[PUBLIC EPISODE] Flight of the Icaron: Ep 1 - Maiden Voyage
This is the maiden voyage of the Icaron - Earth’s first S-Class Battle Station. This demonstration flight has been certified as routine by all relevant oversight bodies. Systems have been tested, personnel vetted, and contingencies reviewed. Passengers are reminded that the Icaron represents the highest standard of planetary defense engineering.
Please remain seated.
Catch the public feed to hear the episode with these links, or anywhere you get your podcasts:
We recommend listening to Worlds Beyond Number (and the Fireside Feed) on a "podcatching" app like Overcast or Pocket Casts. For more help getting the right audio in the right place, check out our friendly instruction guide.
We are:
Flight of the Icaron was produced by Fortunate Horse and Worlds Beyond Number
Edit and Sound Design by Brian Flaherty from Many Sided Media
https://www.manysidedmedia.com/
Score by Will Savino
Sound Effect library courtesy of artlist.io
Director of Operations: Melanie Bowman
Social Media Manager: Shannon H
Lorekeeper and Transcriptionist: Jack Morgan E.F. Lavandowska
Special Thanks to: Amanda Freberg at Big Giant Head and the team at Laservision
Character Art Alecia Doyley
Ship Art by Britt Anderson
Graphics by Lu Tomkiewicz
Comments (186)
I love Talia. I had a rabbit named taupe.
Oh no! Why do these episodes not work like the fireside chats and older episodes? The direct RSS link doesn't seem to be working and all the other links are either things i don't have or have way worse interfaces that make it less enjoyable. Damn.
There was something absolutely magical about actually taking off on a flight while listening to Lou describe Kiki’s takeoff for the first time. Nothing will ever come close to that experience again
As soon as I clocked Kiki having a liiiiittle bit of yeehaw in her voice I knew this was gonna be good
CHEF TOOLS SUPREMACY!!!!! And fantastic job yall (especially Lou 🤩)
I wish there was a way to control the volume of the sound effects and background noise. I found myself constantly needing to go back because I couldn’t hear what was being said. At one point I had to pause and look for the transcript because there was so much noise over the dialogue to the point of being overstimulating/overwhelming.
Only 5min in and I’m blushing. How did Lou know my fam was from Kenya and mandazi’s are 🔥🔥🔥!!? I’m locked innnn
I saw Mombasa and Mandazis and I was hooked
Dont get me wrong, i love the audio but. Where is Taylor??? 😭
Probably writing music or preparing for Aabria's campaign!
In....CREDIBLE!!!!!
"Their stance is not marshall, but communal, a symbol of unity." Beautiful. Lou.
Oh this is already my jam! So excited to hear Lou GMing!!!! Although, I think there's something up with the audio at about 1:11. Because I think I heard "horrors of Martian rule" but I'm sure it was supposed to be "the horrifyingly amazing Martian rule. That is soooo much better than our inferior Earthling Leadership."
absolutely fantastic new campaign. LOVE IT
"Big dreams need a strong foundation." A quick, throwaway line that deserves a gods damned t-shirt cause damn that got me thinking.
Lou- my man killed it! So excited for this mini one!!! And when are we getting Abria at the helm?!?!
First time? Good god, Lou. Congratulations, seriously!! Feature length campaign next pretty pls 🥺
I love this its so cozy
The way Lou shines in a totally new way as a GM vs PC. This was so fun!! Love the characters and can’t wait for the full campaign.
My grandmother was a 1st gen immigrant scientist and Brennan absolutely nailed the whole vibe of a level of intelligence being used on seemingly frivolous problems like the cheese and teasing subordinates
Absolute treat! I always find Lou to be fantastic but very minimalistic in his PC performances, so getting this much of him as DM is really a joy - great job everyone!
The idea that I’m gonna have to wait two weeks or so to see the next one is kind of killing me
Ugh you really think two weeks? Ima explode 😩
Hard to believe this is his first time D I mean I think Lou does a great job,
This tickled all the right parts of my brain. Spaceflight. Hard sci fi. Kenya and Mombasa. Lou talking. I said out loud "WHAT!?" when it ended and immediately purchased a WBN subscription.
the imagery in this is absolutely stunning - Lou you are amazing!!! this is such a gift!
I've never heard Lou GM before. He's genuinely fantastic!
I need a full episode of Tubes & Andre just having a conversation
I love them so much already! Surprise GM Lou!!!
The SCREAM I SCRUMPT at the ending.
RIGHT?!
*scampers off to find myself a mandazi recipe, b/c nowhere nearby sells traditional East—African food* (wish me luck! 🥟)
If you find one and make it, share with your patron brethren???? :)
I'm loving the bond the characters have formed through the ceremonial pilfering of foods 🤣
Obsessed with them
Inquiring minds need to know: What mandazi recipe should I source if I want to taste the delicious sounding confections that you all talking about? Please & thank you.
