U.S.S. Monson NCC-2392 (FASA)

Chandley class

Chandley class

While on a fact-finding mission within the Triangle in October 2277, the Chandley class Starship Monson was overtaken by four Klingon K-23 class destroyers. Eventually, two closed on the Monson and declared she had entered Klingon space, demanding she heave to and prepare to be boarded. The Monson's captain immediately raised shields and warned the Klingons off. The Klingons attacked, and the Monson returned fire. The Monson's aft torpedoes hit the lead Klingon ship's bridge, causing it to veer off course and into the path of the other vessels, whose fire crippled the damaged ship. Seeing this as an ill omen, the remaining Klingon vessels departed the area, leaving the crippled ship behind. The Monson approached the Klingon ship, accepted its surrender, and beamed aboard two Marine platoons before the ship exploded, killing all aboard.

An after-action review determined that an unsuspecting Marine touched an unidentified device in the engine room, initiating an overload in the matter/antimatter mix chamber. The explosion caused no damage to the Monson and the device was never seen or reported again, leading to speculation that it was a jury-rigged self-destruct system.

Because of this incident, Starfleet policy stated that before Marines boarded an enemy vessel, a complete scan must be made of of the vessel to determine if the destruct systems were in operation. If the scan was positive, the vessel's crew would be ordered to disarm any such devices, and should they fail to do so, the ship would be disabled and the enemy crew subjected to intense phaser stun. Only then could engineers and explosives disposal personnel beam aboard to disarm the device.