A minute later, Vas was clad in a guard's uniform three sizes too large, with a rifle he didn't know how to use on his back, and a Pulser that couldn’t shoot past half a meter at his waist. In all, it was going exceptionally well.

As he tucked the comically oversized uniform into his pants and set the mag belt to its slimmest setting, he thought about what to do. The uniform would probably trick the cameras, and the security card he'd stolen would get him most places, but there was a lot to be done yet. The Tower was a fortress, and this uniform wouldn't pass suspicion to anyone with even a single operating eye. There was no way he could simply walk out the entrance. It was heavily guarded, both with human security and automated turrets.

No, the main entrance wouldn't work. He'd need a different exit strategy. That was a difficult task. There was only one entrance in or out. Well, there was the garage but...

Suddenly, Vas had another idea.

He left the bathroom, trying not to look like a duck as he waddled forward in boots that didn't fit. He turned left, towards where he knew the lift was but stopped. There was another guard heading towards the lift, on the other side of the ring. Just his luck.

Vas picked up the pace. At a distance, he looked fine, but he didn't want anyone asking about his uniform. This one would probably know the guard he'd just knocked out and stolen it from.

He reached the elevator twenty paces before the other guard. Like he'd seen the guards do when they brought him up, he swiped the card and waited for the flash of blue. It didn't happen. That wasn't good. He swiped again- no flash. This time he flipped the card over and swiped. Finally, the light flashed and Vas jammed his thumb on the G. The doors started closing.

The approaching guard picked up his own pace. “Hey, hold that door!” He yelled. Vas was rapidly tapping the close button. The footsteps outside sped up. “C'mon man there's one lift. Hold the door!” He reached out a hand to try and stop the glass door from slamming shut.

Fortunately for Vas, he was just short. Unfortunately for Vas, the guard got a good look at him as it went down. Vas hoped he didn't recognize the uniform, or who it came from, but from the look in his eyes, he did.

As the elevator descended, the guard turned and ran towards the room he'd emerged from, and Vas groaned. “Why is it never easy?”

The lift passed the first floor and descended further into the garage. Before it could touch the ground, however, alarms started ringing across the whole complex, and it stopped in its tracks.

A full fifteen feet above the ground and trapped in a glass box, Vas thought fast. He tried to pry open the doors first, but that didn't work. Next, he tried ramming his shoulder against it, also a failure. Deciding on one last attempt, Vas stepped back against the far wall of the lift to try a full-on sprint. Then, the rifle on his back hit the glass behind him.

Chastising himself for his stupidity, he lifted the rifle up and held it in his arms. He had never held a rifle in his life. The Pulsers he knew. The small weapons were popular among Tella's gangs, their light shockwaves designed to knock out, not kill. Vas needed something more than that to get through the reinforced glass though. He needed the rifle. It was just a shame, he didn't know how to use it.

Alarms a reminder of urgency, he held the rifle towards the glass. Vas never liked weapons. His father, he remembered, had hated them, and he shared the sentiment, but now he needed it. He looked the thing over, trying to figure out how exactly it worked. It was gray, with bits of blue flashing lights here and there. There was no traditional trigger. The only possible mechanism was a series of buttons on the side, near where his fingers would rest if he held it below. Curious, he pressed one- nothing. Disappointed, he pressed another.

The lift erupted into a furnace of heat and light, the concentrated plasma he'd unknowingly fired tearing through the reinforced glass like paper as he jerked the weapon up in surprise. The laser continued through the glass, carving itself into the garage's walls before eventually dissipating.

Vas had fallen to the floor in surprise, rifle mildly warm in his hands. He stared at the line he'd carved through the glass. He supposed he should have expected that, though the result itself wasn't bad.

He stood up again, rifle in hand and pressed the same button. Now aware of the device's function, he was able to carve himself a hole in the lift without much effort. Then, he leapt from the suspended elevator, hitting the concrete floor of the garage with a roll.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Pleased, he allowed himself a small grin as he appraised his surroundings. Above him, the alarm was still blaring, while around him he saw several parked bikes and light transports. That wasn't what caught his eye though. On the other end of the garage, he spotted something with a little more oomph- a heavy transport, reinforced to an almost comical degree and armed from front to back, with a particularly menacing cannon attached to its roof. It had no wheels or treads, instead sporting four pairs of hover lifts below its metal base. Suddenly, Vas had another idea.

