Sacred Ground

Sacred Ground is the fourth episode in Season 5 for the USS Independence-A. It aired February 13th, 2012 and was ran by DGM Kossuth. The events of this episode took place in the first week of February of 2415. It also guest-starred Captain Nyoko Honda of the USS Ayanami.
==Plot Summary==
Now that the scanner had been recovered, the USS Independence prepared to travel to the remote world of HVN-998. Dr. Steiner identified it as a test candidate for the device. But before they did, the Ayanami stopped by to wish the Independence well. And Nyoko went to talk to Captain Hann, if you know what I mean. Nyoko disembarked before the Independence went off on their journey.
En route to HVN-998, Steiner explained what this device was designed to do. His theory was simple: just as you can travel back in time by "sling shotting" around a star at warp, you can travel to other dimensions/parallel universes by sling-shotting around a star at Slipstream Velocity. The device was designed to test this by sending particles through the star at slipstream velocity and testing the results.
Just as the experiment begun, the Independence was ambushed by two Hirogen escorts. The Hirogen didn't even respond to hails, they just opened fire. Oddly enough, one of the Hirogen ships was equipped with a large energy cannon far beyond the technological level of their people. It had the ability to shut down the Independence's shields temporarily with just one hit.
When the shields were down, a boarding party beamed into the Engineering Lab. The 
MACO squad, led by Cpt. Moore, assaulted the boarding party.
While the MACOs were fighting off the Hirogen, the Independence landed a critical hit on the Hirogen weapon-ship's engines, causing the vessel to careen toward the Independence. It ended up scraping across the hull, sending Acting Chief Engineer Pirak into action to fix the breaches. It also knocked the Hirogen boarding party off their feet, making them easy pickings for the MACO squad.
After destroying one Hirogen ship and disabling the other, it appeared as if the Independence had won the day. The disabled Hirogen ship enabled self-destruct, but not before sending a cryptic message in the direction of the star: "Project Javelin has been compromised, accelerate Operation Overlord."
Dr. Steiner concluded that, due to the data collected, stars can indeed be gateways to other dimensions...
Previous Episode: Chasing Ghosts
Next Episode: Following the Light of the Sun
Category:USS Independence-A Episodes
Category:Season 5