The power of the Torimbalo was used in the device you observe.
The thread Rex had followed hadn't tapered out, so much as disappeared into itself through the time belt. Squeezing his consciousness through it, like yarn through a needle, he could see the thread emerge from the other end.
He followed it through to another time, pausing to get his bearing while the other slipped through after. As he tried to establish when he was, he noticed the thread looped back on itself and through the time belt again.
I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. Roger Ebert
Following the thread of time, he ricocheted around divergent moments trying to find one that would not alert Jones to his changes.
He found the threads increasingly intertwined about the presence of the Ortrix.
Where are you headed Rex?
The voice of the other startled Rex enough that he misjudged a quantum event and plunged through the fusion-heat of a star seventy thousand years in the past.
Jones rested a heavy hand on Rex's shoulder. Producing a small vial of an indigo liquid from within his cloaks, he leaned in closer.
His heart heavy with grief, Rex watched the scene unfold again. He had forgotten all of this, but he remembered his heart breaking.
"I picked this up on a recent mission and I've only just confirmed its properties."
"I would only have to change one thing. One tiny little thing."
He unstoppered the vial and took a small whiff.
He went back to a moment before and hovered over the alarm panel
"What were we talking about?"
"Come back to me," he thought.
Jones looked around uncertainly, noticed Rex - brooding, distressed - and the vial in his own hand. He struggled to keep a smirk off his face.
A dull pain bubbled its way into his consciousness. He watched his own memories unfold from this moment as the pain slowly increased.
"Ah yes. This is a memory toxin. A measured dosage could erase all those ghastly images from your head. You wouldn't have to remember how you found her, or that she was even with you that day." Jones gripped Rex's shoulder harder.
Anrianna heard the alarm and raced to her station early. Rex and The Professor were surprised to see her, but forgot their surprise as the Hundred-Tonne-Husky lurched out of control and began it's devastating decent toward Nolix.
Overwhelmed with grief, Rex snatched the fluid from Jones hand and downed the whole bottle. Then he passed out.
The trio emerged groggy from their synthetic cocoons and Rex's panic dissolved into joy to see Anrianna safe.
Taking the vial from Rex's fingers Jones muttered to himself, "Well that was quite a bit more than I wanted to give you, but no matter, maybe now we can get back to more important matters."
The pain intensified as the next few days played out. As they returned to base and Jones hailed them home, Rex watched the ripples of change flow forward to the future where the new Jones would notice.
He crushed the empty vial beneath a boot and helped Rex to his feet.
He left the alarm panel alone and the past remained unchanged.
after my most recent rex havoc story arc and 50th chapter garnered exactly 2 readers, i've decided that the "return" of rex havoc shall become the "retirement" of the illustrious hero. i've put a lot of work into the story, and to receive such a lacklustre response is more than disheartening.
i was writing space flight 704 not because i wanted to, but because it was the sort of story i thought other people might like to read. that's clearly not the case. from this moment, i refuse to write what is popular and choose to concentrate on what will make me happy.
Leylanilu and Mr Ruffles
i'm going to write a story about a were-bear and a faerie princess. specifically, an erotic fiction about the love between a were-bear and his faerie princess dom. i've been plotting this out in my head for months, and i've really gotten into their relationship and i think it will make me much happier than rex havoc ever could. the only thing holding me back from putting pen to paper was the fear of what others might think.
but i'm not afraid any more! i'm no longer ashamed to admit that i want to read and write stories about bear-men and faeries having relations.
those of you who follow the rex havoc facebook and google+ pages might want to unsubscribe before i change the names. you probably don't want to be seen 'liking' bear/faerie erotica.