March 1, 2387 Lt. Alister Maxwell Shuttlebay (exiting the Avro Arrow)

Stepping out of the Avro Arrow, Maxwell appears to be in his mid or late thirties. Has a mid to heavy set build, brown reddish hair, blue eyes and a contagious smile. He is wearing the black, grey duty uniform and carrying a bag and 2 boxes probably containing his personal belongings.

"Good day to you Captain. Nice to finally meet you in person." He puts the boxes and the bag down on the cargobay floor. Straightens his uniform by jerking it and shakes the glove wearing hand of the captain.

"Likewise, lieutenant" Captain Stryker replied and continued to introduce the first officer, the ships doctor and security chief. "And you ve already met our ships counselor."

"Yes, I have." Delore noticed the new engineers surprised face when he saw a Gorn on duty as the ships security officer. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Your belongings will be transported to your quarters momentarily. I now have other matter to attend to but I am sure Archer is more than willing to give you a tour of the ship."

"Thanks, captain." Maxwell answered as he turned to her as the others exited the shuttlebay.

"Perhaps you re interested in seeing your office and the engineering decks?" She asked him in a polite way.

"Yes. I d like that but first, is there any place that a man can get his coffee ?" he said with a grin.

"Yes there is Mr. Maxwell" Stryker said, "Deck 18 Forward, Dot's Diner"

*******

Chapter 2

March 1, 2387

USS Pretoria hung in space like a spider hanging from its web, back lit by a nebula mainly blue, with hints of green, purple, black and whites.

Alister and Kathryn Delore walked into Dot's Diner. Alister got his coffee and looked around when a familiar sight greeted his eyes. By the large wrap-around windows sat a woman chatting to a Bolian man.

He walked over to the woman, "Alice ?"

Alister was very surprised. Alice looked at him for about 10 seconds before she finally remembered, she could not hide her shock, another ghost from her past.

For both of them this brings back a lot of memories.

********

Chapter 3

October 28, 2372

Ensign Alister Maxwell. Infiltration mission, Frontier world of Banidar III. Assignment USS Repulse.

The rock face surrounded him in all directions. No one could ever have seen him beam down to the surface. That s at least a good start he thought to himself. He looked up and around and found no sign of people on the steep hills. From his loose fitting jacket he took picked up a Rigellian communications device, well at least it appeared to be. In fact it was a Starfleet communicator disguised as Rigellian. The security chief on the Repulse had done a good job in providing equipment that looked anything else but Starfleet. This was his first checkpoint. The communicator smirked as he pushed the speak button and he said. "It is a beautiful day and I ll go for a stroll. Let s see if I can find some exotic birds for you."

Commander Davies's answer was short but it had flavour. "Good luck and good hunting farmboy." Davies and Alister had never agreed on anything and Alister was happy not having to deal with Davies on a daily basis. It was two scoops job, being the chief engineer and all.

The young ensign grabbed a branch from a small dry tree growing on the edge of the hill sloping down towards the lush village below. The small river divided the little town and cut the valley in half. It glimmered in the sunlight and was a sharp contrast to the surrounding vegetation.

Nightfall Moon Over Mayhem Bar

The bar was filled with people of different species and cultures. After studying the crowd from his place at the bar he realized that he had gone in to the wrong establishment. I was supposed to infiltrate the Marquis. Somehow I don t think that this is their main recruitment zone. Indeed, most of the customers in the bar were Cardassian although he spotted one occasional human or Ferengi.

Most of the visitors were dressed in casual clothes. These people were not military, at least not in appearance. He knew that at least one of the Obsidian Order agent on this world. He finished the sweet tasting juice and started to walk out of the bar.

Luckily he had chosen to stay at a hotel a few blocks from there. At least it would not be apparent that he was working against the same goals as the Cardassians. Capture the Marquis in this system.

As he approached the exit his eyes met with an Asian woman with bright red hair. A hulking Cardassian farmer (by the looks of what he was wearing) seemed to be willing to share more than the table with her. As Alister passed by she reached out and grabbed a hold of his left arm. He halted and looked at her.

"Hold it. I need a real man to drink with." She nodded towards her current company and the large bottle of cheap whiskey on the table. The Cardassian didn t approve of that but he didn t say anything. Alister looked at the Cardassian, clearly measuring him up. It was a provoking posture and it made the Cardassian even more annoyed but still he said nothing.

Alister reached over to the bar and took a shooter glass from the counter. He rinsed it with his sleeve and put the glass on the table next to the bottle. "I can see that." The redhead started to pour the glass in front of him.

"Be careful, I am surprised that someone here have the guts to sit at the same table as I without being asked to." The Cardassian said in a threatening tone. Alister emptied the glass and made a hissing sound as the beverage burned in his mouth. The redhead drank with him but she didn t flinch. It was like drinking water for her.

"I was asked to the table." He replied dryly and put his shot down in front of the woman.

The Cardassian stood up, grabbed Alister by the neck and smashed his face into the table. The woman hit the Cardassian with the bottle. The Cardassian went down, falling to the floor.

The red-haired woman grabbing the closest Ferengi and sent him flying into a wooden wall. The Ferengi slid down the wall like a broken doll.

Before the second Cardassian could react, Alister was upon him. His first strike sent the guard's weapon flying across the room. He swept one leg out, catching him just below the knees. A swift blow to the chest left the guard gasping for breath, another punch knocked him unconscious.

Five Cardassians approached Alister and the mystery woman. "Can you fight ?" she asked.