He waited, his hand hovering above the appropriate bank of lights, for theWarton-Purg drive to drop the Raven into space proper. The lights went out.Immediately, he ran his hand across the row, illuminating them again.
Simultaneous with the clutch of the tidal forces, he felt the explosion from therear of the vessel. The manual had been right. Reactivating the driveimmediately following shut down was hazardous to the health. He pulled on hishelmet as a sheet of flame flashed toward him. The suit's insulation protectedhim from the heat as the Raven came apart. This time he did not see thejumpsuited figure.
Again, he drifted.
When Nik rescued him, he told him the story.
"... So, either way I lose," he concluded.
"So it would seem," Nik said.
When the CTC ran its course and Nik went off to report the results of the latesttrip to Vik, Jeremy looked toward the event horizon with his enhanced senses.
He was aware of his antigrav field now, could even manipulate it with his mind.He was certain that he could control it sufficiently to keep himself unstretchedor unsquashed at least between here and the layer beneath the violet band.
"What the hell," he said.
He wondered what sort of final image he would leave for eternity. II.
He descended quickly toward the devouring sphere, and soon it was a if he fledamong the curtains of an Aurora Borealis. At one point it seemed that Nik mighthave called after him, but he could not be certain. Not that it mattered. Whathad he left of life even with the kindly Fleep? His suit's oxygen, water, andnutrients would dwindle toward an unpleasant end and there was no chance ofanyone coming to his rescue. Best to pass in this blaze of glory seeing what noman had seen before, leaving his small signature upon the universe.