The City of Clouds

By J.B. Williams and Stephen Zimmer

Robin Alia Brook is considered a loser. She works at customer service for one of the largest companies in humanity's interstellar empire, gets stood up on dates, and accidentally kills people. Then when her ex-online boyfriend gives her the winning vacation lottery ticket to the famed habitat, The City of Clouds, she reluctant

• Language: English
• Publisher: JB Writes Stuff
• Release date: Dec 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798989513307

J.B. Williams

One day I was born and decided to just roll with it.

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J.B. Williams

The City of Clouds

First published by JB Writes Stuff 2023

Copyright © 2023 by J.B. Williams

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

J.B. Williams asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

First edition

ISBN: 979-8-9895133-0-7

Editing by Stephen Zimmer

This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

Find out more at reedsy.com

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Contents

1. Robin Alia Brook

2. One Year Later

3. Sparrow’s Flock

4. Lift Off

5. Welcome To The City of Clouds

6. March 24th

7. A Murder of Pirates

8. Captured

9. Engage

10. In the Vents

11. Bickering Couple

12. Battle in the D-Cloud

13. The Engine Cloud

14. The Communications Cloud

15. Surprise!

16. Good Night, Little Bird

17. Punishment

18. One Less Bird

19. The Last of the Murder

20. The Unforgivable Sin

21. Sparrow Must Die

22. The End

Notes on the Prospect Sector

About the Author

Also by J.B. Williams

1

Robin Alia Brook

Planet: ANDROMEDA

System: FURIES

Sector: PROSPECT

Date: 27-JAN-2429

Robin Alia Brook’s first requested day off in three years has been shot in the face. It is not because she was at work. She did get a message asking if she can come into work to cover a shift and get a different day off in exchange, but she politely declined. The reason is because she is five hundred feet below the surface of the Cepheus Sea, in Lower Cepheus City, dining at a restaurant called Poseidon.

Or she would be dining if her date would show up. She is currently obtaining nutrients through Poseidon’s generous supply of free lemon water and cheesy garlic biscuits.

Robin watches the finely dressed waiters lead upper class patrons to their tables, which have little lamps hanging over them, providing some light in the dim eatery. Nearby, a bald man dressed in the worst striped-and-spotted clothes she has ever seen dines alone with his notebook.

Robin fights back the creeping tears and holds her cup tight as she sips her water, watching like an abandoned puppy as the people pass her. A school of fish swim by Robin’s window, and light chatter and giggles float through the filtered air.

A door opens. Robin perks, and a new couple walks in and talks to a waiter, who grabs a pair of menus and escorts them to their destination.

Robin puts her water down and lays her head on the table, staring at a model of a sail ship traversing the high seas. While the details are phenomenal, Robin can’t help but wonder why she went through so much trouble just to be stood up. She could have gotten holiday pay instead of being miserable for free. She even came as her very best.

Her fair skin has been cleaned with the finest charcoal soap. Her long, raven hair has been cleansed and softened with the best shampoo and conditioner at her disposal. She put eye drops in her chocolate-colored eyes to clean out any impurities that might have found their way in; and she has made sure her thick lashes are uniform.

Robin is also wearing high-end, finely stitched, black, finger-less gloves (covered by plastic gloves to protect the fabric), a high-quality, black long-jacket with a wide collar, ivory buttons on the cuffs, a smooth, white dress shirt, a black tie with a white band running down its middle, and matching black pants and polished shoes. The interior of the jacket is purple and padded, decorated with thin white stitches to make squares, and it has an interior pocket!

Not that anybody will notice, but she likes it. And since the suit is tailored to her slender, graceful build, it fits her in all the right ways. Chest, hips, butt, arms, legs, all of it pronounced with the outfit; and getting it that way wasn’t cheap, either.

But she went through all the expenses and troubles for this combination of cleanliness and tailored suit just to be stood up, like a sick joke.

The door opens again, spilling light into the room, and Robin’s head lifts, just for it to slam on the table again when more strangers walk in. Then, the waiter that has been keeping her hydrated approaches the table with a pitcher of water and small plate of biscuits.

Ma’am, you’ve been here for three hours… I don’t think your date is showing up. You probably got stood up and should go home, says the waiter.

That’s rude customer service, says Robin, without taking her head off the table. She pushes the empty cup to the waiter. Fill it, please.

You do know we might have to charge you a little bit for all the free water and biscuits you consumed, right?

I don’t care.

Alright, suit yourself.

The waiter sets the plate down and fills Robin’s cup. After he leaves, Robin sluggishly pulls out her phone and turns on a messaging app. There is her face, smiling brightly next to a rising sun and the expansive sea. Below her is a sandy haired man with a big bear and sunglasses, with a dog. She begins typing with shaky fingers, and her wet eyes drift between her phone and the door.

