NORTHERN MARKETS
EPISODE SEVENTEEN: Night hoverbike battle

Sunday evening classes were always fun…not. Thats how the 112 students in the auto-shop class at the Institute felt as their teacher Master Speed (don’t ask why) rambled on about the rates of power in different Orbitian energy crystals.
Over the last two weeks, the class had been studying and trying to make energy crystals of their own.
Today was just a review and a practice ride in the vehicles they built.
“Don’t doubt it, folks. Energy crystals are a clean source of energy, and the lot of you coming in from Kerning– it will save tons of money on petrol. These crystals can be charged from sunlight, magic or electricicy. That’s how cool these things are. Philly! Get down here and hold up your crystal!”
A big level 50 permanoob guy got up from his desk and walked down to the floor where the gray robed nerdy looking teacher guy was. He went to the table next to him and used his brute strength to lift up the 70 pound (32 kg) crystal for the class to see.
“As you folks can see the admantium or orihalcon metal rings around the crystal magnetically keep it from falling out and the cables and beams holding these things to the bottom of your bikes while the crystals spin, charged by an electrical spark, then deliver a ton of energy to the engines, and boom! the bike is racing like a pro!”
Philly lowered his big blue crystal and let it pound hard on the wooden oak table.
“You’ll have that thing installed in your bike before the ride, right?” Mr. Speed asked the PErmanoob.
“Yes, sir”
Azure and her nooby friends sat in the eighth row up from the floor of the auditorium like classroom.
Jami sat next to her. Randy sat in the row in front, picking at the scab on his cheek. These guys were not actually in the class, the Institute just allowed anyone to attend any classes.
“So! Lets get to it!” Mr. Speed said, clapping his hands.

Using a power drill (hooked up to a mana charged power supply box), Philly tightened the nuts and screws on the beams that held the big crystal under the bottom of his sweet hover bike. Randy watched with intense curiosity.
Some other guys had finished replacing the old wheel system of a restored Northern style minivan.
Other guys were tuning up their bikes. At 10:30pm, the wooden-slat door of the giant garage was lifted letting in the cold night air. The clouds had cleared and bright moonlight reflected off the wet ground and let up the garage.

Philly flicked the ignition switch on his bike, and the giant power crystal in the bottom flashed and glowed and started sppinning. The Orihalcon-steel beams holding it in place also glowed and the cables shook as the crystel began charging the engine with enough magic electricity equal to over a thouand volts. Philly hoped to hell this time the converter that changes magic into electricity won’t blow out. The green crystal sitting below his feet and near the bike’s center of gravity started spinning and glowing too, along with the other three smaller crystals he installed.
All whirred to life, making alot of noise. The crystals, now all spinning fired up the fans in the bottom and they began blasting air at the ground, pushing the bike upward. The metal rails that served as the bike’s feet when not in operation lifted two feet up.
Philly checked everything. Then he started driving and the bike slowly moved outside.

The rest of the 28 vehicles were fired up. and began moving out too.
Azure sat in the seat of a similar but smaller crystal-hover bike. It’s owner- level 38 sin-dit AshleyK was on her hands and knees checking the spinning crystal and the orihalcon plates underneath, making sure they were all electrified.
“You! In the seat! Press the blue button!” AshleyK said to Azure. She did so, wondering why this girl didn’t question the stanger sitting on her bike.
The bike shook, scaring the crap out of Azure then rose a foot or two off the ground and hovered in the air.
“Yes!” the girl cheered, standing up. “Like it?”
Azure nodded.
“It’s alot better than Phil’s bike! This thing uses magnetics, not ten crystals and fans! That thing of his practically wakes up the whole town!” she said, lowering the goggles to her eyes. “You wanna spin?”
“Sure” Azure said.
The gril threw her a skull cap and goggles.
“Get in the back! I’m driving!” the sindit woman said. Azure climbed out of the seat and into this smaller seat behind a wooden rail that supported the driver’s back. “Hold on tight, kid! Yee haa!”
AshleyK fired up the bike, and hit the gas pedal. The crystals screamed and the whole thing shot out of the garage.

Azure was slamed back into her seat behind Ashley as she held on for dear life. Ashley spun the bike around, and ripped ontp the main road.

Philly, far ahead on his super bike started talking to his buddies on his messenger. “Yeah, Frankie, these are some good bikes these guys got. You and your boys take the bikes in town, me and my pals got the ones on the highway” he said and hung up. And that, Philly and his permanoob friends started chasing after the student bikers.

