I just had a potential vision of the future. Here, we have an AI controlled Warship. It seems clearly designed to combat threats like the Breen and not sure how it could be used for anything else. This season ALSO set up the idea that the two evil AIs might team-up... and well... if two evil AIs somehow control/convince three super-powerful AI Warships to join them... That's gonna be a pretty epic finale in a later season.
Someone online suggested Badgey as the third evil AI, and despite not being sure how that would happen, would be a return I'd be ok with.
And we know from Picard that there's a synth "uprising" in four years (in 2385, whereas LD is currently in 2381).
When Peanut Hamper escaped the debris field, we saw Rutherford's old implant float by and suddenly become active. There could be a trace of Badgey on that, either as or in addition to whatever "evil-Rutherford" protocols the Section-31-like guys installed.
The one thing about this episode that I don't fully get, is why the girl was being cagey about who was funding them if it was all above board. I get why story wise, just not in-universe character wise. Not even a "I just don't like the idea of being funded by a Starfleet Admiral" unless I'm forgetting a line like that with everything else going on in the ep.
Unless I don't remember a line from the first issue, it's my understanding this series (and "Defiant")take place before "Nemesis".Don't fully know. Sisko is back and Data is alive.