Robin: So… about meeting me at Poseidon…

Robin sends the message, and immediately after…

Cliff: Yeah?

Robin frowns and types faster.

Robin: I’m here and waiting for you.

Cliff: Wait… Right now?

Robin: Yes.

Cliff: Right now right now?

Robin: YES!

Five minutes later.

Cliff: No, you aren’t.

Robin growls, snaps a picture of herself while fish swim by her window, and sends her bloodshot eyes and twisted frown to Cliff.

Nothing happens.

Robin throws her phone down and drinks her water. Her hand grips the cup tight, her foot rapidly taps the floor, shaking her chair and table, and passing waiters give her worried looks. She hasn’t even touched her biscuits.

Ten minutes later, she gets a response from Cliff.

Cliff: Oh shit… Yeah, this is awkward. I thought you were fake.

Robin is drinking again when she sees this, and she slams her cup down, growling, thus drawing all eyes to her, and her hands tremble as she types.

Robin: FKAE!

Robin: *FAKE!?*

Robin: Hw do you thkin Im fake!

Robin: *Why did you think I’m fake!*

Robin: *I was fake?*

Cliff: I mean, I thought you were a chat-bot because dating apps are bot farms that siphon information and money, and I was just talking to you because I was bored. Even though I thought you were a bot.

Robin: OMG

Cliff: But now that I know you’re real, we can schedule something. Diner and a movie? Walk on the beach? I’m on Oros right now, so I’m a little far from Andromeda, but I can request a job over there again. Me and my boss are cool with each other, so it won’t be too hard to come over.

Robin jumps up and waves at her waiter, face hot and wet from tears.

Waiter! Bill me! yells Robin.

The waiter nods and hurries away for his task, and Robin resumes typing.

Robin: It’s *dinner* and a movie. And no. You’re mean! I’m real! I’ve always been real, and you’re mean and a jerk! BLOCKED!

And keeping to her word, Robin blocks Cliff, grabs her purse, pays for her excessive free water and biscuits, and storms out of the restaurant. As she leaves, the patrons and waiters stare at her.

Robin marches out, entering a tunnel with bright lights and pillars with maps and advertisements, and she makes haste to an elevator station. Her vision is blurry, her chest is heavy, and her eyes are burning. She can barely see or think. As she rapidly hits the elevator button, she sniffles and quivers, and when the door opens, she slides inside and hits the close button just as fast. She thinks she sees someone running to the elevator, but the door closes before she can fully register what she is seeing.

Not that she cares, anyway. She just wants to be alone.

The doors click and a bell dings as a sign lights up, instructing Robin to sit down and buckle up. So, she does exactly that, and her foot rapidly taps the floor as the elevator pod shifts and hums while the interior is bathed in red.

Robin wipes her eyes, smearing her makeup, and bangs her head on the elevator pod’s wall. Next to her is a sign advertising a habitat where various orbs surrounding a large orb, all connected by rings and tubes, float above a gas giant with what Robin can only assume are a husband and wife, smiling brightly and pointing at it. Below it are some blocky words.

The Future Is in the City of Clouds! Sign Up and Win a Vacation Lottery Today!

On the other side is a wanted poster for information about a group called Crow’s Murder, and with it, a multitude of small profile shots surrounding a dark-skinned man with braided hair, light brown eyes, and black feathers tattooed on his cheeks. His name is Crow Magnolia, with a reward of eight hundred million fedos. Everyone else is named with significantly smaller rewards, but Robin isn’t paying any attention to them.

The only reason she noticed Crow’s Murder was because his picture was staring at her when she entered. But that said, she doesn’t care about Crow Magnolia, his pirates, or about The City of Clouds, or anybody or anything. She just wants to go home.

Ding!

The noise makes Robin jump in her seat. The lights change to green, and the sign gives permission to unbuckle. Robin unbuckles, and the door slides open, revealing heavy rain pouring on a group of people waiting outside, under a nearby gazebo.

Robin exits, the pedestrians enter, and Robin walks down the sidewalk of Upper Cepheus City. Heavy rain soaks her body and pushes her hair in front of her eyes. Lightning flashes in the distance. Rain crashes down on the pavement of the urban jungle of twisting metal and glass monoliths, and Robin ascends a flight of stairs that are next to a monorail track. She grips the rail tight as she takes careful steps up. The railing has warning signs and messages of replacement glass panels coming soon.

When Robin reaches the top of the stairs, a man wearing a hoodie and a mask suddenly jumps out from behind one of the raised concrete beds and grabs Robin’s purse, while aiming a gun at her face.

GIVE ME YOUR PURSE! yells the criminal.

Robin shrieks and recoils, tugging the criminal with her. They both slip on the stairs, and Robin manages to grab the handrail while the criminal tumbles down the stairs.

