[PUBLIC EPISODE] Flight of the Icaron: Episode 4 - Dead Ahead
The crew crashes back into Nadir Hab and straight into a nightmare: Martians on the bridge, an overwhelming presence lurking beyond the glass, and Earth dead ahead by morning. As trust fractures and long-buried secrets surface, our heroes are driven toward a choice that may cost them everything.
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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 (46)
Openly cackled at "Sorry... Fshcks really *rattled* me at the end there..."
Did someone say "noise boys"?!
Ugh, it's so good and dumb Andre being so pragmatic and fatherly and I am all teary eyed at work. Thank goodness for feral Fishcakes and badass Kiki or I would be full blown sobbing!
Incredible work from everyone as always, can't wait for the sure to be insane conclusion next week! 🤩
I absolutely LOVED the initial series so I was wary of what would come next and have not really gotten into the short form things (they’re still waiting in my podcatcher). But I have to say that the Icaron has been a revelation! I love the complex characters, the technological and psyonic RPG additions and the great GMing by Lou. Thanks heaps gang!
The shorter ones tend to be more all-out silliness and sometimes it's just the wrong sort of silliness for me. I will absolutely recommend Matsuri and Alf Gappen Was Here--those are Umora stories (as is Fortune Found, but that's just a different feel). A County Affair and Hint (Erika as GM) were more silly but not as off the rails as some of the others.
GUYS THIS SLAPS SO FUCKING HARD!!!! huge kudos to you all👏👏👏
Finally catching up on this series and my GOD am I in love. An old love of mine was the Halo series - novels and games alike - and I was just about to get back into it. But then Microsoft/Xbox was placed on the BDS boycott list, so there's a lot of the new fiction that I can't/won't get for the sake of solidarity. But Flight of the Icaron is scratching that EXACT itch of scifi action. I especially adore the lore behind the Martians. When the first mention of them being billionaires/trillionaires building pyramids dropped, I laughed. But then when the explanation came along later of how the two societies evolved... god I want to live in this universe some more. I want to explore the different corners and facets. A+ worldbuilding, A+ characters, I want so many stories from this world.
Andrei, "When the martians came and attacked Tranquility, my son was there. When you're a parent on Earth, you know...dying... is better than wherever they're going to take you. Please do whatever you can to keep her safe" Lou, "this is so sick".
i fucking love this
This was SO GOOD!!! I am slightly worried about what they might have missed with that insight check on the Doctor!! WHAT WAS HIS DEAL!?!? Is he just a doctor!?! lol I need more!!!!🤣
I'll never recover emotionally if Tubes is somehow a rat because I love him so much
If you want to make an egg you gotta scramble an omlette
You don’t get candy from a man you threatened to kill really got me.
Fishcakes doesn’t need to say a whole bunch, just a hole bit! “There is safety in the hole” “Ooooookay” “Yeah, for sure, 100%. We love the hole.” 😂😂😂
I can't remember the last time a sci-fi story had me this excited for a big final conflict! Often, those stories will have a pretty clear plot ahead, where of course your main crew will get through in the end, and there's a diminished feeling of stakes and therefore less investment from the listener. THIS one though, I know PC death is not out of the question, you WILL stab me right in the heart, and I have absolutely no faith in my ability to predict your story twists. This is so much fun!
I want Star Fox N64 animation to pop up every time someone speaks over the comms.
do a barrel roll!
This is really good
“Are these vent-ready people?” really got me
That and “vent children”
Could you imagine if being traumatized actually DID make you stronger and faster? Damn I’d be a superhero 😆
TOP TEN HOT HITS: 10. Mars SUCKS 9. Kiki Auntie-ing Fishcakes 💖 8. Ekphrastic poem describing the slide ball court 7. Everything about Tubes 6. that sound design 💨 5. that music 🔥 4. that beautiful machine that Makes the Hay ☄️ 3. Lou’s flare for Sci Fi Action and the Reveal of Mars’ Endgame 💐 2. Coolant’s triumphant return as a Mcguffin from Episode 1 1. Lou getting excited about how cool his own game is ✨
An excellent and accurate summary. Honorary mention for Erika’s performance of a feral/traumatized child with the doctor. Especially that “mm MM!!” growl brandishing the razor blade 😂
I’m at the part where Andre asks Kiki about her motives, and I gotta shout out the music design! I’m loving the shift between Kiki’s unsettling deep space sound, and Andre’s hopeful Terran vibes
Got full-scalp chills when Kiki used her full first name. BeYOUtiful.
Let me quote the wise Aabria and say Let's fuckin' GOOOOOOO!
This episode is so good. Lou is killing it. The gang is killing it. Production is killing it. Everyone is killing it. Can't wait for the final episode.
The episode cuts out at 44:42 on pocket casts also does any one have a better app to listen to this on it seems like pocket casts is always having issues
I use AntennaPod and it's perfect
Lou, as an actual engineer, well done.
Kiki: “let’s make some fucking noise, boys” *Brennan, Zac, and Josh pop out from behind a corner and do a goofy impression*
I did see exactly this
Excellent Grade A technobabble from Lou.
formally requesting a "you wanna make an egg, you have to scramble omelet" shirt in the next merch drop
YESSSSS I knew Fishcakes was deadbeat billionaire designer baby commentary!!!! They are playing this fucked up backstory so well. Kiki is incredibly brave and true, even though she doesn't realize she's totally what that can look like. Hermit becomes hero is such a fun character arc. Andre's thought process of letting things tell you what they can be was so clever and authentic. My engineer FIL does the same thing with math, and his patience to sit with me in a conversation and go "no, don't give up, you can absolutely do this rough calculation to keep up with us" is so lovely that it got me to pick up some workbooks and build confidence. 10/10 great dad vibes. And Lou! I love hearing this story come together by way of your careful stewardship. I would read, like, seven novels based in this world. Everyone is killing it <3
Lou is crushing it as a DM! I'm loving the story and everyone's characters
Oh thank goodness, it’s Tuesday. 😭 Really needed this today. So grateful for you guys
Lou, you are amazing and perfect. The reveal of why the Martians are doing this makes perfect sense. Because that is reality. Earth is the most habitable place for humanity. To make any other planet even close to usable for humans would take lifetimes and there's still no guarantee. It's also one of the reasons I judge tech billionaires so heavily who are convinced they can colonize Mars. It wouldn't actually work! But they're so caught up in their technocrat fantasies (or their untenable "bunkers to outlast the climate crisis" bullshit) that they are fully delusional
This arc reminds me a lot of the episodes of The Expanse tv series where you later see how far life on Mars is from the dream their government is selling them, and it’s just heartbreaking
There is safety in the hole!
“These are not vent people. I have a better idea” 😆
Yeees
Oh hey! Cool to see Big Giant Head in the credits, I remember their work on the My Brother My Brother and Me TV show, nice 💖
let’s go!
A-hoo-hijack!