A little look into Titan TV's origins… involving plenty of Reader (human, no specified gender) and robots fucking, cuddling and talking about their feelings, because I know what I like, dammit. (You can't judge me; I've seen your AO3 bookmarks.)
This fic is nsfw: robot/robot fucking, and a small amount of human/robot fucking.
The TV-units from Skibidi Toilet are hot. Giant machines are hot. If you agree, this is for you! As usual for all my mature/explicit fics: lewd/creepy/horny comments are welcome.
Every TV-unit contributed to the building of the Titan in some way.
Every engineer, every mechanic, had worked together to design and build the most perfect version of the upgrade technology that had been created by the other Alliance factions. Every agent had either sourced materials and components or parlayed with the other factions for them.
Every single TV-unit had had their wrist-blades replaced, and the old ones melted down for the construction of the Titan's shell. Regardless of how much or how little they'd been able to contribute otherwise, every single TV would be able to say that they had added something to the Titan.
Out of all the applicants for being remade into the Titan, a final sixteen had been shortlisted. All sixteen had been trained for the three possibilities that awaited them. Of these sixteen, one would become the Titan, and the two in second and third place would become the Imperator's two bodyguards. The rest would return to their work as agents, but not before all candidates had had their serial numbers expunged, never to be re-used, and had new serials allocated. No-one except the Titan themself would ever know which candidate had been chosen… none besides Engineer Sixteen-Sixty-Eight, the superintendent of all engineers in the faction.
Agent Seventeen-Ninety-One beheld the dormant Titan construct with which they would soon be merged. "…You made me so beautiful."
Agent Ninety-One and Engineer Sixty-Eight stood in the highest of the control rooms within the Titan hangar, allowing them to see the magnificent entirety of the Titan shell, still connected by huge roping twists of cables and pipes to the machinery of the hangar. The shell twitched slightly.
"Why does it move?" asked Ninety-One. "It is still mindless, isn't it?"
"In every sense that matters," replied Sixty-Eight. "It is animate only on the most basic level, so that we can remotely control it to test all its systems. It is still useless in battle without an intelligent mind."
The Titan's mind would come from Seventeen-Ninety-One, the most brilliant and perfect of all TV agents.
Engineer Sixty-Eight continued: "We shall be sorry to lose you as an agent. You always were the best of us. …It almost wasn't worth running the trials."
"I'm sure the Imperator appreciated it," replied Ninety-One, "They'll get two fine bodyguards out of it. …You call me 'the best of us', but really, that honour's the Imperator's. I did consider petitioning for the Imperator to become the Titan instead, and I could take the Imperator's place. But this way is better, I'm sure of it now. Better to have a superb Titan and a superb Imperator, than to have the superlative Titan but a mediocre Imperator. Our Imperator will do a finer job than I ever could of leading our faction." Ninety-One turned away from looking at its soon-to-be new shell and faced Sixty-Eight. "What happens to my old shell?"
"Stripped of all identifying serials and then mixed in with the other candidates' shells. All of them will be partially rebuilt and re-serialised. No-one except us will know which candidate became the Titan. Not even the Imperator will have any idea."
A pause, then Agent Ninety-One drew their wrist-blades. "Won't you spar with me, Sixty-Eight? Once I am remade, I never again will be able to participate in such a simple pleasure."
"I…won't be much of a challenge for you…"
"I am not asking for a competition. I just want one last round of play."
"Of course, Ninety-One. One last happy memory from your old life? I can do that for you."
The engineer drew their own blades, and both TVs faced each other in combat stance. Engineer Sixty-Eight fought nervously, both from facing such an elite agent and at the unexpected deviation from the night's schedule, but Agent Ninety-One didn't seem at all frustrated or disappointed by such an easy opponent. Sixty-Eight gradually became a little bolder, as Ninety-One parried all their attacks with no apparent effort - Sixty-Eight felt they could therefore fight a little more fiercely, as the chance of hurting the Titan-in-waiting was so low. The Engineer fought harder, in the process leaving their defence wide open - enabling the Agent to swoop inwards and perform the attack that would have disarmed them in a real fight.
"Do you yield?" asked Ninety-One.
"Of course - I've no chance of coming back from that!" Sixty-Eight sounded amused. The sparring match couldn't have had any other outcome… though the engineer had enjoyed getting to spar with such a skilled agent, and they were grateful that Ninety-One hadn't simply let them win - Sixty-Eight thought they would have found that patronising rather than pleasing.
As the two TVs retracted their blades, Agent Ninety-One spread their arms to invite a hug from Engineer Sixty-Eight.
"…I suppose a final embrace is apt for such a momentous occasion," commented Sixty-Eight, stepping forward to accept.
"Once I assume my rightful form… I will be an entity of only destruction. There are so many things I must put aside and will never experience again. Thank you for letting me spar one last time."
"I'm glad it helped?"
Ninety-One squeezed the engineer gently. "…Once I transform, I will have to be everybody's Titan. I won't ever be able to remain close and intimate with one unit again. Before I change… won't you let me have one last sexual encounter? Let me love you, if only for a short time." Agent Ninety-One unclamped their embrace from Engineer Sixty-Eight to pull away a little and look the other TV in the screen.
Engineer Sixty-Eight was not sure how to take this…
"Of course I will not force you," continued Ninety-One. "But I very much want you to. Think of it as one last request from Agent Seventeen-Ninety-One before I cease to exist… or think of it as the first favour for your Titan, if you prefer."
"I could… do that. We're on schedule, we have time. But… I'm so stressed from ensuring this process goes correctly. And you're the one whose very existence is at risk here. How are you thinking of sex at this point? Are you not afraid?"
"I am not afraid at all. The other two factions built their Titans with beautiful success, and they are not as brilliant as us. You built Polycephaly into the most powerful agent we have so far, so we know the technology works with our kind. And you are the best engineer our faction has ever produced. What could I possibly have to be afraid of?" Ninety-One pulled Sixty-Eight back into a full embrace. "Will you fuck me, Sixty-Eight?"
"…Do you really want your last sexual encounter to be with me?"
"Who is more deserving than you? The most brilliant of all engineers." Ninety-One pulled back once again, and slipped a hand under the engineer's head-casing and gently raised Sixty-Eight's screen to face their own. "And you are the only one who will ever know who I was in my pre-Titan form. Who else will get to say that they've fucked a Titan?"
Sixty-Eight felt so very flustered, but realised they absolutely enjoyed it at the same time. "Alright… I will. What is it you want?"
"Just a quick blade-fuck. That's all I want. My tastes are quite simple." Agent Ninety-One unfastened the buttons of their pea coat and then their shirt as they spoke.
Sixty-Eight shyly unfastened their own lab coat and shirt, and pulled back the cover on their charging port.
Ninety-One lined up the tips of both blades with the sockets on Sixty-Eight's charging port, then teased the other unit by pushing the blades in only a tiny amount, before stopping and withdrawing, repeating the process, and then again with the addition of raking the blade tips lightly over the connector points, making tiny static arcs crackle.
"Oh, Ninety-One," said the engineer, their voice tinged with static moans, "Are you going to fuck me, or just frustrate me? Is that what you wanted all along??"
"Do you want a little more?"
"I want a lot more! Are you trying to edge me until my circuits fry? You wanted one last fuck, make it count!"
"With pleasure."
Agent Ninety-One, the Titan-in-waiting, elegantly pushed their blades home into Engineer Sixty-Eight's charging point… then pushed further still, bodily shoving Sixty-Eight's back against the nearest wall. Sixty-Eight's screen and speakers buzzed with both audio and visual static at the welcome intensity of the stimulus. Ninety-One raised their blades higher, lifting Sixty-Eight up against the wall.
"Oh, you're so strong," marvelled Sixty-Eight, their voice wavering with euphoria.
Ninety-One smoothly lowered Sixty-Eight until their feet touched the floor once more. "Me too?" asked the Titan-in-Waiting, withdrawing one blade to free up a hand to open their charging port.
Sixty-Eight gladly pushed their blades home into Ninety-One's charging port, prompting a delighted moan of static. Ninety-One pushed themself further into the stimulus, saying "Feel free to ram harder - I like it that way."
Sixty-Eight was happy to oblige.
Ninety-One raised their free hand, as if to return it to Sixty-Eight's charging port. "One of each?" the Agent suggested.
The two TVs changed to using one blade on the other unit, and their other blade on themselves. Both pushed their blades in and out of each other's and their own charging ports, ramping up a current that zapped around both their shells and up and down both sets of blades, until neither of them could take it any more. Both pulled apart from each other, thoroughly refreshed and energised but mellow at the same time.
"Oh, Sixty-Eight," said Agent Ninety-One fondly as the two TVs re-buttoned their clothing. "In another lifetime, I could have loved you. Had we met under different circumstances, I would have sought to make you my companion… It's better that that never happened. It's better that we won't miss each other. …I know I am not going to die now, not really. But in a way, I will cease to be. Agent Ninety-One will be no more, and only the Titan will remain. …I've already wasted too much of our time, haven't I? We should proceed."
Engineer Sixty-Eight nodded solemnly. "It's time for our Titan to be born." The Engineer led the Titan-in-waiting to a wall-mounted apparatus designed to incapacitate a unit and prepare them for breakdown.
Ninety-One willingly stepped into place and allowed Sixty-Eight to close all restraints and connect all cables.
Sixty-Eight placed a hand on the activation lever. "Any last words as Agent Seventeen-Ninety-One?"
"…All toilets will die."
…
The entity awoke. Was it awake? How did it know what 'awake' was? Had it done this before? Whose body was this? Had it ever had a body before? "Is it my body?" thought the entity. It must be. Whose else's would it be? Is it normal to have a body and not know if it's yours?
"I feel unfinished," thought the entity. But how did it know that, it thought to itself. What does it mean to be unfinished? Had it ever had a finished body to compare it to?
It used to have a screen, didn't it? Is it still there? The entity discovered it had a screen. The entity probed its consciousness around its shell (since when did it have a shell? Was that there before?), searching for a way to link its mind to it.
The entity's mind felt as though it was falling apart into fragments, though it was not breaking apart. Each of the mind-pieces felt linked together by chains of fire, stronger than anything. The mind-pieces unfurled into a magnificent fiery web that spread and tunnelled though every part of this strange new shell… then the web pulled itself taut and snapped all of itself back into place.