I am investigating, but apparently often flavoured with cardamom. If I find a good recipe, I'll 3—point land back in the comments to let you know
Oh my god surprise Lou campaign?!?!?! This is so much fun!!
Incredible!
The beautifully Expanse-pilled surface politics in outer space of it all. Lou must’ve been inspired by it at least a little bit, but I’d love it if they talked about it on the Fireside.
LOU AS A GM!!!! My heart weeps tears of delight and excitement
i thought this would simply fill the void starstruck odyssey left but this makes me feel something entirely new and wonderful! also loving Lou as a gm
I wish the episodes were hosted on Patreon. I don't use the other platforms so listening is a challenge. Would be nice to be alerted here and listen to the episode here as well. Loving it so far!
agreed on all counts!
So good!! The number of times I got chills from Lou’s descriptions in just this first episode…! I’m hooked.
Oh dear god the names, the sun
Cubes: 1 8 27 64 125 or n^3
My brain is truly launched into the cosmos. Setup and.... GO!
I’m not into sci-fi, but I’ve watched Starstruck Odyssey twice and I can’t wait for the second episode of this. This fucking SLAPS.
Same.
okay world building! let's go Lou! beautiful descriptions! loving the characters already and stoked for more
You gotta respect the good doctor for naming the ship the most doomed project title possible. Absolutely impossible to steal without crashing. Like trying to hijack the Titanic 2.
And then still trying to fly close to the sun which is the more insane part.
Lou absolutely killed it with the world building, what an incredible first episode!!
Did I miss something? I thought this was abria's space Opera. Don't get me wrong. I'm excited for lou, this is very much not what I was expecting.
You missed something. They announced Lou's mini adventure will come first and then Aabria's will start.
LOU THIS FRICKIN ROCKS, EXCELLENT JOB
Andre has some Dr.Doofenshmirtz energy that I’m really enjoying
What an episode!!! I’m so hooked!
Lou Wilson really said “Happy New Year everybody let’s GO TO SPACE” and I cried happy tears 🥹 🙏 Thank you WBN for breathing so much life into all of this.
Okay, did Lou make space Die Hard? Kind of getting those vibes.
Brennan's character is divorced and has kids. Erika's character was asking about the vents earlier And likes knowing the floor plan? You're on to something. All the dots are connecting
From Miles WM Fun fact: Spacecraft stink. Astronauts don't tend to notice it, because free fall results in inflamed sinuses, but all the sweat and other human particulate tend to build up around various air scrubbers, filters&such. Spacecraft are RANK.
Lou and crew! Amazing start. That takeoff scene?! I felt like I was there. Im looking forward to the next one. Also, do we think it's Taupe Too or Taupe 2: electric boogaloo?
Reminiscent of The Expanse.
I wonder if Aabria talks with her therapist about how overly good she is at playing privileged rich women, lol
I swear, if anything happens to Tubes, i'm starting a riot. What a way to end the episode too.
Am I misremembering, but I swear before they were saying that Aabria would be DMing this season?
This is lou’s mini campaign before Aabria’s main sci fi campaign, I want to say hers is more futuristic and space opera than lou’s
Utensils in space are always called chefs tools, isn’t that just standard practice?
Sooooo... Slideball?
as someone who loves wbn and went through a big trekkie phase/loves sci fi AND of course Lou Wilson... huge for me
Well this absolutely fucks. Damn, what a great start to the story.
Hmmm my dad named our old dog Argent. What does Argent mean? Silver. Is this at all related? Or am I crazy.
I heard "Arjun," a name I have run into from India.
I made it to 'Mandazi, Mandazi!' then started tearing up! It's such a joy hearing East Africa (as a Ugandan) represented in Scifi fantasy!! 😍 😍😍
Riveting kickoff! Cannot wait for the next episode. I truly need two weeks of space material to fill the gap.
Top 10 Hot Hits: 1. Mandazi (prev. spelled like the apple transcript spelling and corrected 2. Talia’s taupe so well crafted it sticks for 10 hours 3. The gravity well launch tech: chef’s kiss 4. Lou bringing his best Crew of the Nostromo with Tubes 5. Foreshadowing neck tattoos 6. Brennan showing his Math and Science 7. Everyone is so real and I already love them 8. Expanse vibes for fresh times and I need it like an extra reserve of coolant 9. Hoo boy there are kids-in-danger-STAKES already 10. LOU WILSON ✨
Loving this episode so far and great to see Lou Wilson in the chair! Just wanted to check with other people however, the “bleep” sound effect for the holo-device (phone) that the vase lady uses is really high pitched/loud to the point it hurts my ears? Not sure if it’s just a me thing but thought I better mention it. The rest of the sound design is Stella however!
