Alexander Clayton was born in the Sonoran Desert of Earth's North American continent in 2251, back in the days of Captain James T. Kirk himself. All his life, Alex wanted nothing more than to serve the Federation and Starfleet in any way or shape possible just like his family had done for generations. So at the earliest opportunity and with outstanding grades, he enrolled in the academy in early in 2271. During the entrance examinations, it was found out that he had a knack for many things, but mainly in the area of cryptology/communications and in engineering. Finding it difficult to narrow down his field of study to only one choice, he instead choose a double major command track and even went for a double minor as well. The heavy class load proved to be difficult, and ultimately cost him the prestigious 'top of class', but the knowledge that he gained in the process more than made up for it. He graduated in 2273 and, in a massive party bash that got a little too wild, ended up being one of the many cadets caught when the MPs stormed the bar where the festivities were held at. Alex spent the next day in lockup for unruly behavior before reporting for his first assignment on the USS Monitor.

A year went by and the Monitor cycled back to Earth for its 6 month refit process and Alex felt the call of the frontier after being on an explorer. But with options severely limited, he opted to accept the post as secondary communications officer under Captain Morgan "Bulldog" Bateson on the ill-fated Soyuz Class USS Bozeman. Alex was at first dismayed at being stationed on a lowly border cutter out of Starbase 12, but ultimately felt as if he had found a home with the motley crew. His dramatic arts background from High School went over well with Bateson and the two frequently discussed playwrights and works of fiction. With the Bozeman being based out of Starbase 12, Alex (like many of the crew) had come to call the Starbase home. He was frequently dating but eventually settled on a girl by the name of Lisa that he had come to consider 'the one'. He was just about to summon up the nerve to propose when disaster struck in 2278.

Captain Kozara of the Klingon High Command sold the High Council on a daring plan to strike at the long standing Starbase 12. While the bulk of the KDF were elsewhere along the Federation-Klingon border feigning a buildup and escalation of hostilities, Kozara and his crew would sneak across the Typhon Expanse and hit Starbase 12 with disruptor bombs from his newly commissioned battleship. The only thing that ended up standing between Kozara and victory was Captain Bateson and his somewhat insane crew of misfits on the Bozeman. In a skirmish against a ship that outgunned and out massed them nearly 3 to 1, Bateson and his crew managed to pull of the impossible and tie up Kozara long enough for a message beacon to get off a distress message to Starfleet. The cost was considerable: The Bozeman inadvertently disappeared into a temporal rift that instantly propelled them 90 years into the future and into a near head on collision with the USS Enterprise-D. In the space of mere minutes, all that they had known and loved was gone into the past.

Not surprisingly, the crew took the news hard. Alex and about half of the crew openly broke out a case of Romulan Ale that they'd confiscated from a freighter 'last year' and went on a drinking spree on Starbase 12. After a brief lockup and a sobering up, Bateson bailed them out and the charges were thrown out due to their special circumstance. Alex took the advice of Captain Bateson and some counselors and took an extended Leave Of Absence. Alex himself went to the monasteries on Vulcan to go find himself. After nearly two years with the Clerics and Monks on Vulcan, Alex felt it was about time to get on with his life and enrolled in the Academy refresher courses to bring himself up to speed on the newest technology. While at the academy he ran into none other than Captain Montgomery Scott himself, who then proceeded to give Alex some advice and managed to convince the lad to take up engineering this time around.