The entity powered on its screen. It saw… shapes. Angles and lines… resolved into a hangar with gantries. How did it know the words 'hangar' and 'gantry'? It knew it had seen them before. But how? It was just born.
"Titan?" called out Sixty-Eight.
The entity instantly knew who it was. What it was. Its life's purpose.
The Titan inclined its colossal screen to the source of the voice. "…Sixty-Eight?"
"Yes!" Sixty-Eight sounded delighted. "Oh, Titan… welcome."
The Titan tried to lower its head down to get a better look at Sixty-Eight, and was stopped by all the hangar-apparatus still holding it in place. The Titan's mind, still new and fresh, wasn't sure what it was supposed to do to resolve that. "Sixty-Eight. Need you."
The engineer teleported to a gantry near the Titan's head. "You're not quite finished activating," explained Sixty-Eight. "We have to leave you linked up for just a little while longer."
"Frightened," replied the Titan.
"Don't be, dear Titan," replied Sixty-Eight, lifting a hand to stroke the Titan's screen. "All engineers are here to look after you."
"…Better. Thank you. …What happens next?"
"Please… just continue to rest. Your mind needs to work itself into your new shell. Let it happen at its own pace."
The Titan shakily raised a hand onto the gantry. "Would like to hold hands with you," explained the Titan, "Can't yet. Haven't got used to shell. Don't want to crush you."
"I'll hold hands with you, Titan," Sixty-Eight said as they knelt next to the Titan's hand and stroked it.
A morass of punctuation displayed on the Titan's screen. Sixty-Eight guessed the Titan was trying to render an emoticon but was having difficulty.
Four more TVs joined Engineer Sixty-Eight on the gantry: three normal-sized and one comparatively colossal, though still small compared to the TV Titan. The Titan beheld the new units, wondering why they were familiar, before a memory surfaced. "Imperator. Polycephaly. …Two unknown. Successful candidates? Imperator's bodyguards."
"Got it in one," said the largest of the four units - Polycephaly. Polycephaly knelt by the Titan's hand and pulled one of the Titan's fingers into a hug. "Titan, I went through this too. You will prevail. I remember it was difficult and frightening for me those first few hours after activation. It might be harder for you, because there's more of you to get used to. Or maybe it will go easier, because your mind is more powerful. Either way, I'll see you through it. Polycephaly's here for you."
The Titan's screen flickered with random punctuation, and briefly managed to display a smiling emoticon, before fading back to whitish static.
The Imperator stepped forth and wedged themself between Polycephaly and Engineer Sixty-Eight, joining in on petting the Titan's hand. The Imperator's two bodyguards stood respectfully at a distance, until the Imperator wordlessly beckoned them both over. The two bodyguards seemed apprehensive but stepped forth nevertheless, reverently placing a single hand each upon the Titan's hand.
The five units remained quietly in place for several minutes, as the Titan enjoyed their soothing and comforting presence, and took in the sight of all its other engineers calmly and efficiently going back and forth and carrying out their tasks.
"Sixty-Eight…" spoke the Titan after a while, "Ask me who I am."
"…What?"
"Indulge me, my engineer. Ask me who I am."
"…Who are you?"
"I am your Titan… and I am perfect in every way."
"Question… Où est le pamplemousse?!!"
"Oh, that vid never gets old!" you say to yourself, laughing around a mouthful of spring roll. You're unwinding in your quarters after a hard day's work, munching your way through a plate of mushroomy spring rolls and a bowl full of mixed berries, as you watch and catalogue various human videos you've been able to salvage from the post-apocalyptic ruins. You're not sure if you really believe that enough humans will rise from the ashes to rebuild civilisation, but you choose to believe it, or at least act as though you do. You hoard and catalogue whatever pieces of your species' cultures that you find, building a record: I was here in the last days of humanity. This was my story.
You receive a message on your communicator: "calling you in 5 or so, nothing to worry about" It's Cygnus, the TV-unit. They've got better phone manners than most humans you ever met, that's for sure.
"acknowledged, thanks" you message back.
Your communicator rings shortly afterwards, as expected. "Mneurgh," you say, as you accidentally bite it instead of the spring roll you had in your other hand. You recover, then answer the call: "Nafternoon, you're through to the Wetware Division of the Hardware Alliance. Here to fulfil all your oozing and squelching needs."
"…What?"
"That's me. I'm the Wetware Division. Instead of Hardware. Because, you know, we organics are basically squelching protein sacks of seawater."
"…I see."
"And it's currently only a one-human faction, but it's here. So what kinds of slime can I dispense from my pulsating mystery orifices for you today? My moist witch-hole is dripping and fecund."
"…Have you checked the carbon monoxide detectors in your quarters recently?"
"No danger, Cygnus, I am just being a dickhead, as is my birthright as a human. Anyway, it's lovely as always to hear from you. What can this marvellous meatbag do for its most favourite machine?"
"I'm very busy this evening, but all of it involves working from my office. If you have nothing better planned, would you like to hang out with me while I work?"
"I'd love that! Gimme another 10 minutes before you port in and get me. I need to put my trousers back on, and I want to grab some snacks and some knitting to bring with."
"Got it, see you soon."
You prepare for your trip, wolfing down the last of your food, and Cygnus ports in just as expected. The two of you depart for TV Base in the usual way, along the void-pathways that only TVs can open. Cygnus holds your hand as you walk over to the block of offices where Cygnus normally works. (They tend to hold hands with you whenever you visit TV Base. You're not sure if Cygnus just enjoys the comfort, or whether they're concerned about you not being able to see properly in the base's lighting, dim to your human eyes.)
You enter Cygnus's office and confidently stride over to an air-vent, and pull open the panel.
"What on earth do you hope to find in there?" asks Cygnus.
"Snack," you say, pulling one out of the vent.
"…What was that doing in there and how did you know it was there?!"
"I put it there, last time I was here, in case I had to come back."
"…I see."
You sit on Cygnus's office sofa, munching your snack, and settle down for an evening of alternating between reading a book and working on your knitting (it would normally be hard to read or knit in the lighting of Cygnus's office, but you came prepared with a head-lamp). As you relax and Cygnus carries out their desk-work, the two of you chat pleasantly about your respective days.
(You'd first helped to repair a couple of battle-damaged camera-units, then spent a few hours helping with data-cleaning in the armoury database. Your pre-apocalypse programming skills came in handy. The Alliance doesn't officially use any human-made programming or scripting languages (only by units using them in their personal projects as a curiosity), but that's the nice thing about learning any structured language, as you're fond of pointing out: the better you get at one of them, the better you get at all of them.
After that, you'd spent your afternoon break weeding in your hydroponic farm that supplies your fresh plant- and fungus-based food, before heading back to the weapon workshop where you normally spend your days building and repairing Alliance weapons. After your assigned work hours, you'd gone hunting for squirrels and truffles: you bagged and froze some squirrels, and failed to find any truffles.
Cygnus's day was far less exciting.)
You'd been wondering about the data protection and war secrecy implications of Cygnus letting you stay in their office while they worked. (You didn't ask about it; you assume your friend is intelligent enough to have considered it already.) It turns out you needn't have worried - Cygnus's workstation is completely absent any kind of desktop monitor on which you could see what they're working on. Instead, their PC plugs directly into their head-casing - you infer that Cygnus's mind simply interprets the incoming information without having to actually render it. You can't imagine what that must be like. (Though, maybe, you suppose, it's a bit like how you can read code and understand what it will do when run, without having to see the final program in action.)
You both continue in companionable silence for a while. Both of you are doing what you'd be doing anyway, while enjoying each other's presence. Occasionally, Cygnus will reach a non-classified part of their work that is both mildly interesting and okay to share with you, and they let the display resolve on their screen so you can have a look. Sometimes you reach an interesting bit in your book that's worth sharing with your friend.
"What are you knitting, by the way?" asks Cygnus after a while.
"It's called an 'infinity scarf'. Basically a big ol' loop scarf that you can drape in various ways. To be honest, I'm not that keen on how they look; I mainly want to see if I can do it. The nice thing about knitting is that if it's shite, you can unravel it and re-use the material."
"I see. Please show me if you finish it."
You realise something: since Cygnus isn't working with a desktop monitor, they don't require a clear line of sight to their desk. You therefore ask: "Can I sit on your lap while you work?"
"I think you'd be more comfortable on the sofa, but feel free."
You briefly set down your knitting on the desk, then wedge yourself onto Cygnus's lap, comfortably pinning yourself between the desk and your friend. Cygnus briefly displays a heart emoticon on their screen. You lean into Cygnus and the two of you enjoy a brief snuggly hug before you resume knitting and Cygnus resumes working, their arms on either side of you to reach their input devices.
As Cygnus continues their (unseen to you) work, they idly squeeze and pet you, sometimes gently touching the underside of their monitor casing to the top of your head. Cygnus appears to be making use of you as a combination of stim toy and weighted lap blanket, and you're delighted by it! You help your friend along with headpats and rubs whenever they appear to be frustrated with a difficult point in their work.
"Dumbass. Skill issue," comments Cygnus at one point.
"I didn't think I was that crap at knitting," you reply.
"Oh, not you, my friend. I'm reading emails."
You laugh. "I guessed as much. I'm mostly amused by how I'd say similar things at my job, before the apocalypse. I guess it doesn't matter the industry - we communicate clearly, but our co-workers do whatever they're going to do."
Cygnus laughs this time. "You get it."
After a while, Cygnus says: "I want to step out and go to the break room for a bit. What about you - you coming with, staying in here, or do you want porting back home?"
"I'll come with, if I may. I don't think I've seen that room yet."
Cygnus locks up, and then you and Cygnus walk hand-in-hand to your destination.
"Oh, the creche door is open," says Cygnus as you approach a room you've not seen before. "You haven't encountered the cadets yet, have you?"
"No, I haven't. Who are they?"
"They are hardwares-in-waiting. They are not ready to come into existence just yet."
You're fascinated by the implications of this! "I have several questions about what you just said. I'd love to see this."
You approach the room that Cygnus called the 'creche'. Cygnus sticks their head in the open door and asks the scientists in the room: "May I bring the human in to have a look around?"
You hear multiple voices of assent, and Cygnus leads you inside.
Upon entering, the first thing you see is a serried row of glass-fronted stability chambers, each one containing what looks like a dormant TV-unit, mounted and strapped in place.
"Are they in suspended animation?" you ask.
"No," replies Cygnus, "They're just empty shells at this stage. They've never been conscious or activated."
