Unfortunately, the impact did not kill them.
No, the Rachel turned out to be made of sturdier stuff than the Yeerks. Hadn't that always been the way of it? The Blade Ship crumpled and the monstrosities that had been created aboard it drifted out into brutal emptiness. But the Rachelstayed strong.
Not impervious, of course. There was damage, huge holes in the hull spewing precious air into outer space. The readings said that they had seven minutes of air left.
"It's funny, you know?" said Marco, holding a hand to his bleeding forehead. "On ships in the old days, the fear was always that something was gonna get in. Now it's all trying to keep stuff from getting out."
{Yeah. I don't think we can get our air back with buckets.}
"So...you think Jake's gonna wake up before the end?"
{I don't know. He hit his head pretty hard.}
"Probably, uh, probably better. He got the last bad-ass line. Hanging around after that just makes it lose its impact. No pun intended."
{No pun found.}
"Heh. Nice... You think the other two are gonna be able to get that escape pod out?"
{Don't know. Besides, there's not enough supplies for them to reach anywhere safe.}
"Might as well have a little stupid hope for the best. That's what being an Animorph was all about."
{Amen.}
"Didn't know you were religious, Bird Boy. A bird of prey, if you will."
{Shut up. You know what you said before about hanging around making something lose its impact?}
"Yeah, I know. I'm just one big punchline, going on way past when it's funny. But hey, at least no one has to know how stupid my final words were. That's the beauty of going down with the ship."
{Aye aye.}