Alex went back to Starbase 12 after completing the refresher courses to help begin work on the USS Sovereign, which was now finally under construction. When a year went by and news of the Enterprise-D's demise at Viridian III reached Starbase 12, the decision immediately came down to rename the new ship the Enterprise-E. After this decision was made, many more engineers flocked to help build the next flagship including Scotty himself as well and Commander Geordi LaForge. Alex gained much knowledge in Engineering by learning from these two legends while under the master hand of Captain Bateson, who was heading up the overall project. Alex subsequently stayed on for the thrilling, if not interesting, shakedown cruise. While on shakedown maneuvers Kozara struck again, this time with 90 years of hate and vengeance brewing inside. The old Bozeman crew were shuffled off to Kozara's old clunker of a ship while the now stolen Enterprise-E headed for Cardassia. Alex helped break the Klingon encryption codes and under 2nd Officer's guidance, they headed off toward Cardassia to attempt to retake the Enterprise. Captains Picard and Bateson beat them to the punch. Picard rewarded Bateson and the Bozeman crew by throwing his support in getting the Bozeman refitted and upgraded so that they could have their old ship back. Alex was a bit surly from the way Commander Riker had treated Captain Bateson earlier in the cruise and had words with him. He then found a formal reprimand on his record.

A year later on the newly refitted USS Bozeman, Alex was facing an engineer's greatest challenge: Adapting for defense against the Borg. The Bozeman ended up being part of the defense fleet tasked with the safeguard of Sector 001 for the newest Borg Incursion. Alex, along with many others of the engineering staff onboard, managed to keep even with the Borg as the Cube continued its relentless advance toward Earth. The Bozeman became severely damaged and managed to withdraw to a safe distance. The ship would spend the next year in dry-dock. With the Dominion War also on the table, Alex didn't want to merely wait for his beloved ship to be repaired. So he accepted a long awaited promotion to Lieutenant JG and rotated back into the Communications field with emphasis on Encryption onboard the New Orleans Class ship USS Midway. During the time on the Midway, he became fast friends with Gabriel McKibben, the Ast. Chief Tactical Officer onboard. The two were constantly on the same shift together and so had lots of time to hang out. Alex was on the bridge with his friend during the fateful battle of Chin'toka II. Their captain repeatedly disregarded warnings from Alex, Gabriel, the First Officer, the Chief Engineer and the Helmsman that they were flying straight into a trap (multiple times). After the Midway was destroyed and the survivors were back on DS9, Alex and Gabriel both sought out their 'captain' and took turns punching him. They both plead down the charges and spent upwards of a week in lockup even though many were agreeing with their way to deal with an incompetent commander.

Alex rotated to the Charleston Class Cruiser USS Indianapolis while staying in the Communications field. Not much is known about his tour on the Indianapolis since much of this period of his life is Classified by Starfleet Intelligence.

In 2378 Alex's pristine record since the war got him a promotion to Lieutenant and a transfer back into the Engineering Department. He spent another couple of years honing his skills before finally getting an Ast. Chief's slot on the Intrepid Class USS Astalder in 2380. Alex rose quickly to the task on the Astalder and was elevated to Chief Engineer with a promotion to Lt. Commander in 2381 when the former Chief was killed in action against T'Kith'Kin raiders. At this same time, he began a serious relationship with the ship's Second Officer (and later on, Commanding Officer) Kate Nevvern. Having a relationship with the captain of the Astalder turned out to be a major mistake on Alex's part, especially when Alex was older than the newly promoted CO. It was inevitable that a major fight ended up breaking out between Alex and Kate and, in a confrontation that bordered on mutiny, Alex ended up on the losing side of the argument. He was taken to a general court-martial when Captain Nevvern tried to simply throw him out of Starfleet outright. Instead of being thrown out of Starfleet, Alex was found guilty of Conduct Unbecoming and Fraternization. This cost him his position, his rank, and his ship. He was forced to transfer off of the Astalder and out of the Engineering department altogether.

