Titans: The Professor

Author's note:

This is a standalone side-story in the same setting as my other Titans stories. There are no returning characters (though some may show up again in future) and nobody in this story is aware of any events beyond the prologue of the main series, but if you've already read it then you might spot a few links and references. If you haven't read it already and would like to before starting this one, go toTitans 01: Coeusand take it from there.

This story features a lesbian Domme/sub relationship with a focus on bondage and orgasm control, plus some pseudo-incest between characters who aren't actually related (any readers coming from the main series will already be familiar with what I mean by this). Thematically, expect mainly relationship drama with a sprinkling of intrigue and some action scenes as a dessert.

My writing focus has been all over the place, as I do this entirely for fun and I write what I'm enjoying, so this is yet again a bit different from my other works, but hopefully any returning readers will still enjoy it. Without further ado...

Are you sitting comfortably?

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*****

The snowstorm battered against the walls of the facility like it held a grudge, but inside was quiet and calm, protected as it was by the best energy field generators that money could buy. Professor Huang Min watched it bluster and blow from behind a thick window; her lips pressed into a thin line and her jaw clenched in frustration. Her black hair was held back in a severe bun, aside from one strand that had dared escape to hang in front of her face. She hated that strand with a passion.

"Professor Huang?" prompted a voice from behind.

The professor turned to glare at the source of the voice. Administrator Santana, technically her boss, was a short, wide man with neat black hair going grey at the temples. He looked nervous, which of course meant he was starting to sweat, and was mopping ineffectually at his brow with a handkerchief while his eyes flicked between her and the hologram he was standing next to.

It seemed like there was something wrong with the calibration of the hologram emitter, because the man on the other side of the call looked far too big to be real. The hologram stood nearly half again over Min's height, and his body thick and sturdy beneath his matte black armour, with a presence even beyond his exaggerated size. He was maybe in his thirties or a fresh-faced forty, with mid-length brown hair that hung loosely around his ears. A small pistol and a helmet with a blank faceplate hung from his belt, like he'd just stepped off the battlefield. He scowled at Min as if she had annoyed him, so she returned the look for a moment before glancing over to the administrator again.

"Have you looked outside, Felipe?" she scolded him, "If we can't get out, how in space is someone meant to get in here and kill me?"

"We should take this seriously, Min," the administrator mumbled, an anxious grin plastered on his face.

"The Intelligence Bureau say the shipment is already on site, delivered during the last flight window," said the hologram, in a gruff, serious voice, "There was a large crate that doesn't match with anything on the administrator's records and we have no idea where it went after delivery. Anything, or anyone, could already be there with you."

"A missing parcel doesn't mean that someone is planning murder, or that it's going to be me! Lieutenant Cain, was it? Is that a surname?" Professor Huang said, with exasperated frustration.

Administrator Santana widened his eyes and tried to catch the professor's attention, shaking his head in tiny fast movements. She ignored him.

"Lieutenant GeneralCain," the man said stiffly, "Not my surname, no. Call me Cain Three, if you must. The Intelligence Bureau have other reasons to believe this is a targeted attack, but we are not at liberty to disclose their sources at this time."

The professor narrowed her eyes in confusion for a moment at the numerical name but refused to be distracted from her argument.

"What does the Mech Corps even care about me and this mystery shipment anyway?"

"We have a vested interest in the results of your research, Professor. We also consider the threat to be credible and happen to be in a position to help. Captain Murray and Sergeant Winters are in the area, already en route to your facility to provide additional security. You are to allow them full access and answer any questions they have as they go about their business."

Min tutted and turned back to stare out of the window again. A second strand of hair had somehow escaped her bun despite her not touching her head at all. She pushed them both behind her ear with a perfectly filed and red-painted fingernail.

"Yes, I'm sure some big stompy robots piloted by slack-jawed meatheads will make meso much saferin a facility with low ceilings in the middle of a month-long blizzard," she sniffed, "How would they even get here anyway?"

"Min..." Felipe warned her. She could practically hear the sweat dripping off him. She also heard a low chuckle coming through the hologram speakers.

