Darkness falls, again and again, in the uncertain future of Defiant Horizon. Take your first look at this ever-divided world. Defiant Horizon is a Near Future, Alternate History Cyberpunk Adventure set in a world teetering on the edge of world war. As some discover that they have supernatural abilities, will they choose to use them for good, or their own selfish ends?
--Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio! https://www.youtube.com/@UC_6hQy4elsyHhCOskZo0U5g
Check out all the ways to enjoy the podcast, join as a paid subscriber in the special thanks to support the show, and get involved in the community here! https://linktr.ee/krswriting
Darkness falls,
Again and again,
Felled by cruelty
Salvation denied.
My world grows cold
Seeing him drift,
Sink down,
Dive so far away.
Prologue
Ten years ago
Above Core Island, Hashishima City, Hashishima
Sunday, August 9th, 2025
Amanda gripped the armrests of her shaking black leather seat as her mom’s personal VTOL lifted off the penthouse landing pad, and started climbing into the air. Her heart seemed to plummet to the ground in contrast. G forces, while dampened by the craft’s system, clawed at her nerves. It was silly to be scared of flying. She practically flew every day. But, she was anyway.
Her mom sat next to her, calmly examining her wrist console, probably looking at something from work. She looked over to the pilot in the front, well, all she could really see was his helmeted head. Then she looked back to her mother. “Um… Mom?” Amanda asked shakily.
She shook her head, “Sorry, sweetheart, not right now.”
Amanda sighed. She wasn’t sure what she expected. Her mom seemed particularly agitated when she came home from school. Maybe something had happened at work?
“Yes?” her mother said as she pulled an earbud from her console. She must have gotten a call. “I’m headed there now. I should be there when you land.”
With the craft aloft, Amanda felt she could dare to look out of the window of the craft, and was greeted by a sight that was well worth the risk. The sparkling city of Hashishima lay below as the VTOL pulled further away from Marshall-Saito Tower. Countless skyscrapers formed a forest of human ambition and ingenuity that they coasted through at a rapid pace. The slowly retreating sun set the buildings aglow, just like the shimmering liquid gold ocean just beyond.
“I don’t care what they think! It’s only a month behind the development schedule. That’s nothing compared to the impact that Defiance would have!” Her mom shouted, her raised voice catching Amanda’s attention. She sighed, and wiped her forehead. Then continued in her normal speaking volume, “I’m… I’m sorry Shigure. I just don’t understand how they don’t get what we are working on. They really want to pull the plug after a temporary stock price dip? We are building the world’s first space elevator, the first manned deep space FTL exploration ship, the next generation SK Reactor, three cities on the Moon, and one on Mars, and they think a fraction of a percent dip right now really matters? Between government funding, and projected sales alone, they really want to panic over one project falling behind schedule?!” she scoffed, “Well, Glen Amphetrion can go to hell. I don’t care. I’d cut the entire R&D branch just to save Defiance.”
Her mom kept talking, but Amanda’s attention drifted back to the window. They were over the Saito Channel at that point, and then over the countless docks and warehouses of Port Island. She guessed that they were headed to the Spaceport, given that they were apparently going to meet with Shigure, and he usually stayed on the New British Union Space Station Citadel. Her mother hadn’t said where they were going when they had jumped in the craft.
Over past Port Island she could see the new Link Island, where construction of the space elevator had started. They had been working on the titanic foundation for almost a year, casting the entire island out of Ultra Crete where there had been nothing before but shallow ocean.
Amanda decided to look over the poem she had been working on for English to kill some time. If they were headed to the Spaceport, they still had about fifteen or so minutes before they would arrive. She found that the most she could accomplish was rereading how far she had written a couple of times, and finally removing a comma she had deleted, added back in, and deleted again perhaps five times over. She was stuck, a stanza from really bringing the whole thing together. But, anything she started jotting down felt wrong. The assignment was due the next morning, so she had to put something there.
She sighed. It wasn’t as if she was writing some definitive masterpiece. Amanda knew she was probably taking the poetry assignment much too seriously. But, she liked writing, even if poetry wasn’t her first choice. She just wanted to do her best to show her vision. That vision felt important. A lone figure, holding a handful of ashes, staring at a sunset on the horizon, hoping to see the sun rise again the next day. But, why? Why would there be doubt if the sun would rise again…?