He spent a brief time back on Vulcan in the monasteries before coming back to active service on the USS Miranda-B as Ast. Chief Communications Officer. Shortly after he transferred onboard the Miranda, he was caught up in the temporal shockwave that displaced him and half of the crew. He was thrown back in time to the year 1660 where he was forced to become a privateer in order to survive. Over the course of the next year, he is given a Letter of Marque from the British Governor of St. Kitts, has a bounty placed on his head for 6000 doubloons for attacking Spanish shipping, earns a Barony, and wins the heart of Chantelle, the daughter of the Governor of St. Kitts. By mid 1661, Clayton is ready to give up the pirate lifestyle he’d been forced to take and settle down with Chantelle. But she is kidnapped shortly before the wedding was to take place by a French Privateer by the name of Lafayette, who proceeds to force himself onto her. Clayton rallies his crew to rescue his love and return to St. Kitts, where the delay of the wedding is enough to allow Lafayette’s brother to catch up and murder the bride and her bridesmaids. Clayton goes into a fit of rage, tortures the man to death, and rallies an invasion force in order to retaliate. Before he can carry out his plans, Captain Braxton of the USS Relativity (from the 29th Century) finally finds him in time (having been previously occupied by other members of the temporally displaced crew of the USS Miranda) and pulls him out before he can potentially create a massive paradox that would change history as we know it.

Shortly afterwards, he returns to duty on the Miranda where he attempts to patch his life back up yet again, but is unable to successfully do so. He ends up alienating everyone but his closest friends in the process, including a woman, Riva, whom he was dating before the temporal displacement occurred. Clayton remains focused on his work, which eventually earns him a promotion as Executive Officer of the USS Bainbridge in the newly formed Intelligence Division known as Third Echelon.

Clayton took to his new task with a renewed vigor. He participated in multiple, classified operations while at the same time gaining invaluable command experience as the XO of the Bainbridge. Interestingly enough, it was in 2385, shortly after the crew of the Bainbridge participated in the Starfleet Games of ’85, he was visited by his future self from 2402. It was an alarming experience being confronted with his future self that was aged 17 years and apparently had a really rough lifetime. Another alarming experience was when his future self also presented him with his fiancée from the past; Chantelle. After a long talk with his future self, he agreed to undergo Temporal Integration with him so that he could then work to correct the mistakes that his future self committed. Shortly afterwards, He and Chantelle were properly married by Captain McKibben.

Clayton and Chantelle enjoyed a brief honeymoon before deciding what to do. They’d already discussed many of the items as his future self when his counterpart rescued Chantelle from the past. The options kept on coming back to one thing; working for the Church just as his counterpart had done in the future. With that in mind, Clayton then entered the priesthood. With the knowledge of Church Doctrine that he obtained from the Integration, he ended up flying through all of the courses and was Ordained late in 2385. Shortly thereafter, the Vatican, wishing to enjoy a better relationship with Starfleet, assigned him to the USS Galaxy’s Liaison Corps as an Ambassador; one of the Ordained who would go out into the universe with the brave men and women of the Federation in order to assist those spiritually who sought out such help.

Clayton is a man with a haunted past. While he has a high charisma and is know as something of a ladies' man, but has since mellowed down since his reunion with his true love; Chantelle. He’s now turning into something of a family man.

When off duty, Clayton can be found either in the holodeck honing his skills, or in his quarters in deep meditation. He is a practicing Roman Catholic Priest and now conducts Mass on the Sabbath. He takes his duties and responsibilities very seriously and is loyal to those who have earned it. Other times he can seem a bit cool and aloof. He is very dedicated to his wife and will do anything, up to and probably including breaking his vows of priesthood, to protect her.

Old habits die hard with Clayton. Child of the old days, he still carries on a hatred of the Klingons and finds it very hard to let go of it. Likewise, he finds it hard to trust Romulans as well as he finds them dishonorable. Although, since becoming a Priest, he is becoming more welcoming of all of God’s Creatures.

Clayton has some tattoos on his left arm on the shoulder and upper arm of a cross and some ancient markings.

Ever since undergoing Temporal Integration with his counterpart from the 25th Century, Clayton has taken on the callsign of “The Messenger” in order to continue on his counterpart’s mission and work. He still retains the clothing and Holy Tome from the future that his counterpart had given him.