Battle of Maxia

The Battle of Maxia was a Federation encounter with the Ferengi. At the time, the Federation had no contact with the Ferengi, so it was dismissed as the actions of a rogue alien vessel, rather then an act of war. The Ferengi refer to it as the Battle of Maxia in memory of the defeat there.

A Ferengi vessel attacked the USS Stargazer, which Jean-Luc Picard was serving on at the time. He utilized the tactic that would later be known as the Picard maneuver to destroy the Ferengi vessel. Though he was successful in destroying the foe, the USS Stargazer was badly damaged, and Picard ordered the ship abandoned.

However, the USS Stargazer was not programmed to self-destruct, as prudence might dictate. This allowed the Ferengi to capture the abandoned Stargazer, and later refit it for use against the USS Enterprise.