He started forward, trying to figure out how he was going to get the thing started, when the opening of a glass door caught him off-guard. Vas turned to see a dimly lit office to his right. Out of it stepped a young man, clad in the same blue uniform Vas wore.

For a second, they stared at each other, the guard taking in the melted lift, blaring alarms, and rifle in Vas' arms.

Vas thought fast. The man, boy really, was scared, uncertain. He was almost as blue as his uniform. He was confused, practically shaking with fright, and looking around for someone to tell him what to do. This was an opportunity. “There you are!” Vas yelled. “We've got to go, now!”

“What did you do to the lift?” The young man shouted over the alarms.

“Are you deaf?” He gestured around at the sound. “We've been called to action. Orders are to take the transport out and help put down the rebellion. Lift was stuck, I did what I had to do.” He approached the security officer, marching forward with authority. “We'll meet the rest of the team out front.” He pointed at the man. “But you and I have got to go now!”

The poor guard looked at Vas, confused. “I thought we were told to...”

“Stay put?” Vas finished the sentence. “Yeah, until about a minute ago. This is war. Orders change.” He was walking past him now, towards the heavy transport.

Rushing to keep up, the guard made it to his side. “I don't know if we should do this!” He screamed, panicking.

“Orders are orders.” Vas responded. “I'm not willing to risk what happens if we don't follow them. Where are the keys?”

“Keys? There are no keys. It's password activated.”

“Well what's the password, you dolt?” He slowed to let the gasping guard pass.

“5321, but I can't drive.”

“Don't worry. You won't need to.” The guard's body suddenly went stiff as Vas pressed the Pulser to his back. The young man collapsed to the ground with a thud, eyes filled with confusion before they eventually closed. “Sorry about that.” Vas muttered, actually a tad bit guilty.

Not guilty enough to stop though. He made it to the transport and threw open the door. He almost had to jump to get inside, pulling himself upwards and into the seat.

Around him, lights flashed, buttons pulsed, and dials dinged. He knew what absolutely none of them stood for or did. Looking around though, he did find the password console. Praying to all above, he punched in 5321. The electric engine whirred and the transport sprang to life. He was so close. Now he just had to figure out how to drive the thing.

The wheel in front of him was obvious enough, but he didn't know how to start it. He'd only ever driven a Tri-wheel. A larger than normal red button above him drew his eyes. It was as good a guess as any. He pushed it.

The transport jerked backward but not because he had successfully moved it. Instead, the giant cannon attached to the transport's roof had fired into the wall, leaving a sizable crater.

“Whoops.” Vas muttered, vowing to never press an unknown button again after this was over. It wasn't over, though, so this time he tried a more friendly looking blue button. The transport's cooling system turned on, letting a refreshing breeze into the interior. It was nice, but not what he needed.

Suddenly, Vas heard shouting to his left. He looked out the window and saw a pair of guards jumping down from the first floor, grav boots absorbing the long fall with ease. He was running out of time.

Then, he saw it. In front of him and slightly to his right, an orange switch. At least it wasn't a button. He hauled it down and the machine responded immediately, raising itself from the air, hover lifts activated.

He smelled burning and turned his head again to see the guards firing at the transport, beams carving into its armor with a nasty hiss. The time to act was now. Vas reached for the wheel and wrenched it to the left. The transport followed his command, gliding gracefully, for all its bulk.

Glancing around, he looked for the exit from the garage. He saw it to his right, an enormous metal door, too large for even this thing to smash through.

Outside the transport, the hissing was getting louder and the smell worse. The beams were working their way through the armor. He moved the transport to face the garage, exposing fresh reinforcements to the beams in the process.

For a second, he stared the metal door down, trying to figure out what exactly he needed to do. Then, the large red button above him caught his eye again.