| Star Trek: VOY episode | |
| "Sacred Ground" | |
 Kes is hurt at a mysterious shrine |
|
| Episode no. | 49 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 143 |
| Airdate | October 30, 1996 |
| Writer(s) | Geo Cameron Lisa Klink |
| Director | Robert Duncan McNeill |
| Guest star(s) | Becky Ann Baker as Guide Estelle Harris as Old Woman Parley Baer as Old Man #1 Keene Curtis as Old Man #2 Harry Groener as Magistrate |
| Year | 2373 |
| Stardate | 50063.2 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Remember" |
| Next | "Future's End" |
"Sacred Ground" is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the seventh episode of the third season.
Plot
The crew take shore leave on a friendly planet inhabited by people called Nechani. A group become interested in the Nechani's religious sites and take a tour. Kes is put into a coma when, out of curiosity, she touches a natural biogenic field. The Doctor cannot help, in part because the monks will not allow readings to be taken around the field. Neelix investigating, returning with a story of a King and his son. The son was seemingly injured as Kes was and the King went through an initiation in order to awaken him. Janeway petitions the monks to allow her to perform the same ritual. The Doctor places a probe in her bloodstream, determined to find out the science behind the rituals. Janeway expects the course to consist of tests of physical endurance, mental discipline, and perhaps psychoactive drugs which would change her body chemistry, allowing her to pass through the field. Janeway goes through the first series of tests; her guide warns that they are meaningless, the point is for Janeway to get in touch with the spirits. She ends up bitten by a creature which is supposed to allow her to contact the spirit world. Her guide seems to say that the powers that be find Kes' plight inconsequential. Doctor thinks the venom from the creature might be the cure needed for Kes. It is not. Janeway convinces her command crew to let her go to the ritual site again, convinced that if she takes Kes through the field, it will work. Her guide allows it, indicating that Janeway's desire to go through is all that is needed. Kes is healed of her affliction. The Doctor comes up with a scientific explanation for how Kes was healed. Janeway seemingly expresses doubt that it was science.
External links
- Sacred Ground article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Episode synopsis at Startrek.com
