B
Blizzard
Planet 188604
Osman City
Friday...
It was beautiful, well-orchestrated chaos on that hot, sunny day in Osman City, the main hub of the back-water planet known as 188604. The city's streets had been reconstructed into race tracks, with airbikes and hovercars weaving expertly through the buildings, their engines drowning out the roar of the crowds. Out in the deserts beyond, buggies performed awe-inspiring jumps in the dunes. Above, small ships followed their own courses, all fighting to be first to a set of particular coordinates.
All of this was overshadowed by the pounding of bass and soaring rhythms that flowed from a massive stage set on the waterfront, where a roaring crowd was gathered, and danced and jumped in unison like waves on the ocean with the lone Iroma DJ. People of all races, nationalities, and creeds gathered together to party, watch some racing, and see their favorite bands perform live.
The Havok Festival had only just begun.
Out of nowhere, the music stopped, and the flashing lights died as well. The noise of the crowd died as well in utter confusion.
Then, a large, red letter H appeared on a massive screen behind the DJ, and the crowd absolutely lost it. It was time for the opening event of the festival: the Havok showcase.
The H disappeared, and was replaced by a live video feed of Jackson Howard himself. He appeared to be in the driver's seat of an unknown vehicle, somewhere far away. All of his face, save for his eyes, was obscured by a custom-made helmet that hat two protrusions built for his ears. The Minkan took a hand of the wheel and waved at the camera.
"Hell yeah! Big crowd we got here! Hope you're all going nuts out there!" he greeted.
The crowd cheered in response.
"That's what I like to hear! Welcome to the first annual Havok Festival! I'm running a little late, but that doesn't mean we can't get this party started! In fact, here's a little something we came up with a while back: The Blubell! Piloted by our own Anastasia Barlow! Give it up for our head engineer!"
The feed ended, and was replaced by a camera attached to Anastasia's helmet within the Jax Mobile, which was soaring high above the stage. A set of curtains dropped on the stage, revealing a Nepleslian rock band ready to go. They began to play.
The Jax Mobile
High Above Osman City
Anastasia sat straddled across the Bluebell before the open side door of Jax's yacht. The wind outside was deafening. Flynn flew the ship, while Adiel and Bluebell-the Neko, not the bike- stood beside her. Bluebell held a batch of celebratory cookies clutched to her chest.
"Ana, you're up! Got all your final checks done?" asked Jax through the comm system within the helmet, unheard by the crowds below.
The Elysian readied herself, leaning forwards on the leather seat of the Airbike to face the open door. Anastasia was clad in a dark blackish-blue riding suit that left holes open for her wings, which were half-covered in black protective padding. The engineer slid down her helmet visor, sealing the gap between her helmet and suit in the process. Giving the bikes frontal display a last checkover, she called back to the Minkan. "Ready for ignition..."
"Green light for jump." Flynn anounced from the bridge. "Get going!"
Anastasia fired up the main engines of the airbike, letting the machine roar to life inside the confined bay. After a moment of sitting idly, she gave it all she had. The bike punched out of the open hatch, leaving behind a twisted gale of hot air from the exhaust. The blast jolted Bluebell and tore the box of cookies from her grasp. She squealed in terror as the box slid towards the open hatch, but sighed in relief as it stopped. However, a sudden patch of turbulence sent it tumbling into the open air. Bluebell immediately resumed her squealing. Bluebell, the bike, could be seen visibly leaving the aircraft with a great deal of velocity, a small flare of blue light streaking behind it as Ana kicked on the afterburners.
The Elysian pulled one wing away from her sides, sticking it out to catch the wind as she flew by on the rocketing bike. The airbike quickly fell into a spiral, arcing downwards towards the ground. At the end of a chain of twirls, she pulled her wings back, lifting the front end of the bike up and killing the afterburners as it made a large curve a few hundred feet above the crowd below. The blue bike circled the stage again, never quite leaving a perpendicular angle with the earth before it was time to land. Anastasia leaned back, pulling the bike up as it closed in on the stage in a gently glide. Plasma jets at the bottom end of the bike pushed the bike to a halt just left of stage center, and the bike hovered on a blanket of air as the rider dismounted it.
The band steadily quieted as the crowd hollared and screamed at the amazing new device.