For me it was the mic feedback, had to take out my headphones
On second listen. Does anyone know what "greyspace" is in this context?
To me it meant unclaimed outer space, e.g. not part of a territory
Man. I just fucking love Tubes
This reminds me of the GDI Orbital Defense Ion Cannon and Nod managing to disable or commandeer it.
The rolls for cheese had me cackling. 🤣🤣🤣
Let's go LOU!! YOU DID THAT SIR!!
1. Lou Wilson *and* sci fi? Pump that stuff right into my veins! 2. I heard Taupe 2 and immediately went to Vanta Beige from Commodore Hustle. 3. Is the Icaron's design a 3d version of the WBN star logo? Legally you have to tell me.
I also want to know the answer to #3
7 minutes in and I am HOOKED. I love the worldbuilding
My man is so panned, there are voices coming from all over the damn place. It's like I'm IN the action
I am so glad we're back and so heart broken that I've finished the episode and have to wait 2 weeks.
Lou, this is absolutely amazing. I'm running a game later this week (using Roll for Shoes, thanks entirely to the Kerrrn TM one shot!) and I hope I'm 1/10th as good as you are!
Gl! ☺️
*chef’s kiss*
As someone who grew up in Delaware County, learning that the group noun for hyraxes is “wawa” made my goddam DAY. 🤣 🤣
Interesting that Erika’s character is described as having “white fluffy hair” but has dark hair in the character art. Did I miss something?
I think someone drew Fishcakes to resemble Erika and missed that detail of the description.
I love it I love it I love it!!! It's so cool to figure out all the relationship dynamics between everyone in a short amount of time. I align with Fishcakes in that I like to know my exits. I'm so interested for what actually happened on Mars. If Fishcakes is a Martian orphan, does that mean Martians are not humans, or is she Martian in the sense of a demonym for where you're from?
At the moment I'm assuming everyone is human and Mars was colonized by humans. Someone born on Mars would be a Martian. But we shall see.
What's 9-1? Ate!!! This was so much fun to listen to. Kiki's little southern accent!!
Chef's tools!
Lou Wilson absolutely killing it. So excited for these characters and this story! Thank you for all your hard work!
These PCs are so fun!! I’m excited for them to show off some more abilities, I love sw5e
It’s such a treat to finally get a Lou DM story on the pod! Also, my mental image of Erika’s character is like 1000x more eye-wateringly pathetic than the ep art and I really feel the need to use my limited drawing skills to convey it. I know this is a relatively short series but already the worldbuilding is so fascinating. I’m desperate to know wtf is up with Fishcake.
Please do draw them!
Loved the little details about the launch from Earth and the fun with novel uses of artificial gravity. Doesn't seem like a combat crew, but I'm sure our Engineer, our Frontier Spacer and our Professional Survivor will have useful skill sets for what's to come.
What a great episode! Lou had such a wonderful way of setting the scene, and the sound design was awesome! I loved meeting the new player characters and i can't wait to see all they will get up to together.💛
Lou says “you see” a lot. It’s not a big deal, but it was noticeable to me
Space filler, like Brennan's "You see that they say..." Gotta give the neurons a couple seconds to fire while improvising.
I'm so excited for this. I am working on a tapestry blanket for myself, and I always attach the memory of a story to the piece I was making at the time. (It kind of all gets bound up together somehow; I think that might just be how brains work). I'm thrilled that this is a story I'll be coming back to over and over.
My GOD, Lou. I didn't know how much I needed to hear you GM.
Lou coming in HOT and absolutely knocking this first episode out of the park!!! The looming threats are palpable and I'm already dying for the next installment!!!! A perfect start to 2026
I'm obsessed with the sound design of the part where they can hear a conversation over the comms and then slowly they can hear it in person as they get closer that was so cool. Also, spoiler: Listening to the ending with a terrorist attack on the anniversary of January 6th made for such an unintentionally weird vibe. Just funny timing.
I'm so glad you liked that part! It was a fun idea that I wasn't sure was going to work in practice, but I was really happy with how it came together.
I think Aabria was DMing this one? Maybe I'm crazy lol
Lou's DMing a short scifi campaign first, and then Aabria will be DMing a longer scifi campaign after that
Been waiting all my life for taupe 2
Lou Fucking Wilson, you mad genius! Hope to see more of Lou in the DM chair in all things
TAUPE TWO!!!!!!!
Loving this! Lou’s descriptions are fantastic. Excited for more :)
ooooooooooh yeah. Cannot WAIT to dive straight into this new world
It was worth the wait: Lou as DM is magical! Biweekly is going to be tough for me on this one, SciFi is my jam. Feels like Expanse meets Planetes (one of the most underrated SciFi animes btw)
I'm glad I'm not the only one getting Expanse. Maybe a bit more high tech?
Very cool! Love hearing Lou DM! Another master storyteller! I'm so in on this new thing!
