would also be trying to develop shields and armour to reduce the vulnerability of their ships. I also think that at least one of the Houses would have acquired or attempted to acquire Brimorian shield technology.
On that note, had Edrael tried to get Brimorian shield tech, found that the cost was more than she was prepared to pay and then gone for Trankaran sub-light propulsion tech to improve ship manoeuvrability as an affordable alternative for reducing vulnerability?
I found this story quite by accident. I was looking for time stop/mind control/superhuman type stories and stumbled upon this gem around late 2016.
It took me a while to get through it. I believe it was in the 60+ chapter range at the time. One thing I think that makes this story so great is that it has the best of two things, sci-fi action and sexy action. For the sci-fi stuff it is incredibly detailed and well thought out and planned ahead. Even the readers discussions in the comments seem to make an impact on the story. For the sexy bits, that is in a whole new realm in itself. One of the trolls from ch69 brought up the cum inflation and womb penetration topics, and both of these are huge fantasies of mine along with anal. For this story to even exist you sort of have to suspend belief on 90% of it to begin with and just make use of your imagination. Let's just say that the trolls are a bit lightheaded and sorely lacking in that aspect.
I also enjoy how the story is never boring, it can change on a dime. 5 minutes reading sexy bits, immediately followed by 5 minutes nerdy techno/science stuff, followed by 5 minutes of full scale battle scenes, then 5 more minutes of sexy bits. It is just enough of each to keep us all entertained.
One question I had that I have not been able to find the answer too was the first page of ch69. Sakura was able to see/sense the psychic energy. I searched through the comments on 69-72 and found a few others referencing that paragraph as well, however I haven't quite found the theory to explain it quite yet. I figure she will be able to gain some form of psychic ability to detect the astral projection or assist with the development of some form of defense against psychic attacks being security chief and all.
Also Tefler, you are awesome. There are not many stories I can say that have this much reread value, but yours definitely does. Forget about any minor errors or grammar mistakes that the trolls love to point out, it is the Tefler universe that is so intriguing. I have reread from start to (last chapter) at least 3 times just to keep it fresh. I did not know about Patreon until about 3 days ago. I can say without a doubt I will follow your work with great pleasure in the future and continue to support you. I'm just sorry I did not find it sooner.
Technical concern that there is incest with the Maliri princesses should have been voided by the SciFantasy catch all. If it is speculative it doesn't count basically.
Some people want to avoid hints of their squick triggers.
Not surprised.
Chapter 75 was for some reason moved to Incest/taboo genre. Due to its high rating (4.91?) It attracted a lot of readers from that genre, about 4,000 more than chapters 76/77. The rating went down, however, and a couple of 'strangers' came by to complain about the story.
What does this mean? U seem your have captured a good set of readers who understand your story well Tefler, that's quite the feat on a site like this one. Keep it up! And I like the cartoon/animation idea posted by someone earlier. It will remove limitations for portrayal accuracy, if it's made into a motion picture. Good luck!
A fan of the lion 🦁
Why not have this whole thing be a cartoon series. What would be a great thing to watch. It's better than what's out there now.
Hope I didn't get you any angry emails. I deeply respect the time and effort you and the other editors do with the story. And I LOVE being teased! LOL.
About all I have found is screamingeagle101, and a bunch of web comics.
If the plot takes priority over sex, I know for a fact that I have upload plans.
...
Distant upload plans.
I hate to do this but I can't think of a better way to find other good stories in the same genre as this one than to ask the fellow readers of tefler. I mean you obviously have good taste lol. If any of you know any please let me know. Thank you
Joining the Patreon is not like becoming a Baptist, a Republican, getting a membership in ARRL and a HAM station callsign, joining the SETI project, or playing Pokémon GO either.
Joining the Patreon is just joining the Patreon.
I regret a bad practice I indulged, that I will not make worse by explaining further.
I apologize.
Joy to all.
From the eager excitement that we have seen so often there could easily be some confusion. It might be worth clearing that up.
Spoiler....
Joining the Patreon is nothing like becoming a Hari Krishna, though it is similar to a fan club. Patreon is just about saying you like the story, you want to hang out and talk about the story, and see a few added posts from Tefler about the story.
Agreed, that selling the Patreon obnoxiously is... not subtle and possibly off-putting and counter productive. Well meant fanaticism still freaks some people out.