"Ana! Ana! Ana!" they chanted. Off in the distance, the box of cookies made a small splash in the ocean. The DJ from before passed a microphone to the Elysian, who'd grown a sort of "fan club" as Havok had started making moves in the industry. Mostly for her work, but honestly, some of it was because she was attractive. Some creepier forums on the net referred to her as the "winged-waifu" (much to her resentment). It still didn't compare to the fan site exclusively created for Bluebell.
Anastasia paced towards the front edge of the stage as her heart stopped racing from one stimulus, to racing from another. She had been working on her public speaking skills for the past few months leading up to now, partially thanks to Jax and his attempts to bring viral marketing campaigns to the company. The suited Elysian stopped a few feet from the front of the stage, folding her wings behind her as she pulled up on her full-face helmet and ler her dark hair fall out. She took a deep breath out of microphone earshot, before yelling to greet the party crowd. "Hello everybody!"
Another cheer. So far so good!
She took a step back, keeping up a confident voice. "I don't think I need to tell you why we're all gathered here today." A short pause. "But I can tell you anyways- making Havok!"
The Elysian stood in fron the giant red H, looking up to the sky for a moment. "Now as you've heard, we've got great things in store! Game changers across the board for every rider- but it doesn't feel quite right yet... I feel we're missing someone."
A quite murmur began to spread through the crowd. Some on the edges began to point down the coastline, where a small black dot approached closer by the second. A dull roar filled the air, ever increasing until finally the odd, green shape shot past in a crescendo of noise and speed like a fighter jet. It flew off down the coast and doubled back. Anastasia stepped to the left, clearing the view of the view screen for the front row.
"Seven hundred and two miles an hour," Jax's voice announced over the speaker system to the crowd, who were still scratching their heads. Just what the hell had that been?! Certainly no ship, and certainly no bike! "That is the top speed of the Maverick hovercar."
Above the stage, the screen showed a camera that followed the vehicle- a sleek, cat-like machine with a fastback profile- as it lurked slowly down a marked off roadway to the stage, hovering just a foot off the ground. Just beyond the ropes was the VIP section, where several people Jax had invited stood. The founder of Havok rolled down his window and waved to them as he passed. Jax pulled the vehicle up onto the stage, next to the Bluebell, shut down the engine, and stepped out. As soon as he did, a preplanned bunch of fireworks exploded in the sky.
The crowd once more devolved into a deafening cacophony. Jax nudged Ana and gave a bow to his audience. She followed suit with her own, spreading her wings out lightly in an Elysian manner.
"Nice work! We'll practice some more later." Ana's boss murmured privately. He rose back up and took the microphone from her.
She responded quietly, out of reach of the microphone. "Thanks! You keep em energized. I'll do the thing."
"Ladies and gentlemen! We here at Havok would like to introduce the Bluebell and the Maverick! These are our latest products from our new motors division! The Bluebell is the galaxy's first airbike specifically designed for Elysians! With a max airspeed of one-fifty-five miles an hour and a flight ceiling of two thousand five hundred feet, the rider uses their wings to aid in steering and lift." As he spoke, Anastasia flaired her padded cobalt wings out to almost their full length, which was quite wider than one would expect from a glance. "And, of course, it's named after everyone's favorite Neko!"
Several "aawws" arose from the audience. Several elysians in that crowd cheered the loudest.
"One of these puppies can be yours for twelve thousand KS!" Jax continued. He let the applause die before continuing on to the Maverick. "Last year, I bought an Advent from Origin. It was nice...! I guess...!"
Laughter.
"But I wanted more, and you all should want more! So, being as 'extra' as I am, I built the Maverick! Y'all have already seen how fast this hunk of steel moves! It has a flight ceiling of five and a half miles! It has to use fucking thrust vectoring to maneuver! Most importantly, it has CUPHOLDERS! Twenty thousand KS, and it's yours!"
More cheers, more excitement.
"Now, that's all we have at the moment here at Havok, but remember to stay tuned to our vlogs and follow us on social media! Now, I'm going to shut the fuck up so we can listen to some god-damned MUSIC!" Jax whooped, pumping a fist into the air. He pointed to the sea of people. "Now get out there, drive fast, and party like there's no tomorrow!"
The band resumed playing, confetti began raining from above, accompanied by more fireworks, and Jax dropped the mic and waltzed off stage, throwing up deuces to the audience, and heading for the VIP section. Anastasia peeled of the stage behind him as a squad of five Mavericks and three Bluebells passed over in formation overhead, officially kicking off the Havok Festival.
