by Darksaviour
When earth’s resource depletion reaches a crisis point, interstellar expansion becomes the only solution. However, long-duration space travel remains unproven, fraught with unknown radiation, atmospheric hazards, and life-support failures. Rather than risking priceless scientists or astronauts, the coalition government launches Project Horizon: a fleet of colony ships crewed entirely by death row prisoners. In exchange for their participation, the inmates are promised commuted sentences or eventual freedom if they manage to survive the voyage and successfully establish a foothold on Planet Aethelgard. Told through the perspective of a former military engineer convicted of treason, the narrative follows the fraught dynamics aboard the Tartarus. Tensions run high as rival convict factions vie for control, while a ruthless automated warden system keeps them in check through lethal disciplinary implants. As the ship approaches Aethelgard, the crew discovers that the primary danger isn't the treacherous space flight or their fellow prisoners, but the secrets hidden by their creators. The planet's brutal ecosystem is far more hostile than reported, and the automated protocol dictates that the colony is meant to be a test batch—one never intended to be rescued or allowed to return home. To survive both the alien landscape and the protocol designed to clean up the evidence, the inmates must put aside their criminal pasts and unite to outsmart the system that condemned them.