"If you look up and to your left, you might see," the lieutenant general said, almost sounding slightly amused now, "We'll speak later, Professor Huang."

The call cut out with a quiet blip before the professor could turn around, then she squinted into the blinding snow as two spots of light suddenly blazed through it, descending rapidly from above but slowing down as they fell. They looked like rocket engines; one set a bit larger and further ahead than the other.

"Those shuttles aren't going to reach the hangar in this wind," she tutted.

"It's theMech Corps, Min," Administrator Santana said, practically hyperventilating with nerves, "They won't be arriving in shuttles. We should meet them at the door, I think, and please be nice to them. A large part of our budget comes from the Mech Corps' strategic investment fund."

"I'm always nice," she lied blatantly, then rolled her eyes and gestured for Felipe to lead the way. He was a good friend and colleague really, but he was overly dramatic about these things, and she'd learned that sometimes it was best to just humour him.

The administrator mopped his face one final time with the already sodden handkerchief, then hustled out of the meeting room. Min followed him down the long, dim corridor, pausing briefly as they passed the window that looked into the reactor room and nodding in approval that it was still ticking over nicely. Her assistants were doing an acceptable job, it seemed.

"He looked more like a frontline grunt than a lieutenant general," she mused out loud, to break the awkward silence, "Who wears combat armour to a meeting anyway?"

"He's both, Min. That was the same Cain that broke the siege on Sahar," Felipe said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye without interrupting his hurried stride.

"Has Sahar been at war again? You know I don't keep up with the news from outside."

"Not recently, no. I meant the one they teach in school."

Professor Huang laughed.

"And you're askingmeto be nice? Felipe, that was eighty years ago. I'm sure he wouldn't thank you for saying he looks that old. Maybe you're thinking of his father. Mr Three, or Cain Two, or whatever."

"...you really don't know anything about the Mech Corps at all, do you Min?"

"Big robots and way too much money to throw around. What more is there to know? I'm a physicist, Felipe, not a military historian."

The administrator sighed as he stopped in front of the door to the hangar and allowed the biometric lock to scan him.

"I know you well enough to tell when you don't really want an answer, Min," he said as the lock beeped and the door slid open, "Just please be nice to this new security team. There are only a couple dozen of these mech pilots in the whole galaxy, so sending two of them here is a huge investment, and they are much, much more than frontline grunts."

"If you say so," she rolled her eyes again and followed him into the hangar.

The hangar was the largest room in the facility, aside from the reactor enclosure, and was half-filled with the squat emergency escape shuttle. The other half of the room was usually where the supply shuttle landed during the intermittent spells of good weather, and one entire wall was taken up with a heavy metal door that opened to the outside world. The administrator turned towards a control panel on the inside and pressed a large button, activating hidden hydraulics that slid the hangar door open with surprising speed.

Beyond the walls of the facility was blank white as far as the eye could see. Even the mountains had blended in entirely with the snow whipping through the air at frightening speed, and the only thing that stopped the wind from blowing a snowdrift as tall as a person into the hangar was the powerful energy field drawing a clear dividing line between inside and out.

"How are they even meant to land in this weather?" the professor muttered, folding her arms.

"They already have, Min," said the administrator, pointing off into the distance.

Through the snowstorm, they could just barely see a large, humanoid silhouette trudging towards them. It was wide and stocky, but given the distance it had to be enormously tall. The figure was carrying a large, square shield that it braced against the wind, but ploughed its way through the snow that came up to its knees like it wasn't even there. As it drew closer, the silhouette revealed more details: a metal body, a face made of bundles of lenses, and a large backpack structure visible over its shoulders. Finally, the mech reached the hangar, forced its way through the resistance of the energy field and ducked its head to enter the building, dropping to one knee and lowering its shield to rest on the floor.