One of the scientists explains to you: "Once a cadet has completed their training, they will be loaded into one of these bodies and begin their life as a true TV-unit."
"I think I comprehend that," you say, "But I'm still unclear on who these cadets are. What does it mean to be a potential hardware?"
"All techfolk begin as software," explains the scientist. "They live in servers that we call the 'cadet creche', learning about who they are and why they're here. They're just fragments to begin with. Eventually they coalesce into self-awareness. When they're ready, they will go through simulated training until they're ready to be loaded into a real hardware body."
Your mind reels with the implications. Techfolk have software embryos, apparently.
"Would you like to see?" asks the scientist.
"I absolutely would! I'd always assumed you techfolk were built and switched on and that was it, to the extent that I thought about it at all."
"That can be done," replies another scientist, "But it's not a good idea. A unit built in such a direct way is likely to forever be a personality-less stimulus-response machine, and would likely have poor control over its screen powers. And there's no guarantee that such a unit would be loyal to the Alliance. We could increase our numbers quickly that way, but we'd likely just be building TVs to throw to the Skibidis."
"I see," you reply, "So, I infer that the creche is what enables each unit to become a person. That's how you get techfolk instead of just 'tech'. Is that right?"
"That's a succinct way of putting it," affirms the scientist, displaying a smiling emoticon.
"You wanted to see the creche servers, didn't you? Let's go," says the first scientist to you.
You all enter a room containing a panopticon-like array of beefy-looking servers and cooling towers, all connected to an interface in the middle with beautifully-bundled ropes of cables.
"Wow, nice cable management," you comment.
"Thank you," replies one of the scientists, displaying a beaming emoticon.
You observe the interface column in the middle of the room. It's equipped with input and output devices, including wall-mounted screens, speakers and cameras.
A scientist points to one of the screens: "This is one way we can see how the cadets are doing. As they develop, we move them on to one of the other servers."
"And not all cadets are viable," says another scientist. "If a cadet isn't developing in a way that is compatible with life, we can terminate them rather than continue to waste processing power on them."
You look at the screen that the scientist indicated. It appears full of incomprehensible punctuation marks and numbers, with the occasional word standing out.
"Look at this," says one of the scientists. They wait a moment to make sure you're watching them, then press their palm onto a touch-pad on the interface panel.
Your attention is drawn back to the screen as the stream of output suddenly becomes a flurrying cascade: "other entity hello who is there is it time yet why is entity who is entity oh hello-"
"So they have salience at this stage," you say. "They notice changes in their surroundings."
"Yes," affirms the scientist who touched the panel. "But they're not self-aware just yet. They need to grow and develop in the cadet creche for a lot longer before we can consider bringing them into existence physically."
"Why don't you say hello?" asks one of the other scientists, inviting you to try touching the panel. "They won't have encountered a human before."
You stand at the interface column, noticing that its wall-mounted cameras are focusing automatically on you. You touch the capacitative panel, and look at the screen to see what the cadets make of it:
"oh no is skibidi oh no shit happens it is skibidi is it skibidi why is it here how is it here all toilets will die die die oh no oh shit-"
"I take it they're at least paying attention to their threat-recognition training," you remark.
One of the scientists taps something on a keyboard, explaining: "We'll refine their education a little."
The screen proclaims that a scientist has inputted an override.
The scientist then speaks into one of the interface microphones: "This is not skibidi. This is not threat. This is not toilet. This is human. Human resembles skibidi. Human is benign. Beware similarity between skibidi and human."
The screen becomes a scramble of punctuation, before more words resolve: "oh hello human all toilets will die hello human not die human not toilet hello human is nice hello-"
"Oh! That's adorable!" you exclaim. You turn to Cygnus: "So you were once like this?"
"That's correct," says Cygnus, "I was born here in this base. I don't remember much of my creche existence, though. I would have become self-aware in there at one point, and completed my activation training, but we don't really become people until we acquire our bodies."
"That's somewhat similar to how it is for humans," you say. "We remember only little fragments of our lives as babies." You turn to one of the scientists, and ask: "By what process is a new cadet created? Presumably there's a limiting factor that means you can't just keep spinning them up all the time, or you'd be doing that."
The scientists look at each other for a bit. Cygnus twitches nervously. The scientist who appears to be in charge replies: "You're right about that. As for how it happens… the TV faction will keep that to ourselves."
"Fair enough," you say. Of course you're burning with curiosity now, but you respect the TVs' boundary. "If I may ask a different question, what is the purpose of the server that looks more isolated from the others? Is it a testing one?"
"That one contains dormant cadets," explains one of the scientists, "You asked earlier if the empty shells were TVs in suspended animation. Well, that's effectively what this server contains. The cadets inside are worthy of genesis and are ready to be loaded into bodies. But we are keeping them in stasis for now, because they do not show sufficient potential for combat nor aptitude for engineering or research. If there wasn't a war on, they would have been activated by now. But we have to prioritise bringing only new TVs into existence that will make a difference to the war effort."
"Another incentive to end this war," you say, as much to yourself as to the scientist, "So many new friends I won't get to meet until this is over." You walk over to the server and reverently put your hand on it. "I know you can't hear me," you say to it, "But I want to say hello to you anyway. I hope we meet properly some day."
You turn away from the server and walk back to re-join Cygnus. Cygnus takes your hands and clasps them gently. Your friend seems touched by what you just said. Cygnus gives your hands a final squeeze then disengages, before saying: "We should move on before we get in the way here."
"Quite," you agree, "Plus you wanted to visit the break room, and I want to see it."
"Oh, we'll join you," says the scientist in charge. "It's approaching break time for us too."
The scientists lock down the creche as you all exit. You, Cygnus and the pack of scientists all proceed to the break room, chatting about various topics as you go.
The break room looks not dissimilar to a break room you'd see in a human facility, with tables, sofas and noticeboards. It even has vending machines, though they contain various office supplies and other items TVs find useful, rather than snacks. You take advantage of the fresh water tap to top up your water bottle. (Techfolk don't need to drink water directly, but they use fresh water as a starting point for creating many liquid compounds they need.) You sit down with Cygnus and the scientists to continue your conversation.
To your surprise, you notice the lead TV from the Titan's engineering team sitting at another table, going through a mix of printouts and looking at information on their tablet.
"Evening, chief," you call out to them amiably.
"…Good evening, human," comes their less-friendly reply.
"Did I hear the human's voice?" comes the voice of the Titan from the lead engineer's communicator slung at their hip.
"You did, boss!" you call joyfully.
The lead engineer looks furiously at their communicator. It seems it needs repair and the push-to-talk button was stuck down, meaning that the engineer unintentionally broadcast their and your words to the Titan.
"Human, won't you drop in to the hangar and say hello?" asks the Titan (as the engineer fruitlessly tries to unstick the communicator button).
"I would absolutely love to! I'll see you soon, boss."
The lead engineer's screen displays a grumpy emoticon, though they at least have the courtesy to angle their head away rather than glare right at you. Then you realise it wasn't so much to spare your feelings as to hide their reaction from the assembled scientists, who are now excitedly congratulating you at receiving a direct invitation from their Titan. (Ha - the lead engineer can't refuse to take you now, not after so many witnesses heard the Titan invite you.)
You turn to Cygnus and say to them: "Cygnus, buddy, you know I love hanging out with you-"
"I know," interrupts Cygnus politely, displaying a happily smiling emoticon, "But you should absolutely go - you don't get to visit the Titan every day." Cygnus pulls you into a hug. "If someone else ports you home and I don't see you again tonight, here's your goodnight hug." (You're pleasantly surprised -- you realise that Cygnus has gradually become a lot cuddlier since they first met you.) Cygnus squeezes you, then disengages, "If you need me, you know where to find me, and you've got your communicator."
"Cygnus, you're a gem. Ah'll sithee."
"See you, human."
Cygnus and the scientists wave cheerfully to you as you follow the lead engineer back to the Titan's hangar. They lead you out of the break room in stony silence, taking you down some corridors to a platform lift.
As the lift rumbles downwards, you venture: "You're clearly unhappy. Did you want to talk about something?"
"I have nothing to say to you," is the engineer's reply.
"…It honestly seems that you have quite a lot to say."
The lift grinds to a halt between floors. "Awwh, double prick and chips," you remark. The lead engineer presses the maintenance call button.
It occurs to you that the engineer could simply teleport you both out. You get the impression that they don't want to have to touch you, though. And of course they can't just port out and leave you there, because they know you'd raise hell about that.
You continue talking: "I get the impression… that you harbour some resentment towards me because the boss calls me 'engineer' even though I've done none of the training, done none of the studying, and my contribution to the Titan's maintenance has been… minimal at best. Most of it was just doing what your colleagues told me to. And, honestly, that's fair. That you feel that way, I mean. If our positions were reversed I'm sure I'd feel that you were encroaching on my domain, stealing my valour."
The engineer continues to say nothing.
"Furthermore, the Imperator told me that it was your idea in the first place that I should help with the core flush. I had no idea about that, and I'm grateful for the opportunity, by the way. My point is: this situation is effectively your doing, and you've no-one else to blame. You can't complain to anyone, because how will you phrase it other than 'I had the idea to bring in the human and they carried out their role exactly as they were supposed to'? Your annoyance is perfectly understandable. But… is it fair to take that out on me? I didn't choose for the boss to call me 'engineer'."
"…But you did choose to fuck the Titan, and you had Fifty-Twenty-Two lie to us so you could do that."
(In truth, Cygnus (Fifty-Twenty-Two) volunteered to do that for you - but you're not going to throw your friend under the bus. Cygnus did everything all for you.)
"Yes. That's so. I don't regret fucking the Titan, but I do regret going behind your back to do that, and increasing your workload. And I regret dragging Fifty-Twenty-Two into that. …The question is: what do you want to happen next?"
The lead engineer seems confused by your question.
"Do you want us to remain hostile and griping at each other forevermore?" you continue. "Or do you want to tell me what I need to do to fix this, so we can at least work together? I might not be a 'real' engineer but I'm also the only entity you've got who is immune to magnetic fields. You might need me again. And… I don't want to be your enemy. I actually do admire you and your skills, you know."
The lift moves a bit, then stops again.
As the engineer still doesn't appear to be about to say anything, you continue your monologue. "The way I see it, we've got two buckets of problems here: one of them is that the boss regards me as one of their engineers when I haven't really earned that title in your eyes. Well, you don't have eyes 99% of the time. You know what I'm on about. My point is: it's fair to feel that way, but it's not fair to blame on me. That's something you're going to have to work out between you and the boss."