VICTORIA STATION
10:47 PM
The giant air ship’s jets were pointing upward and blasted out air downward as the air ship hovered towards the docks that were overhanging the steep cliffs, 2000 feet above the sea.
As the ground crews prepared the throw ropes to the crew onboard, an explosion blasted open a hole 20 feet wide in the starboard bow section. Alarms sounded and people scattered, then several hovercycles flew out of the flaming hole and landed on the dock, scratching the bottoms on the wood surface
Another group of bikers came out, chasing the first group.

The ticket salesman was about to give a ticket to a passenger when the person ran. “Hey! Wait! Where are you going?”
Just then, a hover bike lost control and crashed into the building, killing the ticket salesman.

“This is Vic Station! We have bikers fighting on Station Passway!”

GM Bud was driving his crystal powered car when that call for help hit his radio. “What the…”
The bikers came out of the road from the station and whipped around his car. One passing guy threw a rock- smashing the windsheild.
The scared GM ducked in panic.
“Peace out, GM prick!” one passing biker shouted, passing a molotov cocktail into his car.
The GM screamed, opening his door and jumping out -just as the car exploded. Then a passing biker ran the GM right over!

Philly came up to one of the student bikers. One of his buddies, Jimmy sat on the back of his bike, ready to jump. As Philly pulled over to the student biker and he pulled out his metal baseball bat.
“Hey! What are you doin-“
Philly smoked the guy in the face and he fell off. Jimmy jumped over to the other speeding bike and quickly siezed control, following Philly.

As they raced through the streets of Ellinia, they began attacking eachother. Some of the magical shots hit the grand magic church, which was full of people since tonight was the anniversary of Ellinia’s founding.
People came out paniced, but the bikers were gone.

“This is GM patrol! I have hacker and mage bike gangs fighting on Grendel Way! Requesting immediate assistance!”

AshleyK sped down the elevated wood carved Victoria Highway when the Permanoobs showed up. She paid them no mind…until a storm of snail shells hit her in the face, slicing up her eyes, nose and rest of her face. Screaming, she fell.
“Take over, Azure!” Philly shouted. Azure climbed into the front, scared totaly, but she took control. She had no idea her friends were stealing people’s bikes.
“Be off to Kerning with ya!” The guys said as they pulled back.
Azure was real scared now. Either she’d die in a flaming crash or she’d end up in so much trouble. Now KErning seemed a life or death thing to her, so she kept going down the road.

The other bikers, some hackers, others big angry mages started fighting eachother. Several bikes crashed into trees, fences, others were sent flying over the wooden fences. Some bikes crashed head on into trees and exploded.
One fire mage was trying to evade a hacker who was shooting dark energy bolts at her. These invisible magic bolts could kill a man in one hit.
The guy flung some bolts at the mage’s bike and it exploded, sending her flying. she hit the ground, and the guy ran her over and kept going.

Azure was speeding through the night when she saw the mage on the road, but it was too late! She tried desperately to turn, but she was about to hit-
The injured fire mage threw up a fire ball as the bike hit and the whole thing exploded. The light from the blast spread over the sky in town.
Azure expected to die right there, but she didn’t. She opened her eyes again- she was lying on her back in the middle of the wood road in pain and agony. Her arm hurt like hell as energy was zig-zagging through it. She couldn’t breathe for a few seconds.
The bike was smoldering as it was engulfed in the flames, sparks shooting from the crystals.
She grunted in pain. The permanoobs pulled up to her.
“Holy shyt!”
“Azure!”
“She’s hurt! Bad!”
“Idiot mage! Why’d you have to do that?”

Just then a hover ship came over them, casting a bright flood light on the group.
The ship landed and Maple PEace Corps men came out, bows, guns and staffs cocked. They stood over Azure and the mage and surrounded the rest of them. More GM’s showed up.
“Kiss the ground! Hands on your heads!” one soldier yelled.
“H-Hey, we don’t know nothin, man!” Philly said.
“Kiss the ground! Hands on your heads!”
The noobs obeyed and the MPC troops slapped handcuffs on them and forced them aboard the hover air craft.

“Get the wounded aboard”
Azure and the mage were also hauled aboard and the ship took off, leaving the idling bikes still on the road.

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..i think this one lacked details on some parts…