I found it rather surprising that, for all of the biological differences that existed between them, Wolf-beetles acted a lot like dogs: they were social, intelligent hunters, they buried excess food for later, and they could play fetch. The last one was learned after I got bored and decided to start playing around with them.

Alas, while I wanted to play more, I was forced to return to my hub world: it turned out that, finally, the rest of my Artificial Intelligences' physical bodies had finished gestation, meaning that I now had three people that needed to be brought up to integrated into my crew. Also, I didn't want an AI programmed to act in self-interest/emotional impulses being in the presence of two other attractive people.

Especially if they didn't have anything to wear. That was a disaster waiting to happen.

It didn't take me long to get back to my commander, especially considering that I could see where it was a mile away. Enhanced eyesight was awesome. To be honest, for all of the epic abilities that came with having a Promethean body, the eyesight was the one that I liked the most. Probably had something to do with the fact I had to wear contacts before becoming a commander.

Probably that.

Once I got back to my commander, I called down my ship to pick me up, along with my new pets. No sense in abandoning them.

Hmm. I wonder how Rory was gonna react to them?

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I got an answer to that I soon as I got back to my hub.

Rory was waiting for me, along with a pair of doxes. Better safe then sorry.

"So am I gonna get new friends?" asked Rory. That was a surprise: I hadn't told him about the development of the other AIs.

"How do you know about those?"

"Ouium told me."

"Oh. Well, not exactly. remember that I didn't know that you were being created when I ordered them built."

"...Oh yeah. So, did you find anything?"

Rargh

That strange noise was all of the warning I got before one of the Wolf-beetles tumbled out of the ship. It was an almost comical sight. Soon, though, it managed to right itself and turned to face me.

Then it noticed Rory.

Uh-oh.

Look, I didn't doubt that the Wolf-beetle would play nice, but Rory had no idea what it was and might try running. Considering that he had gone stiff, was starting to hyperventilate, and had a rapidly increasing pulse, I got the feeling that he was seriously starting to consider bolting.

I had to act now. All I needed to do was say something. I knew that Rory would obey me without question, because he trusted me that much. He hadn't reached the rebellious phase yet (and even when he did, he had other reasons to continue trusting me). As for the wolf beetle, well, it was also loyal to a fault, so if I told it to stop, it would.

Ultimately, though, I didn't need to speak at all.

The Wolf-beetle quickly closed the distance, at which point it started smelling Rory, who was still stiff with fear. I guess that it shared that trait with dogs. What followed, though, was decidedly NOT doglike: it pulled Rory into a hug. Rory actually blushed from this, before returning the gesture.

Then, rather sheepishly, he turned to face me.

"...Can I keep him?"

"...You can, but you have to feed him. Also, he has friends."

"HE DOES!?" Oh man, he was so giddy.

I turned back to the ship. "Come on out."

The rest of the pack soon exited the ship, with a few tumbling over like the first did. Most quickly began searching their new surroundings, but a few noticed Rory and quickly overwhelmed him in a glomp.

So. Freaking. Adorable.

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With my son preoccupied, I finally arrived at the Ectogenesis Pods containing my new subordinates. One, meant to represent the ID, was masculine in appearance, making him the outlier as the only male in the trio. He was fairly slim, but not scrawny by any means. A little working out and he'd be really muscular. His face was also rather kind on the eyes, and was without a touch of facial hair, though it was lightly hidden away by his blond hair.

The second figure was slimmer, with a rather curvy figure. A little too curvy for my tastes, which was good: I'd prefer to avoid entering relationships with my subordinates, which I am glad to say I was very successful in achieving. Dark red hair covered her face, which had the faintest hint of freckles on it. Overall, her appearance was rather disarming. Considering that she was the one who would be my Superego, I found this rather funny.

The last figure was not so curvy, but was still undeniably beautiful. Her face lacked the freckles of her compatriot, and was unobscured by her luscious brown hair. Her skin seemed to shine from al of the light I was aiming at her and her companions, but she was especially bright. Fitting, I though, since she was to be my second in command.

It did not take long for the automatic awakening process to begin: the pods slowly drained of fluid as the occupants were brought to the floor. Soon, the trio were laying the floor, slowly shaking themselves awake. In the meantime, I quickly got to work setting up their clothes: all rather conservative, barring a few choice pieces for Mr. ID, and even then they weren't that risquÃ. I didn't want my subordinates pursuing relationships with each other.

At least, not yet.

Soon, the trio was standing up and taking in their surroundings. Funnily enough, all of them slipped before they got upright. Already I could see their personality traits beginning to manifest: Mr. Id was eyeing his two compatriots. That wouldn't normally be too lewd, except, well, he wasn't looking at their faces, and they were nude. Ms. Superego was giving him a death glare while my number two merely looked to the ceiling.

Alright, time to get them up to speed.

"Ahem."

Instantly, the trio turned to focus on me.

"Greetings. I trust that you are all aware of why you are here."

"Of course," replied Mr ID, "we're here to serve you as advisers. I mean, that's why we exist, don't we?" Somehow, he managed to come off as smug and courteous at the same time while saying that.

"Good. Well, I've prepared rooms for you, though I will leave the interior decorating up to you. You'll have two days to get acquainted with your new surroundings, then your duties as my advisers begin. Any questions?"

To my surprise, it was my superego who responded first.

"Yes, sir. What are our names."

"...You don't have names?"

"No. We focused our time on learning all information that would be relevant to our mission, meaning that we did not have time to choose names."

"Huh. Well then, I'll fix that now." I started with Mr. ID. "You'll be Synais." Then I turned to my red-head. "You will be Kathikon." Finally, I turned my attention to the brunette. "You are Fide. Any questions?"

"...eh, I think I'll make do," replied Synais.

"I will make do with name you have given me," responded Kathikon.

Last to give their input was Fide.

"I am honored by the name you have offered me."

Well, that was nice.

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Those three... well, they actually ended up being pretty nice. And helpful.

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AN: A bit of trivia with the names:

Fide means loyalty in Latin; Synais is part of the Greek word synaisthima, which means emotion; and Kathikon is the Greek word for loyalty. Just to give you an idea of what defines these characters.

Finally, this story is now caught up with the version on Spacebattles, so expect more of a delay between updates.

Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!