:-)
There's been a lot of recent discussion about patron posts here. I'm totally fine with PLR and FatherSin's posts. They're excited and lack spoilers. What I really don't like is random people trying to sell patreon here. I really think that should be left to Tefler. He's doing an amazing job already.
Tefler is at 994 Patrons. Help him break 1000!
hang on a minute
" It is just like the double standards I deal with in my MARRIAGES and my work....just cannot win."
You aren't John are you? is Tefler writing from your diaries? :-)
: What has never been made clear is what multiple of a standard Terran beam laser - which is being used as a basis for comparison here - a Nova Lance is. Can it do the lot on its own? Also, I understand that whilst beam lasers and mid-range kinetic energy weapons would have to be used in the cascade of laser (for shields) followed by physical ordnance for the armoured skin followed by beam laser for maximum internal damage, where do the singularity drivers fit in? Do they have enough energy to completely fuck things up on their own once the shields are down?
Waiting fascinated for ch 78!!
Timbo
Oh it's alright...that was all tongue in cheek anyway. I really wasn't kidding saying I find it hilarious.
"From the original attack strength of an energy weapon, Drakkar armour reflects 20%, absorbs 60% and allows 20% of the power through to cause actual damage."
It would take 5 times the normal Terran beam lasers to have the effect of one normally on the Drakkar hull. With the Invictus having beam lasers that are 3 times more powerful, each laser would produce .66 hit power. Considering the original load out was 6 beam lasers, it would take 10 Invictus beam laser hits in the same spot to do the normal Invictus damage (before the refits).
However, the Drakkar armor plating is still very susceptible to mass ordinance and the shields are just as susceptible as before. So it would be best to take out shields and then throw all the mass ordinance at the Drakkar ships first to create holes in the armor plating which can then be exploited by the lasers again.
I take care to be sure that the next chapter isn't on Patron before replying, and he's read it anyway.
Chapter 78 is finished!
Apologies for the wait, but chapter 78 took a while to write as it was quite complex to put together. I really hope you enjoy it, there's some major plot reveals and plenty of action!
I've handed it over to my editors and they'll be going over it for the next few days. I'll put the first draft up on my site tomorrow, then add edited versions as I receive editor suggestions.
Tefler
Actually, FatherSin is an editor and has finished reading chapter 78, I gave him the second half this afternoon. :-)
Tefler
Father Sin gets a pass because he is speculating. (Note the use of "is going to be," not "is.") Speculation about the story is most of what happens in the comments here, and so far as I recall not objected to by anyone.
No offense meant towards you Father Sin...but this is just hil freakin larious.
Father Sin teases everyone saying "Patience, Patience," and the next chapter is "worth the wait," and gets a free ass pass on it. Not a wimper about spoilers or teasing or anyone saying they are considering "tearing him a new one." Even though we all know he is an editor and has already read the chapter.
Me, doing the same thing, and I am accosted. LOL...Is it because of the name? Shakes his head and muses: It is just like the double standards I deal with in my marriages and my work....just cannot win.
To pass the time while waiting for the next chapter and to make sure I've got everything straight in my head before the expected Ashanath reveal, I've been rereading 3SM. We know that the Ashanath have been lying through their interfaces the entire time but, if what was said about the pictographs was true, then I, at least, missed something.
It's stated that the first set showed a Progenitor exterminating a race of red-skinned humanoids and collecting the women to serve as his soldiers. Further, this happened 20K years ago. I had been assuming that all of the pictographs were about Mael'nerak because Rachel said he was the only one operating here at the time. However, this doesn't fit the timeline established by the Unity files and Valada's recordings.
By that time, Mael already had dominion of the Maliri and had finished his experiments with creating life, aside from the Drakkar. Also, Valada's influence had started to calm him by then. I think this pictograph actually documents the arrival of Mael'nerak's brother and the start of the war between them. If so, it's interesting that the brother arrived without a standing army of his own.
I enjoy the battle scenes here but I really just want to get this one out of the way so we can finally find out what the Ashanath know. Assuming that they're honest this time.
-aderi
For all you addicts, just hang on.
It is going to be worth it.
Nothing is said about undamaged ships beyond "...along with the Defiler, which were all too slow to enter the minefield and survived unscathed" which means that there were definitely undamaged ships beyond the Defiler. The counts are casualty reports, and there is no indication that they are total counts of ships in those classes or that ALL ships of those classes were damaged in some manner. The above quote suggests the opposite.