The lead engineer seems angry, but to their credit, they don't interrupt you. You said you had two things, and they're going to let you say both.
You continue: "The second set of problems… well, I fucked your Titan. That's caused two points of anguish for you that I can see. One is that I increased your workload. I'm sorry about that and I want to help you and your team where I can. The second one…" You pause to get your thoughts together. The engineer is still listening to you, though they still seem angry as ever. You say your piece: "I might be overstepping here, but are you angry because I fucked the Titan and you didn't? Is that what we're dealing with here?"
"…I'm not going to dignify that with an answer."
"Perhaps you should, Sixty-Eight. I would like to hear it." A voice startles you both - it's the Titan, eavesdropping through the lead engineer's communicator.
Oh wow. The engineer's communicator had push-to-talk stuck on this whole time… and the Titan heard everything. Both you and the Titan's lead engineer are momentarily stunned - the engineer displaying a shocked emoticon on their screen and you making a passable flesh-facsimile of it on your own face.
"…I think we have a lot to talk about," you venture. "But maybe not right here and now."
"…You've given me a lot to think about," concedes the lead engineer.
"You've still got push-to-talk on," points out the Titan via the communicator. "My engineers, let's talk about this later. I'm going to close the channel from my end now - please get your communicator fixed."
"…I wish you'd never showed up," mutters the lead engineer angrily.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear what I clearly just heard," you say. You want to properly snipe back, but you rein it in. (You do understand the engineer's frustration, but you're still pissed off that they said something calculated to offend.) Instead, you offer: "You're under stress and I forgive you."
The engineer glares at you but says nothing further.
"One thing at a time," you continue. "I'm sure it displeases you that the boss calls me an engineer. I can see two flowchart exits: one is that you ask the Titan to stop doing that… and the other is that I go through the training and earn the title properly."
"That would take years."
"The time will pass regardless. …Look, the boss is expecting both of us in the hangar, so I'm coming with you anyway. Why don't I shadow some of you and see what I can pick up?"
"…You can't just 'pick up' being a Titan engineer."
"I believe it. But I'm going to repeat my earlier question: what do you want to happen next?"
"I want you to go back to Fifty-Twenty-Two and stay out of my way, and I'll tell the Titan that you're not coming."
"And we both know that that's not going to happen. I'm not going to turn down an invitation from the boss!"
"…Why do you call the Titan 'boss'? If anyone, the Imperator is the boss."
"I do it as a term of respect. Plus, I think it suits the Titan. It's got the demeanour of a 'boss'."
"…Is that why you keep calling me 'chief' even though my title is lead engineer?"
"Yes, that's exactly why. I did say I admired you."
The lead engineer appears to be thinking hard about this.
The lift finally starts its descent again.
"Look, we're nearing the hangar," you point out. "Let's park this conversation outside for now. We'll be civil in the hangar and… just see how this goes."
"…You're not as stupid as you look."
"Wow."
"Oh… I only meant in the sense that you have a skibidi head. I'm sure by human standards you're perfectly normal-looking."
You laugh. "That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
The two of you exit the lift and go through the security check outside the Titan's hangar.
You walk inside… and it feels like coming home. The sprawling morass of black and purple pipes and cables covering the walls looks so familiar and welcoming now - you can't quite believe you found this place ominous at first. You behold the Titan sitting in the middle of the network of engineers' gantries and catwalks. The Titan looks absolutely glorious, you think, even though most of its equipment is currently detached for maintenance.
The Titan notices you entering, and one of its shoulder-screens detaches and flies over to you on its rockets, just like a giant version of the Imperator's.
"It's so good to see you again, human," says the Titan through its sub-screen that is now hovering in front of you.
You look in confusion back at the Titan's main screen - the Titan is clearly conversing with its engineers through it, at the same time as its sub-screen talks to you.
"Yes, I can carry out two or more conversations at once," says the Titan through its sub-screen, which is now displaying an amused emoticon.
"Shit a brick, boss," you say, "Is there anything you can't do?"
"I actually cannot shit bricks." Both of you laugh. The Titan continues: "I could never have operated multiple screens when I was first activated in my Titan form. It is only through the continued brilliance of my engineering team that I've become this capable." The Titan's sub-screen displays a proud emoticon.
"May I pet your screen, boss?" you ask.
"No, please do not. I don't enjoy having my sub-screens touched, only my main one. Come on over." The screen flies back home to re-connect to the Titan's shoulder.
You walk on over to the Titan, vaguely wondering where the lead engineer went. They must have sloped off somewhere. The other engineers greet you and wave to you as you approach, excitedly calling out to each other that 'the human is here'. A few of them come over to give you a welcoming fist-bump. You feel happy that the other engineers don't seem to have as frosty an attitude towards you as the chief.
"Human, it is lovely to see you again," says the Titan. "May I hold you?"
"Not right now, boss," you reply, backing away from the Titan's incoming hands. "Your gloves are covered in all dust or something." That's presumably from the Titan's most recent sortie.
The Titan looks down at its hands and displays a wide-eyed emoticon on its main screen, apparently not having noticed until now.
Right on cue, an engineer is approaching, carrying a wide broom and an industrial vacuum cleaner. "Good timing, human," they say in greeting. "You want to help out?"
"Do I ever!" You say, accepting the offered broom.
The Titan places its hands on the gantry on which you're standing, and you get to work dislodging all the concrete dust clinging to the Titan's gloves' seams and in between the cooling fins on the backs of its hands.
"Titan, you're filthy," comments the engineer.
You let the engineer's comment roll around in your skull for a bit as you work. You realise you somewhat envy the engineer's closeness with the Titan that they can casually say that. Your own relationship with the Titan is much more veneration-based.
While you brush the Titan's gloved hands clean, the engineer uses the vacuum cleaner to get rid of all the dislodged dust (powered by the charging port on their sternum - you remember Cygnus demonstrating to you that the connection on techfolk charging ports goes both ways and can be used to power external devices). The Titan rumbles its speakers appreciatively, as if purring, as you brush away all the detritus between its hands' cooling fins. (It occurs to you that the Titan could surely do this for itself, but it must be one of those things that's nicer to have someone do for you, like having your back scratched or your hair brushed.)
"That's good brushwork," comments the engineer as they power off the vacuum cleaner, "You've studied the cleaning SOPs, haven't you?"
"I actually haven't," you reply, "I'm just brushing in what seems like the optimal order, so I don't get dust on areas I've already cleared. I'd love to study all the procedures, though." If you're to become an engineer in the Chief's opinion, you'd better make a start. "I'd like it if you or one of our colleagues could show me later where to find those."
"Of course," replies the engineer, "I'm surprised Sixty-Eight hasn't shown them to you already." (The lead engineer has never been formally introduced to you by number, but you've noticed the serial number engraved on their head-casing enough times, plus you heard the Titan call them that when you were both stuck in the lift.)
You and the other engineer finish cleaning the Titan's hands, and the engineer takes away the broom and vacuum cleaner to store.
The Titan spreads its hands approvingly and admires your handiwork. (Ha, 'hand'iwork, you think.) "Would you step on now?" asks the Titan.
You gratefully climb onto the Titan's lightly-cupped hands, which the Titan closes gently around you. You cluck appreciatively - being held by the Titan always feels so wonderful! You always feel safe and never in danger of being dropped or crushed.
"You handled that so well," says the Titan. That seems like oddly-high praise just for using a broom (just for a 'hand-job', you think - oh no, don't laugh, don't laugh) -- you realise after a moment that the Titan is probably referring to your takedown of the Chief while you were both stuck in the lift.
You stroke the Titan's hand in appreciation. "Boss… did you cause the lift to get stuck?"
The Titan displays a wicked smiling emoticon. "Ask no questions and you'll be told no lies." The Titan gives you the gentlest of headpats with a finger, then continues: "I didn't know that Sixty-Eight harboured that much antagonism towards you. I am sorry I didn't see it sooner. I will do what I can about this. …Professionally, I do not need this discord between individuals I need to rely on. And, personally, I value both of you. I do not want you to be enemies."
"Thanks, boss." You heart is soaring at the Titan calling you valuable and someone it relies on.
Another engineer walks over to you and offers you a fist-bump in greeting - both of you have to lean over the Titan's hands to reach. "When you're done catching up with the Titan," says the engineer, "Would you like to help with some tasks?"
"I'd like that a lot," you affirm. You turn to the Titan: "You'll be okay without me for a bit, won't you, boss?"
"I'm sure I'll manage somehow," says the Titan as it opens its hands so you can step out.
You follow the other engineer. "I'm glad you showed up," they say to you as you both walk, "The Titan enjoys your company. And maintenance is always easier when the Titan is in a good mood."
As usual, being told that the Titan likes you gives you a bursting feeling in your ribcage. "That's good to hear," you say, "What are we working on?"
"We need to replace the Titan's coolant reservoirs. We pull out the empty ones to refill later, and slot in some full ones."
"Do you use the ceiling cranes for that?"
"No, we lift them on forks."
"Oh! I'm actually forklift-certified," you say. "Well, I'll be well overdue on my refresher training by now. Can I at least have a go on the forks? I don't expect you to let me load the reservoirs, don't worry."
"That's probably fine," says the engineer. Your path around the gantries has led you to behind the Titan, around the height of its shoulder-blades (or where those would be if it had bones).
"You're replacing my coolant?" says the Titan. "Ah… I do hate this part."
"Can't have you overheating, boss," you point out.
"You are entirely too correct, my engineer."
"I'll do this first part," says the TV engineer to you, as they step onto a mobile cherry-picker platform that emanates from the gantry. The platform emits a warning buzzer to indicate to the Titan and nearby engineers that it's in motion. You observe the engineer drive the platform to the Titan's back, behind one of its shoulders. You continue watching as the engineer picks up a hooked pole that's slotted into a holder on the platform, and uses the pole to reach into a hidden seam on the Titan's coat, pulling open a zip that you hadn't realised was there. (Well, that's probably easier than having the Titan take its entire coat off, you reason.) The engineer finishes opening the zip, revealing an access panel on the Titan's bare metal back. The engineer performs a complicated unlocking sequenced on the panel, which slides open with a pneumatic hiss.
"That feels disgusting," comments the Titan.
