Solar Exaltation was a hell of a thing. As a mere mortal, a skilled Vanguard could throw foes aside, shatter bone with his bare hands, and clear a room in seconds. With the power of an Exaltation, John felt like he could pierce the heavens and break gods over his knee. Memories of his Exaltation's past bearer flashed through his mind, guiding his strikes as he smashed through the Collectors.<span style="font-style: italic">Duck left Drone's grenade throw, respond with hook to skull. Three-shot burst to Drone's gut. Incoming fire. No shields, no room to dodge. Tank the hit.</span><br/><br/>The Collectors opened up on full-auto at point-blank range. Warp-charged rounds capable of shredding armor and flesh with ease landed on the newborn Solar...and bounced off. Where the rounds struck, John's normally deep blue armor was tinged a metallic silver.<br/><br/>He smirked underneath his helmet. "Adamant Skin Technique, bitch."<br/><br/>The Exaltation spoke again.<span style="font-style: italic">Charge. Heaven Thunder Hammer.</span>His hand glowed with awesome power, pistoning forward into the face of the Collector Captain. Gold sunlight illuminated the void as the energies gathered in John's fist exploded. Flung back at supersonic speeds, the Collector left nothing but a brown-and-yellow smear as it splattered against the blast door at the end of the hall. His biotic barriers at full power again, John unleashed their power with a Nova, scattering the remaining Collectors into space and the adjacent bulkhead. He scanned his surroundings for more hostiles.<br/><br/>Nothing. Behind him, the surviving Marines mopped up the remaining injured Collectors before retreating back into the oxygenated portions of the ship. John kept on, the Second Breath's powers granting him resistance to the ravages of the void. He hauled himself onto the cruiser's outer hull and searched for more Collectors to kill, forging a path toward the hideous insectoid vessel latched onto the SSV<span style="font-style: italic">Manila</span>.