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“Sounds like we need to develop a whole new starship control technology,” Dax said.

Underhill picked his padd up again, thumbed a control, and handed the device to Dax. “Captain Jefferies already seems to have some solid ideas in that area for us to build on. He’s even included some of the work that’s already being done to patch the warp-field detection fence at Altair. Maybe one of these ideas will pay off and let us get back to the warp-seven project.”

Dax stared at the padd’s small screen, which displayed a detailed technical drawing of a roughly circular starship bridge. The geometry differed none too subtly from any other Earth technology that either he or his predecessor Lela had ever seen before, and that included the specs to Starfleet’s NX-class starships.

What he saw did not encourage him. His overall impression was that Starfleet was contemplating taking a huge step backward, both in terms of technological sophistication and the ineffable mathematicalaesthetic qualities that Dax could only describe as “elegance.” There were too many ugly planes and angles in evidence.

“This new technology promises to prevent any outside system from engaging in unauthorized communication with a starship’s command-and-control architecture,” Skon said, in lecturing mode. “Only personnel with access to particular predetermined authorization code sequences could gain and maintain that measure of control. The simulations Jefferies and Stillwell have run have convinced them that the concept is sound. It will be our task to work out the operational details in order to allow Starfleet to deploy this countermeasure as quickly and successfully as possible.”

Dax listened to the Vulcan as he continued studying the display. He tried not to make a face, but knew he hadn’t succeeded.

“Do you have a critique already, Doctor Dax?” Skon said.

With a shrug, Dax finally said, “Ugh.” He wondered if he’d ever learn to appreciate these designs.

“I think ‘retro’ may be the word you’re groping for, Tobin, at least in terms of its superficial design aesthetics,” Underhill said, grinning. “But please, don’t let me put words in your mouth. I’m sure I’m as eager as Doctor Skon is to hear your appraisal.”

Dax wasn’t quite sure where to start. Digital displays and smooth vernier interfaces gave way to clunky analog readouts and huge, square buttons and switches that wouldn’t have looked out of place aboard one of the ancient military submarines that once patrolled Trill’s purple oceans. Even the control interfaces on the century-old survey ship that Skon’s father had commanded when Vulcan had made First Contact with Earth must have looked generations more advanced than this design.

And it was all being done, if Skon’s comments and Jefferies’ cryptic marginal notes could be taken at face value, in the name of hardening a starship’s entire command-and-control hardware-firmware-software architecture against external intrusion and takeover.

The only way this could be any uglier is if they decide to paint it bright orange, he thought with a barely suppressed shudder. And the only way to find out if this thing can really work is to subject it to an actual trial by fire.

“I think,” Dax said as he handed the padd back to Underhill, “that we’ve all got a lot of hard work ahead of us.”

TODAY

2156

THIRTY-SIX

Dateline: Achernar II Achernar Prime Alpha Eridani II

TRANSCRIPT FROM THE JANUARY 21, 2156, NEWSTIME JOURNAL SPECIAL COMMENTARY FOLLOWS:

This is Gannet Brooks, with all the news that’s under the sun and beyond, reporting from Heliopolis, Achernar II’s largest human settlement, a place named for the ancient Egyptian city of the sun because of the dominating presence in its skies of massive, lopsided Achernar.

If you spend most of your time in Earth’s northern hemisphere, then you may never have laid eyes on Achernar before. Achernar, also known as Alpha Eridani, is visible from Earth only from south of the equator. It’s the brightest (hence the “Alpha” designation) and southernmost