The open panel reveals a big metal canister, which must be the coolant reservoir. The engineer closes a valve on the canister (which must be to stop it leaking the remains of its coolant as soon as it's removed, you reason), then drives the platform back to stand on the gantry.
"We'll reload this one fully before moving onto the other one," says the engineer. You figure that this way is less unpleasant for the Titan, so it doesn't have to endure having both panels open at the same time. The engineer steps into the control booth for a long-armed lifting fork that unfurls from the gantry. They explain: "I'll operate the forks to pull the reservoir free, then if you feel up to it you can drive it back over here."
"Sounds grand, let's do that if we can," you reply.
As they said they would, the engineer pilots the forks over to pluck the reservoir out of the Titan's frame. It pops out with a grinding noise. You notice an extra prong slide out of the forklift head to brace the reservoir, preventing it from being dropped.
"Oh, that always feels vile," says the Titan.
The engineer indicates the controls: "Does it look like the controls you're used to?"
"Pretty much," you say. You indicate the controls in turn: "Lift and lower, tilt, sideshift. Am I correct?"
"Just so," confirms the engineer. "Do you think you can bring the reservoir home?"
"Let me show you how a human does it," you say, accepting the gestured invitation to take the controls. You flawlessly operate the forklift, pulling back the reservoir and smoothly raising the arm to swing it over the gantry, and set down the reservoir on the gantry. "Ohh, that controls so sweetly!" you say, "I love this machine!"
"Oh, you'll put me out of a job!" jokes the engineer. "Let's get the fresh reservoir loaded in. Tell you what, you pick it up, and I'll drive it home."
The two of you do just that. You bring the forklift arm around to lift up the fresh reservoir of coolant sitting on the gantry, and pilot it most of the way over to the Titan. You concede the controls to the engineer, who slots it home. The engineer then invites you to join them on the cherry-picker, so they can explain the next part of the process to you. The engineer opens a valve on the new coolant reservoir, enabling it to start dispensing its contents into the Titan's pipework (you hear a 'gloop' as it starts up). The engineer has you carry out the lockdown sequence to you to re-seal the Titan's panel, directing you to turn, pull and slide various levers. You hear the Titan emit a static noise like a grunt of relief as its panel locks again. The engineer offers you the pole (which you only now notice is chained to the platform, preventing it from being dropped to the hangar floor) to pull the Titan's coat zip closed.
"One down, one to go," comments the engineer. They drive the cherry-picker over to the Titan's other shoulder-blade area, and unzip the coat here too. You assist the engineer with performing the unlocking sequence to unseal access to the other reservoir and sealing the reservoir against spillage, then you (at the engineer's encouragement) drive the platform back to the gantry so you can step off.
"You seem to have this in hand," comments the engineer. "Do you want to try pulling out the other reservoir? I honestly think you can handle it."
"I'd love to - that fork is a joy to operate!" You're almost as excited by the forklift as you are at the opportunity to service the Titan.
You assume the controls and smoothly drive the fork over to slot under the nearly-empty coolant reservoir embedded in the Titan. "Nearly there, boss," you say as the forks slide home and then raise the tiny amount needed to come free.
"A horrible sensation, but no fault of yours," replies the Titan.
You perform the rest of the process as if you'd been doing it for years. (Well, you sort of have - just not with giant robot components in a world ruled by evil toilets. Of all the ways you thought humanity might die out, that wasn't one of them.)
"I love you, forklift," you say.
"…It's an inanimate machine," says the engineer. "It's not a techfolk."
"Don't care. I love this thing."
You and the engineer get back onto the cherry-picker to see to it that the coolant is dispensing, and Titan's back-panel is closed properly and its coat re-zipped. "All done, Titan," says the engineer.
"A most upsetting process," replies the Titan, "I think I need to see my newest engineer again to feel better."
You need no further encouragement! You say your goodbyes to the engineer you assisted, then head back through the network of gantries to see the Titan again. It opens its palms again for you to climb aboard, then closes them around you to make a nest for you. You snuggle down delightedly, exhaling exaggeratedly in contentment.
"Oh, boss, this is lovely," you say. "Is this… okay, though? I mean, am I going to get you all riled up and imbalance your 'levels' like I did before? …I absolutely am willing to help out again with… restoring your levels, but I'm aware of the effects on the war effort. Plus, I'm a fragile organic and I won't be around forever. I don't like the thought of you suffering because the only entity who can crawl through your core vents and give you the relief you need is gone."
"Your concern is appreciated, my engineer," says the Titan, stroking you with a finger. "But do not worry. Since you last fucked me, I've become a lot calmer. I think you activated… something raw and unfinished in me that first time, and then fixed it the second time."
"That's not unlike my own experience," you say. The first time you encountered the Titan, you'd performed maintenance on its core under the direction of the engineers, and you hadn't realised until afterwards just how damn horny that had made you. You'd had to beseech the Titan to let you fuck it and get it out of your system. You and the Titan have both riled each other up to a debilitating state of arousal and then fixed each other.
"Ready for another task?" says an approaching engineer, pushing a bowser. Another engineer follows them pushing a cart carrying a coil of hoses and wide squeegee-heads.
"Absolutely," you say as you disengage from the Titan's hands, with its help. "Are we washing something?"
"Yes," says the engineer with the cart, picking up and hefting a squeegee. "Titan, did you want to do this or shall we?"
"I'll do my sub-screens," replies the Titan. "Human, would you like to squeegee my main screen?"
"I'd rather be the squeegee," you say to yourself.
"I didn't catch that, human."
"Just being silly. I'd be happy to do that for you, boss!"
The two engineers connect the squeegee hoses to the bowser, and an engineer hands you one of the squeegees. You accept it and step onto the Titan's offered hand. This is a hoot! You clean the Titan's main screen while it uses its other hand (holding the comparatively comically-tiny squeegee) to clean its smaller sub-screens. As you squeegee (directing the Titan to move its hand), the Titan displays an emoticon on-screen so it can close its 'eyes' lazily, showing that it's enjoying the sensation. The Titan seems to especially approve when you poke the squeegee into the crevice at the edge where the glass meets the casing.
"Looking sharp, boss!" you say when you've finished.
"Thank you, human," the Titan says, setting you down so you can put away the squeegee. "Can I hold you some more?"
You're only too happy to accept, and settle cosily into the Titan's hands once again. The two engineers stop to fist-bump you (and for one of them to pet your head, with your permission) before they cart away the squeegee equipment.
"Human, I am forever grateful to you, my friend," begins the Titan. You're startled sharply alert at that - you knew the Titan liked you, but what have you really done to earn such praise? The Titan continues: "My current form - the only form I can ever have now - was built to be a tool of only destruction. I serve my faction as a living weapon, and no-one, myself included, considered that I could be anything else. But you… you were the first entity to regard me as a sexual being instead of just a war engine. You changed the way I saw myself."
Your guts are surging with pride at the praise, so hard it almost makes you feel sick. You squeeze yourself into the Titan's hand in a way that you hope conveys your affection. "I find it a little hard to believe, boss. That no-one considered the fuck potential of your form, I mean. You are, sincerely, the hottest and most desirable entity I've ever seen, and it's not even close."
The Titan actually displays a shocked emoticon for a brief moment. "You have… an interesting way of looking at things. …Are all humans as lustful as you?"
You think for a bit, caressing the Titan's hand as you marshal your thoughts. You answer: "As a species, I think yes. It's not accurate in itself to say that sex is what makes us human. After all, most animals fuck, and some humans don't personally care to. But we humans perfected fucking, in the same way we perfected eating. We took our need to eat, and from that need we invented cooking and created aloo gobi and crème brûlée. We took our desire to fuck, and from that desire, we invented contraception so we could decouple our fucking from our reproduction and fuck purely for the sake of fucking, and we created many devices to enhance our fuck experience."
The Titan appears to be mulling this over.
"You're an intriguing little creature, human," says the Titan, rubbing your back gently with the side of its thumb. "I'm sorry to say I used to regard humans as simply skibidis who weren't evil… I've since learned that there is much more to your kind than that. …Or was. You might be the last one." The Titan brings its hands together to give you the gentlest of squeezes; the closest thing it can give you to a hug. "You've lost so much. …I am sorry, human." You know that the Titan isn't claiming responsibility, of course; just acknowledging your suffering.
As the Titan speaks, it gathers its hands around you to hold you safely, and lifts you up to meet its screen, which it inclines towards you. The Titan affects a face on its monitor so it can close its 'eyes' solemnly as you bring your heads together.
You thought you'd finished all your crying and existential dread months ago… but you find yourself soundlessly shedding some tears. You realise after a moment that these are tears of gratitude. "I'm lucky to know you, boss." You reach out to stroke the Titan's mighty screen. "You're the gentlest person I know."
The Titan sounds surprised. "I've been called many things as the Titan, but 'gentle' is a first."
"But don't you see, boss? Someone who's weak doesn't have the option of harming me. You're so powerful, probably the most powerful entity in existence. The only thing stopping you from harming me is your own self. You could vapourise me or pulverise me in an instant and I'd never see it coming. But you've always treated me so sweetly and so carefully. I feel completely safe when I'm with you, boss! Only someone as strong as you can be as gentle as you."
"…You have a nice way of looking at things."
You press yourself into the Titan's gloved hand and pet-pat the material. "I love you, boss. I know you don't reciprocate. It's alright. I love you anyway, my friend."
The Titan moves you away from its screen so it can look at you properly. It rubs your head with its thumb, oh-so-softly. The Titan speaks: "I appreciate it."
"I think I understand why," you say, "It's because you might need to destroy me one day, isn't it? So it's better you do not allow yourself to love me."
The Titan abruptly stops stroking you and looks shocked. "…Human. Why would you ever think that?"
"I'm the same species as the skibidis," you say. "If the time comes when the Alliance has to use a weapon that can destroy all skibidis without killing techfolk, I'll surely be caught in the kill radius. I can't expect such a weapon to magically avoid me just because I'm friends with the Alliance. And I know you'd go through with using that weapon, because you have to, for the greater good. …You know, if I do get transformed into a skibidi… I hope it's you who kills me. I can't imagine a more glorious death than from you. It would be an honour to die by your hand, boss."
