Powerjump consumes 1 MP per hundred kilos of weight. The sloped roof of the Chiswick school was about fifty feet off the ground, and the shield tower’s globe was aligned… just so.

To cut a long story short, with Bulldog on my shoulders, launching myself into the air using Powerjump cost me only 7 MP per foot of jump.

Which meant I could jump a hundred feet into the air, well above the height of the fence, and use my Mass Driver Rifle to… well… impart horizontal velocity. By firing in the direction opposite to the school.

Recoil is a wonderful thing.

Bulldog and I soared over the fence, with a lot of screaming. Some of it may even have come from the Raptors.

We smashed into the shield, of course, but we were - how shall I put it?

Over the boundary.

They’d set the shield bubble to protect the maximum ground area, after all. So when we landed, we were on top of the roof.

Specifically, the shield layer that ended twenty feet above the roof, enough to protect the anti-air cannon.

After that, it was a matter of gently pushing through the shield layer and finding yourself within it.

Even when you’re a ten foot tall armored battlesuit, it helps to have the high ground.

Bulldog got to work demolishing the anti-air cannon, and I switched to the HEPAR and started spraying the grounds with rapid-fire plasma blasts. I could hear the sound of Raptor guards leaving their positions to make their way to the roof. No matter, I just needed twenty seconds.

Twenty seconds later, my MP topped off, and I switched back to my Mass Driver Rifle.

HIERARCHY SHIELD TOWER

HP: 25,000/25,000

Boost gave a 600% damage enhancement to any shot I fired for 650 MP.

To that, I added 100 AP from Sniper Shot.

Sniper Shot adds a random effect to any round I fire. I’ve used it before, but only with the Laser Sniper Rifle, which didn’t have much of a punch.

The more advanced the technology of a rifle, however, the more powerful the random effect.

So I wasn’t surprised when the round smashed through the Hierarchy Shield Tower:

HIERARCHY SHIELD TOWER -7000 HP!

SNIPER SHOT RANDOM EFFECT: EXPLOSIVE!

INCENDIARY DAMAGE TO HIERARCHY SHIELD TOWER! DOUBLE DAMAGE!

HIERARCHY SHIELD TOWER -7000 HP!

EFFECT APPLIED: BURNING! HIERARCHY SHIELD TOWER -150 HP/SECOND!

With a mighty crash! Bulldog ripped the remains of the cannon from its moorings and hurled it to the ground.

“They’re coming up the stairs,” he growled. “You got it down?”

“Not yet,” I replied. “I told you I’d need about four minutes.”

“Well, hurry up.”

The nice thing about a high INT score is the rapid recharge of MP. Twenty seconds later, I’d put another round into the Shield Tower, reducing health by another 7,000 HP.

Less than ten seconds later, the flaming wreck of the tower collapsed, bringing the shield down.

Six Raptor Guards burst onto the roof, ready to do battle with the two of us.

“You want some?” roared Bulldog. “Come get some!”

“Bulldog, patience,” I advised.

Then I activated Powercharge.

The first Guard went sailing off the roof, knocked over by the force of the charge. The Lightning Hammer swung, smashing into the Guards one by one.

Five Raptor Guards, a sloped roof, and my Lightning Hammer.

I had to pass three Dexterity checks to avoid slipping off the roof. The Raptor Guards, unfortunately, kept failing theirs.

Five seconds later, there were no more Raptor Guards.

Bulldog gave me a look. “Patience, huh?”

“Yes. There’s a lot more left for you.”

The growl of a tank engine sounded as the Challenger rumbled into the courtyard, with troops advancing behind it, firing as they went.

“Not any more,” grumbled Bulldog.