Omega Force: Rebellion (OF11), стр. 57

already. The old banking AI was replaced with an all new, more robust system that controls the markets as well as individual transactions."

"That was certainly a short-lived revolution for whoever blew up the old one," Kellea said.

"Was it?" Scleesz said, his intensity startling her.

"I don't understand where you're going with this."

"What if…something…had managed to embed itself into the new banking system," he went on. "What if it had successfully infiltrated it to the point that it could monitor, and control, the markets, transactions, and track personal wealth? If this system controlled that and had somehow subverted the Adjudicators on Miressa…" he left the rest of his sentence hanging. Kellea just stared at him for a moment before she burst out with a polite bit of laughter.

"Very good, Councilman," she said. "You had me going for a moment. What you're talking about would require a malevolent AI more powerful than we've ever seen even from the Kheprians." When Scleesz just stared at her, she stopped smiling. "You were joking, right?"

"It calls itself the Machine," the councilman said, his resolve crumbling and the words coming out in a rush. "It came from an unknown region of space when it copied itself into the computer banks of a ConFed battleship that was deployed on an extreme long-range mission to attempt to secure a rumored superweapon left over from an extinct species of advanced beings."

"Y-you're talking about the gravity weapon that Omega Force destroyed," she said, confused. "The weapons itself was called the Machine, not some program aboard it. Either way, it's gone…destroyed."

"One of the more powerful AIs that managed the weapon had become corrupt," Scleesz said. "It was actually the cause of the extinction of the species who built it. When Captain Burke set the weapon to implode upon itself, that corrupted AI managed to transfer itself to the ConFed ship and catch a ride back. Since then, it's infiltrated the government at the highest level, controlling politicians through blackmail and threats."

"Who have you been talking to on my slip-com system?" she demanded. "What is Seeladas up to? Answer me…now!"

"I've been talking to Captain Burke and Saditava Mok," Scleesz said. "We've formed a sort of…resistance, I suppose, to try and stop it. Seeladas Dalton has made a deal with the Machine that will allow her to remain regent within her territory, but the Cooperative will belong to the ConFed."

"Our member worlds will not go along with that," Kellea said.

"By the time they figure out what's happening, it will already be too late," Scleesz said. "I've had to use your com system to communicate with my coconspirators because I have to assume any ConFed government system is being monitored."

"Why is the Defiant moving to the capital?"

"That I’m not completely sure about," Scleesz admitted. "From what I was able to glean, you're supposed to observe something and take the news of that back to your people. Apparently, the Machine has planned some sort of demonstration of power that should help it solidify its hold. Burke and Mok know what it is, but they didn't want to share over a possibly compromised slip-com channel. All I know is that they're making moves to try and head this off."

"Why is Jason Burke involved in this at all?"

"Guilt," Scleesz said. "He feels that his failure to destroy the Ancient construct before the Machine had a chance to transfer off is an unforgiveable sin. Apparently, he wasted some time getting his ship and crew off the weapon, letting the ConFed ships close to within broadcast range. If he'd just destroyed it the instant he knew how, none of this would have happened."

"But Jason said he destroyed the unit that housed the rogue AI." Kellea was now recalling various aspects of what Jason had told her when the Phoenix had returned. "He and Lucky had to fight their way down to it so they could access the weapon's core for the implosion."

"Apparently, the AI had anticipated this once Jason and his battlesynth began moving down towards the processing units." Scleesz looked out the porthole and the rippling blue and purple waves of slip-space energy flowing around the ship. "It copied itself over to an auxiliary unit, one that wasn't properly connected to control weapon functions, and tried to transfer itself to Captain Burke's ship. When that ship's computers proved to be inadequate, it then transmitted as much of itself as it could out to the ConFed battleship. It then took the better part of two Miressan years for it to recompile and repair itself from the hasty transfer. The Machine currently wreaking havoc in this quadrant isn't a full, working copy of the software the Ancient's used to control their superweapon."

Kellea pushed her drink glass away and leaned back, also looking out the porthole. Suddenly, Jason's erratic and self-destructive behavior made sense. He was always a little overemotional, and she could only imagine what he was going through watching the ConFed invade the Eshquarian Empire.

"What's Mok's place in this?" she asked after a moment.

"Mok is Eshquarian," Scleesz said. "I suspect he was a former intelligence officer before he stepped into the place of the crime lord that used to run that section of space. Right now, he's the facilitator. Burke is using his resources and intelligence to plan operations. Now for the part I've not been looking forward to in this conversation; what are your intentions, Admiral? I've placed a not-insignificant amount of trust in you. If you decided to tell the authorities on Miressa that Saditava Mok was helping foment a rebellion, the Machine would crush the Blazing Sun Syndicate. It's already aware of Burke and has been putting some effort into locating him. I feel that once it controls the entire quadrant, our dear Captain will be as good as dead. The Machine will be able to focus on him entirely and, as slippery as the young mercenary is, I don't think he will escape this time."

"I'm not going to reveal your plans," she said. "Nor am I