Trekipedia

U.S.S. Monson NCC-2392

Chandley class. While on a fact-finding mission within the Triangle, the Monson was overtaken by four Klingon K-23 class destroyers. Eventually, two closed on the Monson and declared it 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.¹

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 has never been seen or reported since, leading to speculation that it was a jury-rigged self-destruct system.¹

Because of this incident, Starfleet policy states that before Marines board an enemy vessel, a complete scan must be made of of the vessel to determine if the destruct systems are in operation. If the scan is positive, the vessel’s crew will be ordered to disarm any such devices, and should they fail to do so, the ship will be disabled and the enemy crew subjected to intense phaser stun. Only then can engineers and explosives disposal personnel beam aboard to disarm the device.¹

References

• 1. FASA-2302: Federation Ship Recognition Manual