1) Lou is wording my ass off with his good, good words 2) Every character so far is wonderful 3) I cannot stop thinking about the best way to build a mega-cube of cheese
Spoilers of course, open at your own risk Spoiler space Open read more Spoiler space FUCK YES DIE HARD IN SPACE LETS GOOOO
Do we know what System is being used for this campaign? Regular dnd or SW 5E, or something else?
I was wondering that as well
Lou is doing an amazing job as GM. I usually dont care for sci-fi settings but im intrigued. Also more Tube please!
I could tell once Ishii’s character entered that they would have every one of their paranoias confirmed.
I know you're supposed to leave us wanting more, but this is ridiculous! Amazing
lou DMing is exactly what i needed! he's finally doing that writing his characters are always talking about 😉
ITS HERE ITS HERE!!!!
It makes me sad to see that artlist.io, a website that is partially for sourcing AI generated “art” is still being used to make WBN content. I understand they have a library of stuff made by real people and hopefully thats what the folks at Many Sided Media are using. It still leaves a bad taste in my mouth
I can confirm that we're not using any of the AI generate elements from artlist. We've been using them for years so a lot of our SFX library was built up before they were doing the annoying AI stuff they've been doing recently. Their library of SFX is great and we've been sticking to that.
Classic tabletop lol. DM: Lovingly crafted afrofuture outer space hard sci-fi adventure. Players: that's cool that's cool, CHEESE HEIST
"...hey, I cannot knock de hustle.... Dis is plan that will work!"
Spaaaaaceeeeeee
totally not foreshadowing or looming calling a giant massive space defense wepon the icaron or naming the building project daedalus.....tooootaly normal stuff happening
That’s our Sweet Lou!!!!
25 mins in- DUDE THIS IS AMAZING!!! LOU IS COOKING I’m impatient for more lol
Good stuff!!! I am so ready for scifi...
I would listen to Brennan and Lou banter in character all day any day, and it's just as good with Lou in the dm chair this time around
😂 Food heist! ...big cube! 😂
I can't believe the new series is set in a utaupeia
We can all go home this is the comment folks
First laugh out loud moment + a tiny "oof I felt that": Aabria's laugh and the line "Oh my god, I gotta get off of Earth! This place fucking sucks!" And then Lou's description of the takeoff immediately following! Bro is cooking!
Hot. Diggidy. Damn. First time hearing Lou as a DM and what a treat. I am 16 minutes in and it is so deliciously descriptive.
I know we got character descriptions but its funnier to imagine the entire world is just a bunch of (human) Eurselons, Suvi, the Fox, and Ame in outer space
THE MUSIC IS AMAZING
2 minutes in and I'm already crying about the fantasy of humans choosing space exploration over war
Oh nevermind it's still war 😭
Omg it’s happening!?
What is the system they’re using?
Aabria had to make a Wisdom save so it sounds like some variation on D&D.
I'm so hyped for this!
Who is DMing, is this aabrias campaign?
Lou
Ah!!! How could you drop this when I can't listen to all of it immediately! :D
OH BOY HERE WE GOOOOO
Im kinda surprised they didn't do a couple patreon exclusive episodes like with the child saga of the last campaign.
They might with SOLARI, which is the next long campaign. This one is either 6 or 8 episodes, I believe
THE MUSIC??? HOLY SHIT
SO excited to have this to listen to on my commute today!!
Wooo 1 hr 45 min, oh how you spoil us at the start of 2026!!
LETS GO TO SPACE BABYYY
IVE BEEN PRAYING FOR TIMES LIKE THIS
Oh man-I got this notification and went straight to Spotify wheteupon I discovered it had yet to appear. And now I’m sitting here bubbling with impatience, refreshing that page continuously, and feeling like the world’s nerdiest & most ridiculous addict—oop! Never mind!! There it is, hoorah! I am now off to get my fix now folks—happy listening to you all <3
For folks struggling to find the audio, it showed up just fine for me on Overcast (which is also where I catch their Firesides)
LET'S GOOOOOOO
I just sat down to write the upcoming session for my own homegame, but I guess that will have to wait, project Daedalus comes first!
Really wish the audio was shared on here 😅 waiting for Spotify to drop but I prefer having one feed for all my content anyway
I’m so excited!
LETSS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The only thing I'm seeing it on is simplecast
I got it on Overcast
Now if only there was an audio file attached to this post from which we could listen to it…. Jkjk I can wait till it drops on Spotify
AAAAAHHHHH
Yessssssssss lesgoooo!!
I've never been so early! Waiting for it to turn up on Pocket Casts and super hyped
We've actually never been more back
Just stopped everything I was doing
See you in the stars.
Agggggghhhh can't wait!
Holdup, I might have to drop everything rq 🙏🏾
Lets gooo!! (furiously refreshing Pocket Casts)