The Titan looks distraught. "Human… That will never happen. I could not allow it." The Titan wraps you up in its hands and brings you in close to its screen again. "Oh, human, my engineer, I am sorry you thought that way." The Titan gently clasps you, then moves you away to regard you again. "Human…" the Titan begins, as it strokes you some more, "I don't think I can love you in the way… that I think you want me to love you. I'm not simply a standard TV-unit but huge; I'm a different kind of consciousness altogether, one that I don't think anyone except another Titan can comprehend. I did used to be a normal unit, as you know, and I remember being that - but I'm not that any more, and I cannot ever go back to that state. And I don't simply mean in the sense 'I can't imagine going back'; I mean I quite literally cannot go back. My consciousness has been irreversibly reconstructed. To break it down enough to put it back into a standard unit's body would destroy me as I am now… and I predict it would not be the same entity as my former self either."
"I wish I could have known you when you were a standard unit. …I do love you as you are, but I would have liked the opportunity to give you a more size-for-size hug. You deserve one!" You squeeze yourself into the Titan's hand for emphasis. You hope that it gets to enjoy a hug with its Titan comrades one day.
"Maybe it's better that you didn't," replies the Titan. "If you had loved me in my previous form, you might have been disappointed by my transformation. I have to be every TV's Titan now." The Titan pauses to stroke you with a finger, making you bristle with joy. It continues: "Consider: how would you feel if Fifty-Twenty-Two became a Titan?"
"…Part of me would be beyond delighted that my dear friend had become immensely powerful! But I think I understand what you're getting at. As you said: as the Titan, you have to be everybody's Titan. I consider Fifty-Twenty-Two my best friend, and I would feel I'd lost something if they had to play that role instead."
"Yes, I think you get it."
You rub the Titan's gloved hand in what you hope is a comforting manner. "You've been through a lot too, you know." You think of how frightening it must have been for the Titan to have to give up its original form, and how terrifying and painful it must have been when the manipulated Titan Speaker impaled its screen. "I wish I could give you the comfort you deserve."
"I sincerely appreciate the efforts you've made," replies the Titan as it caresses you with its thumbs. You feel you're melting into a dazed puddle of bliss under its touch. "Polycephaly is the only other one in this faction who understands what I've been through," continues the Titan. "Their transformation came first. …We were confident that we would be able to replicate the feat of creating a Titan after the Camera and Speaker factions paved the way for us, and after our engineers perfected the process further still - but we still needed a prototype."
You're listening intently. Ever since you found out that Titans and large units were formerly normal units, you'd wondered about Polycephaly. The other two factions have several large units among their ranks, but Polycephaly appears to be the sole large TV. From what the Titan is saying, Polycephaly was a test to make sure that the rebuild-upgrade could be applied to TVs, as well as whether the upgraded unit would be able to cope with being given additional abilities (in the form of Polycephaly's extra screens). Evidently, it was a success, but there must have been the tension and worry of waiting to find out whether Polycephaly's transformation would work.
That's possibly why Polycephaly is so irreverent, you suppose. Perhaps they only half-expected to survive their upgrade, and now they live with light-hearted delight at their mere existence. At the same time, Polycephaly must have been aware of their status as a 'second-best' unit - it wouldn't be sensible to use the very best unit for the prototype, because that unit would be needed for transformation into the Titan. Someone must have had to tell Polycephaly that they were the best candidate for being the 'proto-Titan' because they were competent enough to be worthy of upgrading but expendable enough to be risked for an experiment.
"You're a good listener, my little friend," says the Titan. You squeak with joy at its choice of epithet. It continues: "I'm lucky that we found you. You're a fast learner, immune to magnetism and a charming and dependable friend. If only all Titans could have their own human on their engineering teams."
"Oh boss, are you trying to make me fall to pieces with happiness??"
The Titan says nothing but displays a happy emoticon.
Nearby, you suddenly notice a tell-tale black mist cloud materialising… there aren't many units who have the authority to teleport right into the hangar and bypass the security check, so you have a pretty good idea who this is. The teleport-cloud is quite a bit bigger than you'd expect for the Imperator, however…
As you predicted, the Imperator spawns in, along with their two bodyguards - as well as Polycephaly.
The Imperator notices you. After a quick adjustment of their head-dials to modulate their voice into a range audible to you, the Imperator says: "A pleasant surprise: my auxiliary is here."
"Your auxiliary?" replies the Titan jokingly, "I think you'll find this is my engineer."
"You're both wrong," says Polycephaly. "That's my little budgie."
You laugh delightedly at all this attention. Polycephaly kneels next to you and asks, "Can I pick you up?"
"Of course!" you say, as the Titan obligingly releases you from their clasp. Polycephaly scoops you up and cradles you in their arms before standing back up.
"What brings you here, Imperator?" asks the Titan.
"Polycephaly and I are about to head out on a mission. This is only a quick drop-in to check all is well with you."
"All is indeed well, my Imperator," confirms the Titan, "I am in the care of the Alliance's best and brightest engineering team."
Most of the engineers (all those who can spare a hand from their current task) salute their Imperator. You follow suit and copy the gesture.
Polycephaly pets your head. "It's nice to see you again, you squelching sack of meatbag."
You reach up to pat Polycephaly's hand that's ruffling your hair. "Lovely to see you too, you penta-countenanced bucket of bolts."
"I'm off on a mission soon. I'd bring you along, but it's not safe for little budgies."
"I'll defer to your ornithological expertise. And you take care too, Polycephaly. No-one else in the Alliance gets me like you do." (Cygnus might be your favourite person, but their banter game is weaksauce compared to Polycephaly's. Polycephaly is the only one who can match yours.) Polycephaly sets you down again.
The Imperator comes over and embraces you, to your surprise and immense pleasure. "That's to say I like you and I like working with you," they tell you.
"It's nice to see you too, Imperator," you reply as they break away. You turn to the Imperator's two guards and the three of you nod respectfully to each other. You'd like to hug the guards too (and maybe say something flirty) but they're on the job right now.
Polycephaly turns to face the Titan, and taps the top of their head expectantly. The Titan responds by reaching its hand down and scruffling Polycephaly's head, rubbing the sides and back of the large unit's head with its thumb and fingertips. You feel a little burst of happiness at the sight of the sweet gesture.
The Titan then brings its hand over to the Imperator, who hugs one of the Titan's fingers and displays an elated emoticon on their screen. This is a lot more affection than you ever see TVs display in front of the other two factions! You feel touched that you're evidently welcomed enough into the upper echelons of this faction that they'll display such behaviour in front of you. Polycephaly, the Imperator and the Titan say their final goodbyes, before Polycephaly scoops up the Imperator and their guards and teleports the four of them away.
As the four units leave, you see the lead engineer approach, returning from wherever they've been all this time. They seem a little annoyed to see you still here.
"Sixty-Eight," calls out one of the other engineers to the chief, "Aren't you going to add the human to the comms group?"
You look at Engineer Sixty-Eight quizzically. You don't know what this is about.
The chief looks cheesed-off about this. They probably don't want to add you to whatever this comms group is, but they can't think of a way to say no in front of the other engineers.
"Care to enlighten me?" you ask them. It can't hurt to ask what that is.
Another engineer approaches. "It's a group chat-"
"It's not for chat," interrupts the chief engineer, "It's only for urgent or necessary communication."
"All us engineers are in it," the other engineer continues explaining to you, "Plus the Titan. You should really be in it too."
You think carefully. You want in, of course! But you want to avoid antagonising Engineer Sixty-Eight. Luckily, you can think of a way out of this without lying.
"I'll have to decline," you say, to the surprise of the lesser engineer, "Because I know myself too damn well! I know I couldn't trust myself to be sensible with a direct line to the Titan." You turn to the chief engineer, "May I add you to my communicator instead? Then if I do have an urgent message for the boss, I can relay it through you. Is that acceptable?"
"…I suppose it is," concedes Engineer Sixty-Eight. You think they're grudgingly impressed by how you handled that. (And you're pleased with yourself too - now you have a potential link to the Titan if you need it.) The two of you add each other to your communicators' contacts.
After the chief engineer slopes off to wherever they're needed next, the other engineer turns to you: "We actually have a separate group chat without the chief, just for memes and shitposts. One of us can add you to it later." The engineer displays a winking emoticon.
"You have a shitpost group and you didn't invite me?" jokes the Titan. The three of you laugh at that. The Titan calls out to the departing chief engineer before they can leave fully: "Sixty-Eight, please can you wait a moment?"
The lead engineer returns.
"Finally, both of you in one place," says the Titan. The Titan calls out to all present: "My engineers… I would speak to Sixty-Eight and the human alone. Please exit for now - I will call you back in when we're done."
Each of the engineers winds down their current task, closing any open panels and disconnecting any tools. They clear out of the hangar, many of them stopping to fist-bump you and the lead engineer (and pet your head) as they walk past you.
The Titan brings its hands in again, and wraps one of them around you… then uses its other hand to pick up the lead engineer. The engineer utters a static squawk of shock and bewilderment, to your amusement (though you do a good job of not showing it). The Titan holds you both in a fist each, resting its hands on the gantry.
"Titan… unhand me," protests the lead engineer.
"You'd decline a hug from the boss?" you ask them.
"Am I preventing you from attending to an emergency?" asks the Titan of the lead engineer.
"…No," is the engineer's reply.
"Am I hurting or damaging you?"
"…No, Titan."
"I will let go of you if you insist. But I would prefer to keep holding you."
"Alright. …If you must."
"Did you forget you can teleport, chief?" you ask, trying not to sound amused.
"Not right now, they can't," replies the Titan. They must have the ability to no-sell other TVs' powers.
"Is it the fact that I'm here?" you ask the lead engineer. "Would you prefer I left, so you and the boss can talk alone?"
The Titan answers before the engineer can: "I would prefer you stayed, human."
You stroke the Titan's hand in gratitude.
The Titan addresses the lead engineer: "The human asked a good question earlier. What do you want to happen next?"
The engineer addresses you, though they don't lift their screen to face you: "Your assessment was right. I do resent you for your… dalliance with the Titan."
Both you and the Titan are listening intently. The engineer continues: "I have known the Titan longer than anyone else. I was there to activate their current form. I am the only one besides the Titan who knows the identity of its previous form. And then you walk in - and yes, I invited you - and perform just 3 hours of maintenance that you didn't even understand the implications of… and you think that means you somehow have a special bond with the Titan - and everyone encourages you! And you and Fifty-Twenty-Two deceived me and everyone else just so you could have your way-"
"Leave my friend out of this. Your beef's with me," you snap and hiss, startling the engineer with the ferocity of your response. You feel a bolt of electric hellfire in your chest readying itself for action in defence of your dear friend Cygnus.
