In season 1 episode 4 ‘CQB’ of The Expanse, the flagship of the Martian Congressional Republic Navy’s Jupiter fleet, The MCRN Donnager, finds itself in a space battle with the six ships that previously attacked the Canterbury. Seriously outgunned, the Martian ship takes heavy damage. The space battle between the Donnager and her unnamed assailants quickly moves from fighting with torpedoes to a Close Quarters Battle (CQB) using railguns. When the enemy ultimately boards and attempt to breach Donnager’s CIC, Captain Theresa Yao activates the self-destruct mechanism, vaporizing the Donnager and everyone left on it. MCRN Donnager, the pride of the Martian Navy, was no more.

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MCRN Donnager was a large battleship, almost 500 meters long and weighing approximately 250 000 tons. Designed for long periods at high-g, it was built in the “office tower” configuration: each deck one floor of the building, ladders or elevators running down the axis. Constant thrust took the place of gravity. At nearly five hundred meters long, it was the size of a 130-story building (reference expanse.wiki.com ).

The Donnager was attacked by six ships of the ‘Stealth Ship Class’, a class of warship designed for, commissioned by, and owned by Protogen Corporation. There were at least eight known ships of this class. The drives and possibly other components were constructed at the Bush Shipyards on a secret contract for Protogen Corporation. Evidence implicates that the UN Undersecretary, Sadavir Errinwright, was complicit in authorizing the contract.