Takes place shortly after "Limbo."

                                      ********

                                      The Taelon moved through the long, dim chamber. The embryonic tubes glowed faintly, with
                                      the form of a lifeless child inside.

                                      A child stirred in one of them, fighting the crystalline hibernation that locked him in perpetual
                                      sleep. Thin pathways, devoid of the core energy he needed to survive, flickered as he
                                      struggled to surface...

                                      The Taelon stopped at one of the pods, resting his hands on the smooth surface and
                                      watching the tiny form inside. His face was grave as he dug against the invisible seam. The
                                      pod split down the center with a faint hiss of air.

                                      He gingerly pulled out the tiny form, its hard coating grating against his fingertips. Faint
                                      pathways glimmered under his hand as he gently stroked his child, murmuring a few words
                                      to calm any fears that the infant had.

                                      It was vulnerable, outside the embryonic tube, to stray bursts of radiation. Until infused with
                                      core energy, the child would remain in crystalline hibernation, unable to survive for more
                                      than a moment outside it.

                                      The Taelon drew his child close to him, gently stroking the tiny, outstretched arm.

                                      He shivered as he pressed the child against himself, his body shimmering. A look of pain
                                      crossed his upturned face, a brilliant flash of white light rippled over the child...

                                      He half-collapsed to the floor, his shaking hands still holding the tiny form. But the child was
                                      now glowing and moving, stretching its small hands toward him. He smiled slightly, clasping
                                      the infant's hand in his.

                                      **********

                                      Da'an woke with a start, the energy stream dispersing around him. For a moment he simply
                                      lay on the reclining chair, the memories dancing through him as he thought on what he had
                                      remembered...

                                      He rose from the chair, still weakened. He gripped the arm of it to keep himself from
                                      collapsing. The events he had dreamed of were distant, hazy, hard to fully understand... but
                                      he knew.

                                      His parent, the one who had given up a part of his life, for the life of his child.