The VTOL seemed to be slowing down. She heard the pilot say “Copy, Tower. Final approach vector Echo Mike Miner to Pad Charlie Three-Seven. Descending now.” Amanda looked out of her window, and, sure enough, she could see the landing pad, subdivided into about a hundred plots, for atmospheric craft at the Amphetrion Spaceport. Just beyond the expansive landing pad, she could see the 33 metallic towers that made up the spaceport. They stretched for several miles, each the height of a skyscraper. Ships of all sizes could land at these towers, though the larger, half-mile long military ships had to use the 10 massive towers at the other end of the spaceport. The other 23, while shorter, still had to be 100 stories tall.
In a matter of minutes, the craft settled on the pad, and the doors slid open. Her mom stepped out first, placing her earbud back in her wrist console’s casing. She must have finally gotten off her call. The thin, elegant, middle-aged woman ducked her head under one of the craft’s Gravity Trauns, a metallic spear held by a short wing on either side of the fuselage, that gently, rhythmically hummed and crackled with energy in their idle state. Amanda, who wasn’t as tall as her mother, had to duck her head as well, though only with a tilt to the side. She wasn’t sure how they worked, but it had something to do with manipulating the force of gravity to provide propulsion. Next year in Sophomore level Science, she would learn about Gravity Trauns, Solon-Kaku Reactors, Lux Excedo Drive, and many other technologies that made the modern world possible. She knew this because her mother had written the curriculum for the high school science and mathematics program for the Hashishima school system.
A large man in a black suit greeted her mom. “Good evening Mrs. Marshall, Mr. Saito’s shuttle will be landing in approximately 5 minutes”
“It’s Ms., not Mrs.,” she said in reply.
“My apologies, Ms. M—”
“Forget about it. Which tower is the reentry shuttle touching down at?” her mom asked They kept talking for a moment before starting to walk towards one of the landing towers. Amanda couldn’t quite hear what they said over the low thumping sound of a neighboring VTOL ship taking off from the landing pad, gravity trauns glowing a bright teal as they surged with energy.
Amanda, following shortly behind, could tell from the tone in her voice that her mom was quite agitated, she had been since Amanda had got home from school. Between this, and Shigure coming to meet in person, something serious had to be wrong. Now she wished she had paid better attention to what her mother was saying in the VTOL.
They came to Tower 4, and stepped into a large elevator that rocketed them to the top. Amanda had been to one of these before, several times, in fact, on one of their various trips to a space station, or one of the lunar colonies that were under construction. Her mom had promised they would go make a progress visit to Ares 1 on Mars in Spring. However, the sight never failed to amaze her. They stood on a large platform with a second level that was made of catwalks and storage for various equipment. Three large mechanical arms reached upwards from there, and then stretched outward. She could see the other towers, some with ships clutched by the landing arms, others vacant. Past there, she could see the city skyline to the North across Central Bay. The city, and all of its noise, worries, and neon glare seemed so distant from here, without being out of touch. The sun was maybe thirty minutes from fully setting in the clear, cloudless horizon.
The tower’s PA system chimed, then a smooth male voice said “Apollo Astravia Flight 44 is on final approach. Prepare for docking procedure.”
Amanda looked back up, and saw a glittering speck that quickly approached, resolving into a smooth, streamlined, arrowhead-shaped vessel. It looked to be plummeting towards the tower till a teal light flashed on the other side, and it began to slow. Likely a couple miles away in the air, she could hear the throbbing hum of the ships gravity trauns cutting the ship’s momentum. By the time it came to settle in on the landing arms, it was practically stopped in the air. A klaxon rang as the ship made contact. The arms gingerly brought the ship down beside the tower, hydraulics whining against the strain, till, with a loud locking clack, they came to rest.
The dorsal half of the ship was a near pristine white in comparison to the scorched black ventral half that served as a heat shield in case the ship’s barrier failed in reentry. A panel near the bridge of the vessel hissed, then flipped open, revealing the entry hatch. A covered metal bridge from the tower slid out and clicked into place in the opening the panel had left. A notification tone chimed from the PA system, and the same voice announced. “Apollo Astravia Flight 44 has landed, passenger disembark and cargo unloading will now commence.”