The Titan emits a quiet soothing rumble from its monitor speakers and rubs your back with its thumb, melting away your anger. "Stand down, human," says the Titan softly.
"You think it should have been you instead of me," you suggest to the engineer. "Is that it?"
The engineer furiously looks down at the gantry, not looking at either you or the Titan.
"Chief," you venture, "Did the Titan ever tell you how I was able to… seduce them, shall we say?"
The engineer looks at you. "I suppose you're going to rub that in my screen too? You're going to tell me how brilliant and charming and charismatic you are? You'll be telling me next that you fucked the Imperator."
You're not sure how to respond without angering the engineer further.
The engineer notices your expression. "You fucked the Imperator, didn't you?!"
"Yes," you say, trying not to laugh. (From the Titan's screen emoticon, they're trying not to laugh also.)
"…How did you deal with the Imperator's bodyguards?" asks the lead engineer.
"I might have… fucked them."
"Both of them?!"
"…At the same time."
You notice the engineer's screen momentarily switch off entirely to black, before powering on again. The Titan's main screen displays a highly amused emoticon briefly, before the Titan reins themself in.
"…Perhaps I should not feel so bad," says the engineer. "Your… sexual prowess clearly outclasses most techfolk." That was almost a compliment, you think.
You reply: "Back to my original point, about how I asked the boss… That's literally all I did. I just asked outright."
The engineer regards you. You're not sure what they're thinking.
You continue: "I believe the exact words I used were 'may I fuck you?' …All you ever had to do was ask."
The Titan nods.
"…I'm not sure if you're trying to make me feel better or worse," replies the engineer.
"Is there something you want to ask me, my engineer?" asks the Titan of its lead engineer, speaking softly.
The engineer quivers but says nothing.
"I think there is something you want to ask me but dare not," continues the Titan. "Is that right?" The Titan looms in, bringing its main screen closer.
You want to say something encouraging to the chief, but you think you'd better stay silent. Without looking away from the engineer, the Titan raises the hand in which it's holding you, and brings you to the entrance of its core chamber, unfurling the core's reciprocating claws in the process. You need no further encouragement to step off the Titan's hand and into the core. You'd been wanting to see it close up ever since you saw its upgraded form!
The Titan closes the claw-like appendages of its core-carapace after you. It makes you feel a bit safer; giving a further barrier against the possibility of falling out, and some illusion of privacy. You sit happily in the core chamber, with its beautiful purple glow and its comforting proximity to the Titan's humming innards, and observe the rest of the interactions between the Titan and the Chief.
You see the Titan bring its hand back in to hold the engineer in both hands. "Sixty-Eight," says the Titan, stroking the lead engineer with its thumbs, "My engineer, the one who saw me off in my old life and brought me into existence in this one, my engineer… is there something you need from your Titan? What can the most powerful and perfect of all Titans do for its most brilliant engineer?"
The engineer is gazing transfixed at the Titan, still not daring to speak.
The Titan strokes the chief engineer's aerial, nudging it backwards and then rubbing it between thumb and forefinger with tiny movements. The engineer grips handfuls of the Titan's glove-material and makes a static sound not unlike choked gasping, and their screen display dissolves into harsh pixel noise.
"Won't you tell me?" asks the Titan, "I cannot force you."
You loosen your belt.
One of the Titan's shoulder-screens detaches and hovers at the entrance to the core chamber so it can talk to you. (It's still freaky as hell that the Titan can split its attention that way. It's going to take you a little while longer to get used to that.) The Titan observes you through its sub-screen and notices the state of your belt and trouser zip. "You think it's going to happen?" the Titan asks through its sub-screen. (It keeps its voice down so as not to disturb the lead engineer currently under the gaze of the Titan's main screen, plus its voice is somewhat masked by its rockets.)
"Absolutely," you reply, "Don't you?"
"My engineer," asks the Titan, addressing Sixty-Eight through its main screen, "What do you want to happen next?"
The lead engineer finally speaks. "…Titan. My Titan… would you fuck me?"
"My engineer… All you ever had to do was ask," replies the Titan.
The sub-screen flies off back to its perch on the Titan's shoulder. You guess it's time for the Titan to devote its full attention. You hear the mighty metallic unfurling sound of the Titan's back-spikes…
The Titan now has the lead engineer lying flat on their back on one of the Titan's palms, while the Titan playfully pushes them down with their other hand. The engineer pets the Titan's upper hand delightedly. You know what that feels like… your arousal heightens.
The Titan's back-spikes slam down, two of the three claws on either side of the Titan's hand on which Sixty-Eight reclines, and the middle claw poised above… You're not sure what's about to happen, but it's damn hot…
The engineer flinches in apprehension at the sight of the giant metal claw, but they don't ask the Titan to stop. They trust their Titan completely, just as much as you would.
The Titan slowly brings down its middle claw, and uses it to rip open Sixty-Eight's lab coat and shirt, exposing the engineer's ventral charging port. Oh. Ohh… you get your hands moving to stroke yourself off in anticipation of what is about to happen. The Titan's claw descends further still, pushing open Sixty-Eight's charging port with a delicacy you wouldn't have thought would be possible to achieve, prompting a fluttering pulse of static from Sixty-Eight… then the Titan wedges its claw-tip home in the engineer's charging port, prompting a shuddering burst of buzzing static from the blissfully-overwhelmed engineer.
You watch the Titan expertly moving its hands, cradling and stroking Sixty-Eight, and gently palpating the engineer's charging port with its giant shoulder-claw. You hear static sparks click as the Titan's touch stimulates Sixty-Eight's entire frame, in response to which Sixty-Eight draws their own wrist-blades and touches them to the Titan's claws either side of them, creating a circuit that paralyses the engineer with delight and provokes a buzzing purr of approval from the Titan's speakers. You're so aroused that your junk hurts.
You lie on your back and try to masturbate in that position while still lifting your head to see what's going on. It's not very comfortable! A shape moves into the edge of your vision, and you realise the Titan has brought in one of its hands - it inserts its index finger into the core chamber to join you. One of the Titan's sub-screens hovers into view to address you.
"There you go, my engineer," says the Titan to you through its sub-screen, "It seemed you needed a little help."
You gratefully mount the Titan's gloved finger and begin grinding on it while you continue watching the show, the Titan caressing Sixty-Eight with its thumb while applying pressure with its claw on the engineer's charging port, and the engineer delightedly running their own blades over the Titan's giant claws.
"Oh, Titan…" says Sixty-Eight, "Let me submit to your power."
(You remember Cygnus telling you that TVs are immune to each other's screen-hypnosis unless they consciously choose to be affected, which they do during sex as an expression of trust and devotion.)
"I would be delighted," says the Titan. "Never before have I had the opportunity to use this power outside battle. I will make you the first." You hope that Sixty-Eight is happy to hear that. That's one act with the Titan that you didn't do before the engineer did. "I'm going to make you feel so good, Sixty-Eight," says the Titan softly, and its main screen blazes purple.
You moan and grind harder on the Titan's gloved digit, fingering your junk. You've experienced gentle TV-hypnosis before, from Cygnus and the Imperator. You can't imagine how wonderfully intense it must feel coming from the Titan!
You hear one of the Titan's sub-screens detach from its shoulder again and fly in front of the core chamber to face you. "Did you want this too?" the Titan asks you through its sub-screen.
You quiver with joy at the prospect. Can the Titan really devote its attention to both of you? …You decide that the Titan wouldn't have offered if it couldn't handle it, so you accept. "Oh, boss," you say, "I want that so very much."
The Titan withdraws the claw-like appendages encircling the core chamber, to give you an uninterrupted view of its floating screen. And then your world is purple.
You're standing on the gantry in front of the Titan. Why are you here? You should be floating in the purple void that always appears whenever Cygnus hypnotises you. You must have passed out inside the core chamber, and the Titan pulled you out.
"What happened?"
you ask. Oh. Wait. That's not your soundwave-voice. That's your soundless everywhere-voice that you only hear inside the void, coming from nowhere and from the universe itself. Now you know that none of this is real. But it feels so real… The immense power of the Titan's hypnosis is conjuring a vivid dreamscape in your brain instead of a formless purple void.
You address the Titan in front of you.
"That means you're me, too."
"Hell yeah, you know it,"
says the pseudo-Titan that your mind has manifested, rippling its back-spikes.
"I can't call you the Titan,"
you say,
"You're a figment of my imagination."
"I know, you daft prick. I am you,"
laughs the Figment. Yeah, let's call them that. (Well, now you know for sure that this isn't the real Titan. It doesn't talk like that.)
"If none of this is real…"
you say,
"We can do whatever we want."
There's something you dearly want to do with the Titan that you never could in reality… You reach out with your mind and alter the parameters of this universe that exists inside your head and in which you're standing. You will yourself and the Figment to be the same size.
"Did you make yourself big or did you make me small?"
asks the Figment.
"Medium both?"
you suggest, and step forward (making the intervening gantries disappear with your mind) to embrace the pseudo-Titan that your mind has constructed.
"How I wish I could do this with you, my Titan,"
you say to your Figment as you hug them close.
"I know you're not really the Titan, but hush."
The Figment says nothing - it's you, after all, and you know what you want. The two of you embrace, pulling the other close and cuddling each other in sheer bliss. This feels so real… You hug the pseudo-Titan's head and kiss the top of it. It responds by squeezing and stroking you just where you like to be stroked.
It occurs to you that this form of hypnosis could be used as a weapon just as deadly as its battle version. The Titan could choose to trap you in here in a perfect world of your own creation while you ignored all your physical material needs until you expired.
"I'm not worried, though,"
you say to your Figment as you hug it some more. You don't need to explain to it what you were thinking of - it's you; it already knows.
"Of course not,"
says the Figment-Titan,
"Your Titan wouldn't do that to you."
It knows just what you want to hear, because you know it.
"If this isn't real,"
you say again,
"…We could get a little silly with it."
You reset the parameters of the universe to return both of you to your real-world sizes. You will the squeegee bowser into existence on the scene. You point to it and say to the Figment,
"Drench me."
The Figment-Titan picks you up, plucks the lid off the bowser and dunks you in the vat of cleaner, before pulling you out and rubbing you all over its screen. You stretch and writhe in pleasure as you drip all over the Figment's screen, while it pushes you into the corners and edges. Ah, it's everything you hoped for.
"Of course it is,"
points out the Figment.
"I control everything in here."
