Omega Rising Read Free Page B

and cycled the action with the ejection port facing up. The 5.56x45mm cartridge flipped up and out of the rifle as it should, but seemed to take too long to hit the deck, and it flew further than he would have expected as well. What the hell is happening? He hopped lightly on the balls of his feet and he felt different, lighter. He again looked at the bizarre, alien language scrolling on the display to his right. His mind shied away from an obvious, yet absurd conclusion.
    He moved toward the second hatch, pausing to retrieve the ejected round and slip it into his pocket, and was relieved/horrified to find that the hatch automatically cycled to allow him further entry. An airlock? He gripped his rifle and moved forward with a determined scowl on his face, he desperately wanted off this ship (the word had automatically begun to replace "aircraft" in his mind) and get back to his cabin without being seen, he had the distinct feeling that no matter how noble his intentions were, his intrusion would likely be a punishable offense.
    As he traversed further into the ship's interior he noticed the unmistakable smell of burning avionics. He had been first on the scene at enough crashes to have the unique smell of burning wire, circuit boards, and composites permanently etched into his brain. The widening passageway he was in had a definite haze in the air that was visible in the low level lighting that looked to be some type of emergency lighting rather than a primary light source. Sighing at the inevitable, Jason pressed on, wondering when he would run into the first crew member of this ship. He was still clinging desperately to the belief that this was a heretofore unknown craft built in secret by a foreign nation that had happened to crash land in his backyard. But the evidence was mounting that this may not be the case; the technology evident here seemed far beyond anything he had ever heard of, and then there was the written language scattered throughout the interior. Maybe all that Area 51 bullshit was no joke.
    As the corridor ended Jason could see the interior was laid out around a large, open center area that looked to have some common spaces and what appeared to be computer terminals along the left side. The right side was dominated by what had to be the galley judging by the high-top metal table and sterile looking counters. There were additional hatches interspersed along the bulkheads and the center aisle he was standing on continued all the way forward to a wide staircase that led up into another darkened corridor, from which emanated a dim, red glow. After affirming that the large main area he was standing in was empty, Jason strode quickly for the stairs ahead of him. He was operating under the assumption that whoever built this thing also put the flight deck at the front. As he passed a lounge area he noted that the furniture looked like standard, Earthling furniture. That was somewhat comforting, but did little to stave off Jason's rising anxiety.
    Jason walked up the stairs with purpose, actually shouldering his weapon and making sure he was ready for anything, safety off. While he had no hostile intentions, he also had no desire to walk flat-footed and helpless into a bad situation. The corridor at the top of the stairs wasn't especially long or wide, but at the end he could make out the telltale sign of indicator lights and heard a soft muttering that he couldn't make out, punctuated by what he assumed were beeps from the instruments. He stalked forward on silent feet, ready for anything. He noted three rooms off the corridor, two to the left and one to the right, but they were unoccupied. That was as far as his investigation went, his goal was just in sight and he wouldn't be deterred by poking around in empty rooms.
    Flattening himself against the bulkhead at the threshold of the flight deck, Jason took a quick, cleansing breath and let it back out silently. In one fluid motion he rolled around the edge and