Fucking awesome!!!!!! I love and hate the cliffhanger you left us with!!!
Great writing as always tefler. Keep it up!!
So I've just binge read the story from the beginning. HOLY S***! I'm completely gobsmacked! Fantastic writing, Tefler; simply amazing! I'm looking forward for the showdown; however, I'm pensive about the outcome.
Spot on!
SC8
Great story. One of the bad things about waiting is wondering when the next segment is coming out and I'm sure we all appreciate you keeping us posted. Thanks again.
jlmn: I would respectfully disagree; the counts I listed ARE the remaining capital ships that are in condition to fight. A comparative handful of destroyers (based on the comment that the Drakkar lost "almost all" of them), 15 cruisers out of 136, 12 battleships out of 25 (I misstated the number in my first comment), and the dreadnought. I don't recall Tefler giving any indication that the Drakkar use carriers, bombers, or fighters.
Given that the smaller, faster, and less heavily armored ships such as corvettes would have been in the minefield at detonation, I would assume casualties among that group would have been in the catastrophic range.
The counts of damaged ships given don't say anything about the number of undamaged ships. We're told that about half of the Drakar fleet was in the minefield when it was activated, heavily biased towards smaller and faster ships. The Drakar will arrive at Ashana with most of their heavy hitters in fighting shape, but little screening. Fortunately for the Ashanath, the Drakar probably lack the finesse or discipline to arrange (and keep) their ships in a formation that allows the large ships to provide mutual support when they are attacked by smaller, faster ships.
There's loads going on in the next chapter, including a huge battle, which is always a lot more time consuming to write than a regular one.
I've written about 22k words at the moment and I hope to continue making good headway on it over the weekend. Chapter 78 will probably be up on my site by about Tuesday or Wednesday, which means next weekend at the earliest for literotica, but more likely a week on Monday. (Allowing time for me to finish editing and then the moderation delay here.)
The editors enjoyed part 1, so I'm hoping you guys will like the whole chapter!
Tefler
I kinda feel like things aren't looking good for Dana. When the Invictus was boarded by the Drakkar, she got shot in the head. When the crew boarded Orkug's battleship, she gotten beaten with a wrench. Now, she wants to go into combat in an untested mech with brand new weapons systems. Add to that the fact that this chapter was so heavy on foreshadowing that Tef might as well have said Dana was two days from retirement and I come to the conclusion that she will be on death's door by the end of the fight. Of course, she won't actually die. She still has to figure out the wormhole generator. Athena, on the other hand, is toast, assuming that she still exists separate from Alyssa (I'm inclined to think that the merge happened during the fight with Tashana, right about where Alyssa suddenly learned to fly).
On a larger scale, I think this fight could go two ways depending on what Tef wants to show. If he wants to create one of the battles he's known for, it will be a knock down slug fest. If he wants to show how much the crew have grown, it'll go like Underworld. Given the recent upgrades to the Invictus' kinetic armament and the Drakkar fleet's Onyxium based armor, I don't think the Drakkar stand a chance. It will only be Dana that has to rely, primarily, on laser weapons against a foe specifically protected from them. Jade too, if she goes out in the Raptor, I suppose. On the other hand, the fight has to go badly enough that the greys reveal whatever the Legacy is. I hope it's the Progenitor ship they've been reverse engineering.
Regardless, I expect the Invictus' shields to get knocked out, probably the Raptor's as well. That will encourage the crew to head to the Brimorians where the BSP has engineered an alliance with the Kintark.
Of course, they'll have to stop in Terran space for another ceremony on the way. Maybe Rachel will finally get a field promotion like John and Calara have. Then Mikaboshi will attack and Sakura will get to defeat Shinatobe's replacement.
Thanks for the kind comments! It's always nice to hear someone reading through the entire story from the start, although I have some bad news for you. Unfortunately you'll have to wait for each chapter as I churn them out now! :-)
I normally aim for a new chapter every 10 days or so, but I've been really busy for the last week and haven't been able to write much. I bought a new computer the other day and I had to build that then configure it exactly as I wanted, which all took an inordinate amount of time!
Still it was well worth it, my old machine was about 8 years old and had starting crashing on me. It was well-past time for an upgrade!
Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy the story! There's a lot of fun stuff still to come!
Tefler
Tef, What's the update on Ch 78.. other than the 20k words that is.. when do you anticipate it wud be up on Lit.?
Reading between the lines, the Drakkar fleet now consists of (probably) some corvettes, a comparative handful of destroyers, 15 damaged but spaceworthy cruisers, 8 damaged but spaceworthy battleships, and a dreadnought.
Given that the original fleet numbered well into the hundreds, I'd say the minefield was overwhelmingly successful.
That's probably not enough destroyers or cruisers to act as effective screens for all the battleships. And given that the Invictus can now fire its pair of linked Nova Lances every 60 seconds, it wouldn't take long to put paid to those battleships.
I wonder whether it will come down to Invictus vs. the Drakkar dreadnought, followed by a boarding action by Overlord Vekruk and his retinue in their new, sonic weapon-resistant armor?
First of Tef , sincere thanks for writing this 1 and half year old and still continuing saga. It had me so hooked up that I did a binge reading of this from chapter 1. I cannot be more thankful for having come across this and finding this gem.
Really loving the saga of our 4 balled hero with burgeoning crew. The best part of this saga had been its verifiable facts. It seems like you are a good scientist yourself from the weaponry to how gravity works to how anatomy figures. Its a unique thread that binds the whole story.
Being honest with you, had started skipping sex part quite a lot as it just started to feel too much , but that's because I was doing a binge reading and if not for it would have gone through those fantasies in details but may be will reread the saga , the beauty of literature.
Thanks once again for sharing this amazing saga! keep up the exceptional work and hope this things gets more frequent chapters built up.
I doubt Jessica & John's father(whoever it might be ) thought of them as "innocents" . They stole his Matriarch & to Jessica they took her away from her Master & the information they had would put him in danger from the TF while he was still injured & weak . How do you think Alyssa would react to someone who tried to take her away from John , to quote Mr T 'I pity the fool" .
Seeing as how mael'nerak wouldn't let his matriarch blow up innocents in the way johns mother did, I must admit you are right.
I don't have much to add to this discussion personally, I know shockingly little about the lore.
Hope 78 cums out soon!
Interesting ideas about ProJohn I had wondered if he had made any appearances during John's military career since I'm sure he faced death a few times but John never mentioned any once he found out about what happened to him during his "black outs" with the Darkkar etc. Maybe he couldn't come forward until John created his Matriarch (Alyssa) & was shocked he wasn't in a teachable youth but a grown man with an established moral foundation . Is he in his "prison" able to see what is happening in real time world ? would he be impressed or shocked John has essentially done what he ( PJ ) wanted to do , take over the Maliri & become their Leader? It is amazingly more satisfying to be given something (power , love , respect ) than to tear it out of someone with force & much safer . Just look at the Maliri culture , it will only lead to self destruction . Will be an interesting confrontation when it happens & will tell a lot about the motivation of the Progenitors for their seemingly destructive tendencies , is it to Rule or to feed their Astral masters :-)
That is about how I see it happening as well. Pro-John realizes he is defeated and cannot defeat both John and Alyssa. He will revert back to his initial reason for existence, even if only reluctantly. And John will be slightly different afterwards. His current psychological profile will be dominant, but his ego will have been altered slightly.
John's spirit guide (Pro-John) could best be thought of as a secondary personality. This personality by all lore stated was a benevolent one when John was younger but as John grows older and Pro-John is simply relegated to the background, Pro-John for what better of an explanation absorbs the more primal aspects of John (The Progenitor need to manipulate, conquer and enslave) and as such becomes the Pro-John that we all know from the story. Pro-John however is still weak as John's constitution and resolve of having only one night stands provides him with little power. It isn't until John meets Alyssa and starts to engage with her intimately on multiple occasions that Pro-John starts to gain power.
This brings me to my second point of what I think will happen with John and Pro-John. After the clusterfuck that was the obliteration of the Fulmanax, the brutal ceasing of the Trankaran uprising and Edraele's downfall; followed by the newest news on the Mael'Nerak, I see John going on a spirit walk and confronting Pro-John. While John is confronting Pro-John, Alyssa and the girls would be unable to communicate with him and there being a sort of Alien X moment (Ben 10: Alien Force reference; basically multiple entities, one body. No consensus between the entities = No outward movement). After reaching an agreement of sorts Pro-John and John become one resulting in John becoming more like Mael'Nerak (Caring and Benevolent leader and unintentional ruler).
