John nodded. 'Yeah, that was a bit less pleasant than normal. I sense a disturbance in the For--'<br/><br/>'Everyone grab on to something!' Joker yelled over the comm. 'Evasive maneuvers!'<br/><br/>Everyone in the hangar did, hanging on to railings, walls, pretty much anything secure or bolted down. John activated his boots' magnetic soles for good measure. Supply crates, hastily locked down with steel cabling and tarp, rattled angrily as the ship maneuvered through the debris field. The proximity alarms blared constantly, adding to the noise level. But something was off. Something--<br/><br/>John froze. The shields were off. The shields were down. His hand strayed to the shotgun mag-locked to his back. And then the world exploded. He flew back into a bulkhead, his HUD beeping in alarm as his kinetic barriers burst from...something. There was a hole in the floor. Above him floated a machine of some sort. An orb, its center a deep red eye. The eye's glow seemed to intensify with each passing moment. Was it made of Sooulsteel?<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Oculus</span>, the Exaltation whispered.<br/><br/>John rolled out of the way at the last moment, the Oculus' laser burning a divot in the steel deck plating where he'd been thrown. Taking cover behind a row of lockers, John flicked the safety off his shotgun. He gestured for the others in the bay to take cover and flank. Meanwhile, he'd do what he did best: be a big, flashy, lethal distraction. He leaned out of cover and took aim. The shotgun barked once, the explosive slug detonating against the machine's armor plating. The concussion hurled its light frame into the ceiling with a dull<span style="font-style: italic">clang</span>.<br/><br/>'Eye for an eye, bitch,' he growled as he charged headlong at the machine.