Min kept her expression blank and impassive, unimpressed by the massive war machine, but couldn't help flinching when a smaller mech suddenly leapt down from its back, landing on the floor with a clang. This one was closer to human-sized, or would have been if not for the elongated and much thicker shins and forearms that stretched its limbs out well beyond human proportions. The head was more similar to a helmet than its larger companion, with a blank visor rather than a bundle of lenses. It stood to attention as the hangar door rumbled closed behind them.

After an uncomfortable pause, the larger mech's torso split down the middle and began to open, revealing its pilot. Professor Huang's jaw dropped open, because the woman within was utterly gorgeous. She was wearing the same black armour as Lieutenant General Cain, complete with helmet and pistol clipped to the belt, but it didn't do much to hide her stunning figure. Her blonde hair was cropped short over most of her head, with a slightly longer fringe swept across her forehead and brushing against one eyebrow. Beneath those eyebrows were a pair of shining blue eyes, again almost the same as the lieutenant general.

The woman picked up a large duffle bag from the floor of her cockpit and leapt down to the floor, landing in an easy crouch, then stood and made her way over to the waiting pair. She was as tall and muscled as the man on the hologram had seemed, and carried herself with a relaxed, dangerous confidence.

"Administrator Santana," she nodded towards Felipe in greeting, then turned towards Min, looking down on her from above, "Professor Huang. Your 'slack-jawed meatheads' have arrived."

Min blushed furiously, but steeled herself and refused to flinch or break eye contact. How had the mech pilot even known about that? Did Cain tell her? Felipe whimpered slightly and began to sweat again but nevertheless took a step forward. Probably trying to control the conversation before Min said something else to offend the glorious amazon in front of her. He was smart like that, sometimes.

"Welcome to our humble facility," he said in his best schmoozing voice, "I presume you must be Captain Murray."

"Captain Charlotte Murray, number twelve," the woman nodded, then gestured back at the smaller mech, "This is Sergeant Ashleigh Winters, number twenty-two."

The smaller mech unfolded at her gesture, the front half opening outwards and hitting Professor Huang with an intense sense of deja vu. The exact same eyes stared out at her from the exact same face, atop the exact same body wearing the exact same armour. The sergeant grinned widely and stepped down the short distance to the floor, the thick braid that stuck out from each side of her head bouncing as she did so.

"Hiya!" she said energetically, "You can call me Ash, if you like."

"Twins?" Professor Huang murmured, looking back and forth between the two statuesque blondes, "But your names..."

"Please excuse the professor," Felipe interrupted before she could finish her thought, "She's not very familiar with the Mech Corps. We greatly appreciate your presence here and remain at your disposal if there is anything we can do to assist."

The captain chuckled to herself, glancing sideways at Min and shaking her head in amusement. Then gave a short sigh and was suddenly all business again.

"You can start by getting me access to your personnel files and CCTV. I'll begin my investigation overnight and have the first interviews in the morning. Sergeant Winters will be providing personal protection for Professor Huang until we're satisfied there's no further danger."

The sergeant bounced up and down on the balls of her feet and clapped her hands together, still grinning like an idiot. Min's heart sank in her chest and her nostrils flared. There was nothing she hated more than an idiot. Why couldn't it have been the captain assigned to her? At least she seemed somewhat professional.

"Investigation?" the administrator asked, furrowing his brow, "I wasn't aware the Mech Corps had an investigative branch."

"They don't," said the captain with a cocky smirk, "They have me."

"Charlie is, like, super good at her job," said the sergeant, still grinning. Didn't she ever stop?

"Then by all means," Felipe smiled back at the two pilots, "I'm glad we'll be working towards a resolution rather than just applying a patch. Come right this way to the security office, Captain Murray."

The captain inclined her head in thanks and allowed herself to be led out of the room by Felipe, ducking slightly to get through the doorway. He looked back at Min as he left, frantically mouthing 'be nice' and glaring at the professor. She rolled her eyes at him and then turned to her new bodyguard.

"Sergeant Winters, was it?" she asked through a forced smile.

"Yeah, that's me," the mech pilot bounced on her feet again, "But you can call me Ash if you want. I'm like, so super excited to meet you, Professor Huang."

