I had a carefully calculated route out of the system, so as to avoid any planets or solidified globules of dark matter or whatever else could damage the hull. After that, it was the onboard computer's job to determine where we should go.

A marvel of modern computer science, this thing was the closest to a fully sentient AI we were going to get. Named Dave (some in-joke amongst the programmers), it was capable of calculating the best possible routes based on known telemetry and what could be gleaned from the ship's instruments. Dave was also an excellent conversationalist, able to use its library of responses and programmed understanding of communication to be something of a buffer against the insanity inherent in long-periods of isolation. Sometimes, when we passed some truly spectacular sight, Dave would let me know to look out the window.

Once, we passed a shattered planet whose surface was almost entirely composed of some diamond-like substance. It lay within this massive, pea-green nebula that sparked with bolts of pure energy miles in length. The lightning sometimes struck chunks of this planet, and the bolts would arc and strike other sections of the nebula. Seeing this, all bathed within the dull red glow of the planet's exposed, semi-molten core, both Dave and I uttered a soft, single "Wow."

Throughout our journey, we never found any other signs of life beyond the cellular level. We would document these when possible (the ship had probes capable of withstanding anthing short of 100MPa), but biology, even exo-biology, was not my thing. I was there to help maintain the ship, and to help document the journey. Sure, I carried out experiments of my own, and Dave would humour me and help keep me entertained by offering tasks for me to do. As it was, I ended up being the first human to smell an extraterrestrial flower and eat its fruit. Tasted something like a pear from what I recall, but with a slight almond aftertaste thanks to the traces of cyanide from the planet's atmosphere. It's a good thing Dave knew how to make it more suitable for a human diet.