The implications of John's Grandfather enrolling him into Martial Arts and his Sensae teaching him meditation to control himself at least indicates John's spirit guide was never benevolent. And one thing we have seen with Tefler's writing, he is very consistent on such things.
So: for the record....I am proposing that the Evil Brother won the battle but was incapacitated on a deserted world for 10,000 years. John's mother comes along and he enthralls her and impregnates her so he can take over the infant's body. That plan is somewhat foiled when she is forced to leave the planet and gives birth on Terra. She escapes to return to the Evil Brother and is impregnated again, giving birth to the BSP who is the Evil Brother that has taken over the infant's body.
This has serious implications for the story in that the Evil Brother and John will have equal genetic codes...which means they will (when John defeats his spirit guide) have equal abilities and equal levels of personal power.
The difference makers are then Athena and Alyssa, which the BSP would never even consider making such counterparts as it is against his nature to do so.
I personally agree with a lot of your suppositions. Thinking the BSP is most likely a second child from his mother who took over the body at an early stage because he was incapacitated. The question is: was the Progenator in that stranded ship the Evil Brother or Mael.
I am thinking the BSP is an ofspring of the Evil Brother.
It makes sense to me because the Evil brother after Mael disappeared for 10,000 years or so...after knowing about the Maliri and after the battle with Mael. Also, the spirit guide for John is evil in its primary motivations rather than good and supportive like Athena is with Alyssa. If John's mother was enthralled by Mael one would think his spirit guide would be more benevolent in nature.
An alternative hypothesis is the BSP is the second son of Mael who didn't have the influences of Valada (over several thousand years) or Johns mother's parents and was overcome by the astral plane behemoth. This doesn't quite mesh as well given the natures of John's and Alyssa's spirit guides but is still workable.
I find almost as much enjoyment through the reading of the daily comment updates as I derive from reading Tefler's new chapters (Note "almost").
Lots of thought provoking ideas and some crazy strange math and notions about physics and science in general but always entertaining. So now that it is nearly a week since the last update, two things.
First: Thankyou Tefler. Your story is well thought out and extremely entertaining. I have reread it now twice to fill in the wait time between new chapters, which leads me to; Second, how is the next chapter coming along?
Fan1952😃👏
I was just thinking, what would happen when john and bsp meet if Alyssa and Athena ganged up and set up a nul zone around the bsp? Then it is just a conventional fight.
Both Alyssa and Athena are going to blow the BSP's freakin mind. That is one huge and unknowable tactical advantage. BSP thinks he is going up against one Progen advisary, not three...two of which are highly devoted women protecting their Progenitor Alpha Male.
Ever seen a female animal protecting her young? Talk about ferel and fierce!
Additionally, John has had to learn martial arts, in several disciplines, such as Judo, Kendo, and other sword forms which the BSP would have never worried about due to reliance on his metaphysical prowess. That also gives John a very serious tactical advantage in a null zone fight. Sword against hand---the hand gets cut off...with the head...literally.
Since symbolism is so rampant among the phsycic realm, may I assume that John's lack of Aura is just as important as the behemoth wound recoiling from the Crystal alyssium? And that the difference in color between the black goo and the blade is no coincidence?
Or is the fact that John made the blade have more to do with it?
I'm also starting to think that the progenitor that John will be facing has been around for a while now, seeing as how the FTL drive John has is a large step down from the wormhole generator. (unless it was something missing from the blueprints Dana unlocked through irillith)
As for who John's father is, I am of the tentative opinion that it's mael'nerak. In recent comments, it was mentioned that progenitors were made, not born. They also jealously guard their tech. Yet John, although he seems like he might be the first 'born' progenitor, was imprinted with 'everything a young progenitor needs to start his conquest'. Although mael'nerak's brother may have had plans to do a body swap, I prefer to think that mael'nerak planned on trying to raise a progenitor who could learn compassion without having to spend millennium in the company of one such as valaden.
For the question of John's lack of aura, my guess is that PJ has a dark aura while J has an aura bright enough to negate it. If so, John won't be ready to face PJ until his aura is much brighter than the blackness he notices while on spirit walks. Either that, or both aura's are hidden behind his mind shield.
Is there anything wrong with that theory so far?