Osman City
Friday...
It was beautiful, well-orchestrated chaos on that hot, sunny day in Osman City, the main hub of the back-water planet known as 188604. The city's streets had been reconstructed into race tracks, with airbikes and hovercars weaving expertly through the buildings, their engines drowning out the roar of the crowds. Out in the deserts beyond, buggies performed awe-inspiring jumps in the dunes. Above, small ships followed their own courses, all fighting to be first to a set of particular coordinates.
All of this was overshadowed by the pounding of bass and soaring rhythms that flowed from a massive stage set on the waterfront, where a roaring crowd was gathered, and danced and jumped in unison like waves on the ocean with the lone Iroma DJ. People of all races, nationalities, and creeds gathered together to party, watch some racing, and see their favorite bands perform live.
The Havok Festival had only just begun.
Out of nowhere, the music stopped, and the flashing lights died as well. The noise of the crowd died as well in utter confusion.
Then, a large, red letter H appeared on a massive screen behind the DJ, and the crowd absolutely lost it. It was time for the opening event of the festival: the Havok showcase.
The H disappeared, and was replaced by a live video feed of Jackson Howard himself. He appeared to be in the driver's seat of an unknown vehicle, somewhere far away. All of his face, save for his eyes, was obscured by a custom-made helmet that hat two protrusions built for his ears. The Minkan took a hand of the wheel and waved at the camera.
"Hell yeah! Big crowd we got here! Hope you're all going nuts out there!" he greeted.
The crowd cheered in response.
"That's what I like to hear! Welcome to the first annual Havok Festival! I'm running a little late, but that doesn't mean we can't get this party started! In fact, here's a little something we came up with a while back: The Blubell! Piloted by our own Anastasia Barlow! Give it up for our head engineer!"
The feed ended, and was replaced by a camera attached to Anastasia's helmet within the Jax Mobile, which was soaring high above the stage. A set of curtains dropped on the stage, revealing a Nepleslian rock band ready to go. They began to play.
The Jax Mobile
High Above Osman City
Anastasia sat straddled across the Bluebell before the open side door of Jax's yacht. The wind outside was deafening. Flynn flew the ship, while Adiel and Bluebell-the Neko, not the bike- stood beside her. Bluebell held a batch of celebratory cookies clutched to her chest.
"Ana, you're up! Got all your final checks done?" asked Jax through the comm system within the helmet, unheard by the crowds below.
The Elysian readied herself, leaning forwards on the leather seat of the Airbike to face the open door. Anastasia was clad in a dark blackish-blue riding suit that left holes open for her wings, which were half-covered in black protective padding. The engineer slid down her helmet visor, sealing the gap between her helmet and suit in the process. Giving the bikes frontal display a last checkover, she called back to the Minkan. "Ready for ignition..."
"Green light for jump." Flynn anounced from the bridge. "Get going!"
Anastasia fired up the main engines of the airbike, letting the machine roar to life inside the confined bay. After a moment of sitting idly, she gave it all she had. The bike punched out of the open hatch, leaving behind a twisted gale of hot air from the exhaust. The blast jolted Bluebell and tore the box of cookies from her grasp. She squealed in terror as the box slid towards the open hatch, but sighed in relief as it stopped. However, a sudden patch of turbulence sent it tumbling into the open air. Bluebell immediately resumed her squealing. Bluebell, the bike, could be seen visibly leaving the aircraft with a great deal of velocity, a small flare of blue light streaking behind it as Ana kicked on the afterburners.
The Elysian pulled one wing away from her sides, sticking it out to catch the wind as she flew by on the rocketing bike. The airbike quickly fell into a spiral, arcing downwards towards the ground. At the end of a chain of twirls, she pulled her wings back, lifting the front end of the bike up and killing the afterburners as it made a large curve a few hundred feet above the crowd below. The blue bike circled the stage again, never quite leaving a perpendicular angle with the earth before it was time to land. Anastasia leaned back, pulling the bike up as it closed in on the stage in a gently glide. Plasma jets at the bottom end of the bike pushed the bike to a halt just left of stage center, and the bike hovered on a blanket of air as the rider dismounted it.
The band steadily quieted as the crowd hollared and screamed at the amazing new device.