At that, the hatch twisted open, and after a short pause, people began stepping off the ship, and crossing the bridge onto the tower. The unmistakable silhouette of Shigure Saito was the first person to step off of the bridge. He was about Abby’s height, and was an impressive barrel of a man. He looked to be just as formidable as the bodyguard who had met them when they landed, even if he was a good head and a half shorter. A warm smile swept his face, and he spoke in a gravelly voice, worn and beaten after decades of yelling in heated meetings, “You didn’t tell me I’d get to see little Ami-chan too. Look at you. How old are you now? 16?”
Amanda laughed, and grinned back. “Just 15, Uncle Shigi,” she said as she came in for a hug. He hugged her back tightly.
“Oh Ami, to think I held you on your first day of life. How small you were back then. To see you now, almost a woman. Gods, I truly must be an old man.” Shigure said to her as they broke the embrace.
“Oh, Shigure, you were old when you met me as a fresh grad from Blue Spire.” Her mom said.
Shigure grasped at his chest, as if he had been punched. “You wound me, Diana. After I came all this way.”
“Oh, sure, like that could get to you after, what, ten divorces? Is that really the worst thing that’s been said about you?” her mom said, a playful smirk on her lips.
“Ah, 13, actually. Last one didn’t even last a month,” Shigure said, shrugging with a sheepish grin.
Her mom laughed, shaking her head. A tense pause set in between them as they fell silent. Amanda wanted to say something, but nothing quite felt right.
“How bad is this, Shigure?” Her mom asked.
His eyes said enough before he even replied. “Amphetrion is threatening to force a vote to push you out.”
“And wherever he leads, Mink, Farrow, and Takahashi follow… betrayed by Amphetrion of all people… He was our first investor, and now it’s come to this…” Her mother ran a hand through her honey blonde hair, growling in frustration as she stepped away.
Shigure looked down, then back to her. “The investors are worried that you are too attached to the project to make sound business decisions.”
“That’s a load of shit and they know it.” Amanda’s mom snapped. She turned back around, pointing a finger. Anger had twisted her elegant features, fire burning in her light brown eyes. “You know how important this is. You know what this means! Why don’t you just tell them? Make them understand!”
“I will, but you have to let me handle this. I think… you should visit the development team.” Shigure said quietly.
Her mother looked confused. “But they’re on Luna 3 why wo—” Then, realization fell into place, and she nodded. She said her next words in a resigned tone. “How long?”
“A week, maybe two. I can get this all to blow over, throw them a bone, make them feel like they won something. But they are agitated with you right now. Give them some space, and they’ll forget all about this hiccup. It’ll be back to business as usual. In the meantime, you going to see the team shows our direct support for the project, and an initiative to get it back on track.” Shigure said. Amanda had never seen this side of the man. His voice was so… cold, calculating. She’d always seen the jolly, if short-tempered businessman. This was something different.
“When do I leave?” Her mother’s eyes were hard. Amanda got the impression that this was almost like a parent giving orders to a child. She might have scoffed and fought at first, but she knew this wasn’t a request. Amanda’s brow furrowed in surprise and confusion. Was this how they really acted when she wasn’t around? Her mom was the Diana Marshall: an unstoppable genius who was building revolutionary machines in middle school. Yet here was a deference she had never seen in her with anyone else.
Shigure looked down, and tapped something on his wrist console, then flicked it in her mother’s direction. “I’ve got you booked on this flight back up to Citadel. You should be able to take the next Tsukuyomi flight from there.”
Her mother looked away. “Always prepared, huh?” she scoffed.
“Diana, if there was another way, I’d have already—”
“Save it. I know.” Her mother sighed. Shigure nodded in understanding.
“Can I come?” Amanda asked.
Her mom jumped like she hadn’t know someone was behind her. She looked back with an almost terrified expression. “I—don’t—”
“Actually, Diana, why not? I’m sure there’s—”
“No,” her mother said quietly, then much louder, “Amy… it just isn’t a good time. You’ve got school, an—”
“I can just remote in like I did during the trip to London. It’s not a big deal.” Amanda crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. She could tell how conflicted her mom was. If she could just…
Then she shook her head. “I don’t think you understand how tense things are right now. This is a really bad—”
“Bad time, sure. Mom, I’ve been standing here listening the whole time. I’m not deaf. I want to—”
“The answer is no, and that’s final,” her mother snapped. Amanda, and even Shigure recoiled at the forcefulness of her voice.