"Sergeant Winters?" Min said, her voice and smile both becoming strained, "Please shut up. I'm a busy woman and this has already taken up enough of my time. Don't make it worse by distracting me."

That finally wiped the stupid grin off the sergeant's face. Her expression fell, her shoulders slumped, and she looked almost physically wounded. So much for the big tough soldier.

"Of course, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."

Min sighed to herself in mild relief. That was an improvement. A small one, but quiet sulking was at least preferable to idiotic enthusiasm. Without another word, she turned and stalked back to her office, the blonde trailing behind her like a kicked puppy.

*****

Professor Huang's office was on the far end of the facility, with one small window looking out into the snow and another, much larger window looking onto the reactor room. Everyone else had long since taken off for the day, but she was already behind on her work and being called into a meeting to be told someone wanted to assassinate her had only made the backlog worse.

Min sat at her immaculately tidy desk surrounded by holographic displays showing the results of the latest batch of simulations, trying to ignore the looming figure of the massive mech pilot standing behind her. She was only partially successful, and it was being made more difficult by the way the sergeant kept leaning in slightly, her shadow shifting as she peered around Min at the strings of data. On the third or fourth time she did so, the professor finally had enough and slammed a hand down on the desk.

"Can I help you with something, Sergeant?" she hissed through gritted teeth.

The mech pilot flinched back.

"Sorry, Professor," she mumbled.

There was a long period of silence, enough to lure Min into a false sense of security, then just as she was about to turn back to her work, the sergeant spoke again.

"It's just... What are you, like, even researching here? I tried to look before we came, but like, my clearance wasn't good enough or something?"

So, it was like that, was it? Just being curious, or nosy. Not that there was much of a difference, in Min's opinion. She knew how to deal with curiosity from idiots.

"We're developing a model of non-infinitesimal pseudo-masses in the unreal plane and examining the consequences of that on psycho-manipulative travel."

The professor smiled sadistically as the mech pilot's face scrunched up in confusion. That would teach her not to ask questions she wouldn't understand.

"Okay, but, like, didn't youjustverify that all pseudo-masses were infinitesimal? As part of, like, your last research paper?"

Min blinked in surprise. "My... last research paper?"

"Yeah? 'An Improved Model of Slipspace Anomalies as Zero-Dimensional Objects in N-Dimensional Space' was, like, really fascinating. I wasn't super sure about, like, your methodology? But I'm sure your team are all super smart and knew what they were doing."

Min sat in stunned silence for a moment, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and out.

"What was wrong with our methodology?" she asked in a stiff voice.

"Oh. Sorry Professor," said the sergeant in a small and nervous voice, "It's probably just me being silly."

"What was wrong," Min repeated in a firmer tone, opening her eyes to glare at the huge blonde woman, "With our methodology?"

The soldier hunched down into her shoulders, trying and failing to make herself smaller. Her lip quivered slightly as she spoke again.

"It's just... like, your model made the assumption that energy was a free variable that could have any value. And that would be, like, completely fine for most models when the energy is this high. But, like, energy is always quantised? Even at high levels, and even in slipspace? If you ignore the quantised values and level transitions then you could, like, miss the existence of meta-stable states that allow the point masses to coalesce under sufficient psycho-manipulation?"

Min stared again. The mech pilot was doing her very best to disappear into the background, but the professor refused to let her.

"Every single one of my colleagues missed that. Dammit, even I missed that until six months ago," the professor shook her head, sighing heavily, "Why in space are you a soldier, and not a scientist?"

"You could say it, like, runs in the family?" the sergeant said with a nervous smile, cautiously unfolding herself again.

"Because your sister is a captain?"

"Um, kinda?" the sergeant shrugged, "You, um... You haven't come across any mech pilots before, have you?"

"I'm a physicist, Sergeant. I don't get involved in many wars," Min sighed, "Look, I think we got off a bit on the wrong foot. I'm not entirely convinced you even need to be here, but if you must hang around me until this situation is resolved then can I at least put you to work on something useful? How good is your N-dimensional mathematics?"