"Ana! Ana! Ana!" they chanted. Off in the distance, the box of cookies made a small splash in the ocean. The DJ from before passed a microphone to the Elysian, who'd grown a sort of "fan club" as Havok had started making moves in the industry. Mostly for her work, but honestly, some of it was because she was attractive. Some creepier forums on the net referred to her as the "winged-waifu" (much to her resentment). It still didn't compare to the fan site exclusively created for Bluebell.
Anastasia paced towards the front edge of the stage as her heart stopped racing from one stimulus, to racing from another. She had been working on her public speaking skills for the past few months leading up to now, partially thanks to Jax and his attempts to bring viral marketing campaigns to the company. The suited Elysian stopped a few feet from the front of the stage, folding her wings behind her as she pulled up on her full-face helmet and ler her dark hair fall out. She took a deep breath out of microphone earshot, before yelling to greet the party crowd. "Hello everybody!"
Another cheer. So far so good!
She took a step back, keeping up a confident voice. "I don't think I need to tell you why we're all gathered here today." A short pause. "But I can tell you anyways- making Havok!"
The Elysian stood in fron the giant red H, looking up to the sky for a moment. "Now as you've heard, we've got great things in store! Game changers across the board for every rider- but it doesn't feel quite right yet... I feel we're missing someone."
A quite murmur began to spread through the crowd. Some on the edges began to point down the coastline, where a small black dot approached closer by the second. A dull roar filled the air, ever increasing until finally the odd, green shape shot past in a crescendo of noise and speed like a fighter jet. It flew off down the coast and doubled back. Anastasia stepped to the left, clearing the view of the view screen for the front row.
"Seven hundred and two miles an hour," Jax's voice announced over the speaker system to the crowd, who were still scratching their heads. Just what the hell had that been?! Certainly no ship, and certainly no bike! "That is the top speed of the Maverick hovercar."
Above the stage, the screen showed a camera that followed the vehicle- a sleek, cat-like machine with a fastback profile- as it lurked slowly down a marked off roadway to the stage, hovering just a foot off the ground. Just beyond the ropes was the VIP section, where several people Jax had invited stood. The founder of Havok rolled down his window and waved to them as he passed. Jax pulled the vehicle up onto the stage, next to the Bluebell, shut down the engine, and stepped out. As soon as he did, a preplanned bunch of fireworks exploded in the sky.
The crowd once more devolved into a deafening cacophony. Jax nudged Ana and gave a bow to his audience. She followed suit with her own, spreading her wings out lightly in an Elysian manner.
"Nice work! We'll practice some more later." Ana's boss murmured privately. He rose back up and took the microphone from her.
She responded quietly, out of reach of the microphone. "Thanks! You keep em energized. I'll do the thing."
"Ladies and gentlemen! We here at Havok would like to introduce the Bluebell and the Maverick! These are our latest products from our new motors division! The Bluebell is the galaxy's first airbike specifically designed for Elysians! With a max airspeed of one-fifty-five miles an hour and a flight ceiling of two thousand five hundred feet, the rider uses their wings to aid in steering and lift." As he spoke, Anastasia flaired her padded cobalt wings out to almost their full length, which was quite wider than one would expect from a glance. "And, of course, it's named after everyone's favorite Neko!"
Several "aawws" arose from the audience. Several elysians in that crowd cheered the loudest.
"One of these puppies can be yours for twelve thousand KS!" Jax continued. He let the applause die before continuing on to the Maverick. "Last year, I bought an Advent from Origin. It was nice...! I guess...!"
Laughter.
"But I wanted more, and you all should want more! So, being as 'extra' as I am, I built the Maverick! Y'all have already seen how fast this hunk of steel moves! It has a flight ceiling of five and a half miles! It has to use fucking thrust vectoring to maneuver! Most importantly, it has CUPHOLDERS! Twenty thousand KS, and it's yours!"
More cheers, more excitement.
"Now, that's all we have at the moment here at Havok, but remember to stay tuned to our vlogs and follow us on social media! Now, I'm going to shut the fuck up so we can listen to some god-damned MUSIC!" Jax whooped, pumping a fist into the air. He pointed to the sea of people. "Now get out there, drive fast, and party like there's no tomorrow!"
The band resumed playing, confetti began raining from above, accompanied by more fireworks, and Jax dropped the mic and waltzed off stage, throwing up deuces to the audience, and heading for the VIP section. Anastasia peeled of the stage behind him as a squad of five Mavericks and three Bluebells passed over in formation overhead, officially kicking off the Havok Festival.
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