Benjamin Maxwell

Benjamin Maxwell was a male Human Starfleet officer of the 24th century, and considered "one of Starfleet's finest captains." 
== Biography ==
Maxwell was married and had children in the early part of the century. They lived in an outpost on Setlik III while he was a captain.
=== The Rutledge ===
During the Federation-Cardassian War, Maxwell served as captain of the . He earned a fierce loyalty from his crew, and got to know them well. 
Maxwell responded to news of the massacre at Setlik III, wherein his wife and children were killed. He arrived the day after most of the inhabitants were killed, and sent away teams to protect the remaining people in the more remote regions. 
Maxwell's tactical officer at the time, Miles O'Brien, would later remark that Maxwell appeared to take the loss of his family remarkably well, not missing a single minute of duty. 
He was fond of a certain song, "The Minstrel Boy," sung by one of his crew, Will Kayden. 
For his actions during the war, Maxwell was twice decorated with the Federation's highest citation for courage and valor. ()
=== The Phoenix ===
By the late-2360s, a peace treaty had been negotiated between the Federation and Cardassian governments and Maxwell had been given command of the . 
In 2367, Captain Maxwell, believing the Cardassians to be re-arming and re-equipping themselves, undertook his own unauthorized preemptive strike, beginning with the destruction of a Cardassian outpost in the Cuellar system which Maxwell believed to be a military supply port disguised as a science post. He then turned to any supply vessels heading for the outpost. The was ordered in pursuit. Maxwell destroyed a supply vessel and a nearby Cardassian warship, killing approximately six hundred-fifty Cardassians, despite it being given the Phoenix' prefix code.
Eventually, the Enterprise arrived and Maxwell agreed to a meeting with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, explaining that he knew the Cardassians were arming again. The peace treaty was a ruse to give them time to re-group. He had undertaken these unauthorized attacks because he did not trust the "bureaucrats" in Starfleet to take decisive action, an assertion to which Picard responded by stating his opinion that Maxwell was simply seeking revenge for the death of his family. Maxwell was also reunited with O'Brien, who was serving as transporter chief, and the two men greeted each other warmly as old friends. Maxwell also complimented the chief's abilities as a tactical officer. Miles expressed his own admiration for his former Captain. 
Subsequent to Picard ordering him to travel to Starbase 211 under escort, Maxwell feigned compliance, but altered course en route, leading the Enterprise-D to another Cardassian supply vessel. Maxwell claimed it was transporting weapons in preparation for an attack on Federation space. Imploring Picard to search the ship in an attempt to prove his assertions, Maxwell threatened to destroy it, along with all hands. He was eventually talked down by O'Brien. Realizing that he had lost, Maxwell willingly surrendered to Picard, turning over command of the Phoenix to his first officer. However, his warning did not go unheeded; Picard realized that the supply vessel likely was transporting weapons given the sensor jammer in use, and only elected not to search it because such an action would lead to an outbreak of war, instead warning Gul Macet that the Federation was watching and asking him to relay that warning to Cardassian Central Command. ()
== Memorable quotes ==
"Smells musty in here… like a bureaucrat's office."
: - Maxwell, while in Picard's ready room
"You're a fool, Picard. History will look at you and say: 'This man was a fool.' "
"I'll accept the judgment of history."
: - Captain Maxwell and Captain Picard
"I'm not gonna win this one, am I, Chief?"
"No, sir."
: - Benjamin Maxwell and Miles O'Brien, after Maxwell decides to surrender
== Appendices ==
=== Background information ===
Captain Benjamin Maxwell was played by actor Bob Gunton.
The script for "The Wounded" describes Maxwell as, "not at all what one might have expected. Slight of build, short greying hair, chiseled, angular face -- he could be Lenin. Or Lennon. But in the eyes there is warmth -- and humor. Creases at the edges testify to a lifetime of smiles and laughter. He is genuinely at ease with himself, and consequently puts others at ease." 
Author and writer Larry Nemecek noted that Maxwell's "Queeg-like turn" echoed Matt Decker from the episode . ()
=== Apocrypha ===
The ization of gives Maxwell's wife's name as Maria Huxley.
The Gateways novel Demons of Air and Darkness reveals that Maxwell was court martialed and imprisoned after the incident shown in "The Wounded".
The DS9 novel Force and Motion established that, after being incarcerated for nearly two decades, Maxwell was employed as a maintenance engineer on the private science station Robert Hooke. In early 2386, he is reunited with O'Brien when he and Lieutenant Commander Nog travel to the station to meet with the station's owner, Anatoly Finch, who introduces them to a genetically engineered lifeform called "Mother" that Finch claims can neutralize toxins left behind during the Borg attack of 2381. When one of Finch's assistants, Sabih Ali, apparently attempts to steal Mother, triggering a security system that kills him and flushes Mother out into space, Maxwell works out that Sabih was working under Finch's orders as Finch had already arranged to sell Mother to a group of Romulan farmers. When the station suffered a technical failure from Finch's plan and severe damage from Mother being attracted to the warp reactors, O'Brien and Nog arrange for the evacuation of most of the station's personnel, but Maxwell stays behind to repair the warp core and discovers that Mother is sentient and largely peaceful. Maxwell was believed to have died in the station's destruction, but he had actually left in the transport, hoping for a fresh start.
A short fiction snippet appearing in the Gamma Quadrant Sourcebook for the Roleplaying Game establishes that while imprisoned during the Dominion War, Admiral Edward Jellico recruited Maxwell to go into the Demilitarized Zone on a mission to rescue Calvin Hudson, Ro Laren, and any other Maquis members who were willing to join Starfleet in the fight against the Dominion. While recruiting Maxwell, Jellico explains that Maxwell's actions against the Cardassians helped inspire Cal Hudson and Chakotay, who were members of Maxwell's crew aboard the Phoenix, to help found the Maquis. Maxwell agreed to command the Pequod, a Starfleet ship listed as destroyed in action, but which was clandestinely repurposed by Jellico for this off-the-books mission.
=== External links ===
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de:Benjamin Maxwell
fr:Benjamin Maxwell
ja:ベンジャミン・マックスウェル
pl:Benjamin Maxwell
Category:Humans
Category:Starfleet personnel (24th century)
Category:Starfleet command personnel
Category:Starfleet captains