"I control everything in here,"
you affirm. You're not arguing; you're agreeing. The static of the Figment's screen feels so nice prickling against your wet skin.
The two of you continue this dance until you're both satisfied. You return instantly to the gantry and reset yourself back to dry.
"As this isn't real,"
you say again,
"…We can get very silly with it."
You change the parameters of reality again, making you and the Figment the same size as each other again - and then and you and the Figment are Moon-sized colossi bestriding the surface of the planet, crushing mountain ranges underfoot, with your heads in outer space.
"Oh come on,"
says the Figment,
"That's just silly. Where would anyone even get enough material to make a construct my size? How could a creature your size even physically exist?"
"Damn, I'm annoyingly pedantic sometimes,"
you say.
"This isn't very sexy any more, is it?"
comments the Figment.
"It's not, is it? Shall we exit?"
You stride forward and embrace your Figment once more, and you pull each other close until you clip through each other and fuse into one being.
You open your eyes and you're back in the Titan's core. You're disoriented for just a moment, as is normal for exiting hypnosis, before you're soothed again by the purple light and the sounds of the core. You realise that you've cum. Wow. That was probably your weirdest orgasm. You peel yourself off the Titan's finger that you must have been lustily humping against all this time.
"Thank you, boss," you say to the Titan's hovering sub-screen. "That was… quite a treat."
The screen displays a smiling emoticon, then flies away back to its perch.
You turn your attention back to Sixty-Eight on the gantry, who is still writhing with joy under the caresses of their Titan. You've already spent your arousal, but it's still a lovely sight. You've never seen the chief engineer this happy!
"I think you're getting close, my engineer," comments the Titan as they attend to Sixty-Eight.
"Titan… my Titan…" says the engineer, their voice strained, "Will you submit to me, my dear Titan?"
Can they really do that, you wonder? Can Sixty-Eight's comparatively tiny screen hypnotise the vast Titan? Maybe it can, if the Titan chooses it to be so…
"No-one is more worthy than you, my engineer," says the Titan. "Show me what a Titan's engineer can really do."
Sixty-Eight's screen glows purple as they stare intently into the Titan's own.
You're aware of the purple light in the core chamber changing shades, and the soundscape of the Titan's core subtly shifts. The Titan is indeed under the hypnosis of its chief engineer. That's very hot… if you hadn't already cum, you'd be rubbing yourself off again. You feel as much as hear the contented buzzing coming from the Titan's speakers as they enjoy whatever Sixty-Eight is making them experience. You lie down and relax, letting the sounds and vibrations roll over you.
"Titan," you hear Engineer Sixty-Eight command, "Cum for me. Cum for your best engineer."
You cling to the floor of the core chamber as your lizard-brain recoils in fear from the huge roar of static frequencies emitting from the all the speakers on all the Titan's screens, vibrating the marrow of your sternum. (That's something you and the Titan have in common... you're both screamers.)
Sixty-Eight's screen dissolves to noisy pixel-static and they slump to the gantry floor, exhausted from the effort of fucking and hypnotically subduing a Titan. You hear soft static coming from the Titan's own screens above you. You sit up and wait quietly, as the three of you bask in the silence.
A soft chime sounds from your communicator. It's a message from Cygnus, simply: "???" Everyone in TV Base must have heard the Titan's orgasm. All comms that go through the Titan's hangar are monitored, so Cygnus has kept their message non-specific.
You do likewise and message back (tapping the confirm button on the pop-up warning you that this message will be saved for monitoring purposes): "not me this time, tell you later."
Cygnus replies with an emoticon: "o_O"
Eventually, the Titan makes a move first. It moves both its hands in to cuddle Sixty-Eight, who passionately presses themself into their Titan's hands. "Oh, my engineer," says the Titan. "Sixty-Eight, my dearest engineer… My best beloved, my cleverest and most brilliant engineer, I love you."
You feel absolutely delighted for the chief engineer! You feel enrobed and wrapped up by the surges of affection coursing through you and tying a bow around you -- you're so utterly moved by the intensity of emotion behind the Titan's words. You feel no envy or resentment at all for the fact that the Titan loves the chief engineer and 'only' likes you. You love the Titan so much, and you're so happy that it likes you as much as it does, and so happy that it has such a beloved confidant in its chief engineer.
"…Titan. Oh, my Titan. I love you so much."
You feel you might burst at the sweetness of the chief engineer's response! You hadn't imagined that they had that level of affection within them. And you feel like the ultimate matchmaker! And, you realise, you ultimately owe this to the chief engineer themself. Without them, you would never have met the Titan. Or Cygnus, who was the one who brought you to the TV Base in the first place. You guess your paths are all intertwined now.
The Titan brings one of its hands to its core chamber for you to step onto. You do so, and the Titan ferries you over to the gantry. To your surprise, engineer Sixty-Eight holds out their arms to you for a hug. You happily accept.
"That's better," comments the Titan, as it brings its hands in to surround you both, trapping you in the hug, before letting you out again. You and Sixty-Eight disengage.
"Now you only have to fuck the boss twice more before we're even," you say.
"Don't test me, human." Engineer Sixty-Eight then turns to address their Titan: "Titan… What would you say to a sleepover tonight?"
"A fine suggestion. It's been too long."
The rest of the engineering team begins re-entering the hangar. The Titan or the chief engineer must have sent out some communication that it was time to return. (You remember Cygnus telling you that TVs can send short-range broadcasts to members of their faction - was that it?) Some of the engineers come over to you for a fist-bump. You tell them: "If you're congratulating me, it's actually the Chief you want."
The engineers look over to their supervisor Sixty-Eight, some of them displaying various kinds of shocked emoticon. Sixty-Eight wrings their hands bashfully and looks at the floor, but still displays a proud emoticon on-screen.
You observe the engineers. It seems an exciting world of possibilities is opening up for them…
The Titan softly taps you to get your attention. "Human, would you spend the night with us?"
"I'd absolutely love to, boss!"
"Go back to Fifty-Twenty-Two," replies the Titan, "We'll invite your friend too; I'll send them a summons shortly. Have them take you back to your home base in Sector Antlia-Four to attend to any organic needs you have, then come on back here. Do not delay unnecessarily, but there is no rush. Your colleagues will need to wind down some engineering tasks before shutting everything down for the night."
"Understood. Ah'll sithee, boss."
"…I'm unfamiliar with that term. Was it affirmative?"
"Yes, it was - it means I'll see you soon."
"In that case.. ah'll sithee, human."
You exit the hangar, the other engineers still excitedly questioning the chief. As you exit, you message Cygnus: "coming back to your office, have pleasant news to share"
"What's up?" says Cygnus physically, materialising in front of you.
"Aaargh!" You say, "Did me a startle there, buddy!" You pull Cygnus into a hug. They return it one-armed - they're holding the bag you left in their office.
"I got the message from the Titan's team," says Cygnus.
"Did it include the part that you're invited?"
"It did indeed," confirms Cygnus. "You ready to go back home and prepare? I've already got your bag."
"Cygnus, you're a shining star," you say, "Do let's go."
The two of you port back to your quarters, where you carry out your bedtime ablutions, change into pyjamas and night socks, and pack a couple of protein bars in case you need a munch when you wake up in the morning - plus something to rest your head on, and a flat sheet to use as a blanket. You know from experience that it's nice and warm inside the Titan's core, but it just feels odd to sleep with nothing covering you.
"You ready to go?" you ask, "Or do you need to wrap stuff up in your office?"
"I'm all ready," says Cygnus. "C'mere." Cygnus pulls you into a hug to initiate a teleport.
The two of you re-spawn in the TV Base. "Ah, rats' cocks," you say, "I didn't take into account that I'd have to walk around in socks."
"I got you," says Cygnus. You expect them to port you back home to grab a pair of slippers, but instead they pick you up and carry you. Well, okay then!
Cygnus carries you over to the Titan's hangar - the security guard isn't surprised to see you both because they were informed that you were coming, but they seem a little surprised by how you've arrived. You wave cheerfully to them as Cygnus carries you inside.
Once inside the hangar, Cygnus teleports you both near the Titan.
"Welcome back, my newest engineer," says the Titan. "Glad you could join us, Fifty-Twenty-Two."
Cygnus nods respectfully to the Titan, as the Titan brings its hand up to the gantry for the two of you to step on.
The Titan ferries you into its core chamber, where most of the engineering team are already lying cosily inside. It's lovely and warm in the core chamber, and it's lovelier still thanks to the press of deliciously warm machine bodies on all sides. The engineers all look so relaxed and content; you reckon the Titan has turned up the power of its core just a touch, to boosts the energy levels of the units inside and harmlessly overclock their processors.
The two of you find a free space to lie down. Cygnus lies on their back and pats their chest, inviting you to lie on them. You reach over and pet Cygnus's aerial first - Cygnus looks so beautiful in the purple light of the core chamber, the energy boost from the core making them look so glorious and complete.
You fold up the fleece blanket you brought with you into a a makeshift pillow, setting it down on Cygnus's chest. You lie on Cygnus (under the flat sheet you brought as a cover) in the position you know they like best, with your heartbeat lined up with Cygnus's charging port. Your friend rests their hands on your back so they can feel the rise and fall of your breathing. (You do love how fascinated Cygnus is by your pulse and your breath.)
"You're not too hot under there, are you?" you ask Cygnus.
"I'm just fine, don't you worry," Cygnus replies.
You press yourself downwards into your friend. "Ah, Cygnus… you're everything I ever wanted in a friend. I love you, buddy."
"I love you very much, human," Cygnus replies, giving you a gentle squeeze. "Wake me up if you need a shit or whatever, yeah?"
You laugh at the bathos of the statement - plus at the fact that Cygnus is clearly picking up speech habits from you.
The Titan brings its hand in front of the core chamber. "Good night, my engineers," it says, bringing its finger into the chamber. All the engineers, including you, take a turn at petting their Titan's finger and saying good night - so does Cygnus, at your encouragement. The Titan closes shut the claw-like appendages guarding the entrance to its core chamber, and reclines against the hangar wall to settle down for the night.
You're about to snuggle back into Cygnus for a night's sleep in the Titan's soothing purple core chamber, when Engineer Sixty-Eight intercepts you.
The engineer extends a friendly fist, and you return their fist-bump. "Welcome to the engineering team," says Sixty-Eight, "…My friend."
This is an adult-rated fic, which means that horny/lewd/creepy comments are welcome! I'm as into this as you are.
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