Her mother’s tense shoulders immediately sunk. She could tell her mom regretted what she said, or how she said it, but Amanda wasn’t going to let her off easy. “Fine. Run away, just like Dad. What do I care?”
“Amy, ple—”
“You’ve made your choice. You’ve always told me that once you’ve made a decision, you follow through on it till you see it done.” Amanda turned and took a couple steps away from the two. “Go. That’s all there is to it. I’ll be fine on my own.”
Her mother’s eyes lingered on Amanda for a moment, steeped in regret. Shigure said something Amanda couldn’t hear, which her mother turned to reply to. They spoke for a few more minutes just out of earshot.
Amanda looked away, trying to calm herself down, and watched as various drones swarmed around the reentry ship Shigure had come in on. They were maintenance craft, checking for imperfections in the hull and flight systems. She recognized it as a Marshall-Saito Comet series shuttle. It was just one of hundreds, thousands of designs her mother had made personally. “Diana Marshall, the Goddess Creating the Future” as the Hashishima Report had described her once. Even goddesses had their flaws.
The PA system chimed a sharp tone, and then the voice came back “Boarding is now available for Apollo Astravia Flight 87 to NBUSS Citadel. All passengers please board. The flight will be lifting off in five minutes.”
Her mother came and held her by the shoulders. “Amy, I’ll be back soon, I promise.”
Amanda could see tears welling in her mother’s eyes, something that shocked her. She had never seen her mom cry, even that time when she had dislocated her shoulder. Her heart quaked in her chest. Amanda nodded, feeling tears involuntarily budding in her eyes as well. Her throat was too tight to say anything.
Her mother smiled weakly, and removed her necklace with a silver crescent moon pendant, and placed it in Amanda’s right hand. “Have I ever not come back for this?”
Amanda shook her head. It was taking everything she had not to burst into tears.
She felt her mother’s warm lips touch her forehead, and a pair of strong arms come around her in embrace. Amanda hugged back. Suddenly all of her anger and confusion seemed to be irrelevant. She whispered, “I love you.”
Her mom whispered back “I love you too. Don’t burn the house down while I’m gone.”
“No promises,” Amanda said with a smirk.
The PA system chimed again with a reminder for passengers to board, and the two broke their embrace. Her mother walked up to Shigure, said something for a moment, to which he nodded in response, and she continued on across the bridge to the ship. Once at the hatch. She showed a flight attendant her wrist console, and she was welcomed inside.
Amanda walked over next to Shigure, who put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You know she didn’t want to go.”
“She’s going, that’s all there is to it...” Amanda said, somewhat surprised at her words.
She could hear Shigure sigh. He spoke in a subdued, reluctant tone. “I just hope you will understand one day.”
They watched as maybe three dozen or so people walked aboard the ship. A final boarding notification rang out, bringing a handful more. Then the hatch spun closed.
A klaxon wailed, and the bridge to the ship slid back into the tower. The arms brought the ship up as the gravity trauns flared into life, their teal glow slightly warping the air around them. The arms let go of the ship, and it effortlessly floated into the air on its own.
Amanda watched as the ship hurtled further up into the sky. The sky was dark, the sun barely a sliver on the horizon, but its light was enough to shine on the metallic hull of the ship. She saw the ship lurch to the side. She’d never seen… it didn’t look to be gaining altitude anymore. What was happening?
Suddenly, an explosion ripped through the ship, cleaving the sleek arrowhead in two, before the two halves were consumed in a massive burst of blue-white fire, and a visible ripple of force. Stunned for an instant, Amanda screamed at the sight, bringing her hands to her mouth.
She tried to call for her mom, but the concussive burst drowned her out, and she was thrown to the platform’s floor. A wave of heat ripped past her, like a rush of steam from a piping hot oven. The sound of continuing sympathetic detonations clawed at her ears.
Amanda felt something come over her, and she looked up to see Shigure hunched over her. He shouted into her ear over the deafening cacophony. “JUST STAY DOWN, I’LL KEEP YOU SAFE!”
Over his shoulder, she could see debris raining down from the explosion, bits of metal, glass, and… bodies... Plummeting back to the ground.
Amanda felt her vision begin to fade. Before she closed her eyes, she saw a dark figure with bright white tails streak across the sky.
Share this post