Robin cringes as she watches him fall, and he bounces off the stairway wall and crashes through a glass panel of the railing. He screams as he falls with the broken glass and lands on the monorail track below, snapping his neck and spine.

Robin crawls to the edge and peeks over, gasping from horror as the rail’s electric currents surge through the criminal’s body and ignite him, turning his body into a torch in seconds.

Then, a monorail runs over the charred body. Robin recoils and presses herself against the stair wall and covering her mouth as her wide, wet eyes stare ahead.

Sirens wail in the distance, and Robin’s drop while she stares ahead, in a state of shock, unable to move, hardly able to breathe, and her heart beating fast enough to tear itself apart.

Red and blue lights approach, and Robin leans forward and grips her head tight with tears dripping into the flood cascading down the stairs.

Oh dear… I’m in so much trouble, says Robin.

2

One Year Later

Robin is lying flat on her bed, back sinking into the mattress, hands folded on her stomach, and her wide dead eyes staring at the ceiling. She is still dressed fabulously and is cleaned to optimal standards, but after a long day of work, she has decided it is best to lay in bed. And with how still she is, it would be no one’s fault to think she was dead.

On her nightstand is her phone, with her Arx Corporation employee badge next to it. Her smiling face in the badge photo is a stark contrast to the gloomy, disheveled look Robin currently has.

Her phone is blinking with a green rotary phone icon shaking, but it is silent, and Robin’s eyes don’t register the green light flashing on the wall.

The phone icon disappears after ten seconds, and a wall of notifications takes up her screen. Mostly from dating apps, which she has no idea why she still uses them, but there are other notifications from her emails, voice mails, text messages, news updates about pirate attacks, and the weather.

The weather app is kind enough to let her know that Cepheus City is having heavy rain, even though Robin already knew that because of the storm beating against her window. Just like last year, when the criminal fell on the tracks, snapped his bones, ignited, and then got run over by the monorail train.

She can still see his smoldering flesh and hear his bones being crushed and can smell the burnt blood and muscle. The police and people at work tried to comfort her and tell her that what happened was not her fault, but they are wrong.

If she had just let the guy take her purse, then he would still be alive, and she wouldn’t have nightmares. The worst that would have happened was she would have had to close her credit and debit cards and have her ID number and the accounts tied to it frozen, until the situation was resolved. No death, no nightmares, and no mess for the coroner, the police, or the city to take care of.

A sudden knocking on the door breaks Robin’s thoughts, but she remains motionless. The knocking returns, and without looking, Robin grabs her phone and stiffly uses an app to check who is outside.

It is her parents. The middle-aged couple look nothing like Robin, with one being an Asian woman with bleached-blonde hair and pale skin; the other is a muscular white man with brownish-gray hair cut down to the fuzz, and his skin is tanned from the long hours outside. She never thought much about their differing looks, but shortly after her thirteenth birthday they admitted she was adopted, and they told her other things that she really did not like; but she still loves them, so she remotely unlocks the door to let them in.

The door clicks, light from the hallway seeps into the studio apartment, and her adopted parents walk in. Her father is Brent Brook, a longtime loyal officer of the Cepheus City Police Department. Her mother is Emerald Brook, an accountant.

Robin are you okay? Why is it so dark in here? asks Emerald.

I just got back from work and didn’t feel like seeing anything, says Robin without looking at her.

Brent turns on the lights, burning Robin’s eyes. She grabs one of her pillows and puts it over her face to shield herself from the wrath of the nine-hundred-lumen light bulbs, and Brent walks to Robin’s nightstand and slaps an envelope on it.

Well, Robin, you might want to see the mail that came to our apartment instead of yours, says Brent.

Robin keeps the pillow over her face and her mouth shut, but Brent yanks it off and drops the envelope on her face. Robin reluctantly sits up and studies the paper, seeing a note from Cliff Birdie.

Robin is unenthusiastic about opening it, and she finds a typed note:

Dear Robin,

Sorry for how things ended. I know it has been a year, but I never really forgave myself for what happened. That is, until now. Enclosed is a winning vacation lottery ticket for The City of Clouds. Originally, I was going to go, but I couldn’t help but think about how badly things ended, so I’m giving this to you instead. All the transfer stuff has been taken care of. Enjoy your time.

-Cliff Birdie

Robin drops the letter (and the ticket behind it) on her lap and stares off into space. Her adopted parents stare at her quietly, and the void in her eyes remains, while the rain beats against the windows.

Is everything okay? asks Emerald.

"I just got a winning vacation lottery ticket to The City of Clouds," says Robin blankly.

I didn’t know you signed up for the vacation lottery. That’s great that you won! says Emerald.

But I didn’t sign up for a ticket. My ex did. He just gave it to me. But I don’t want to go on vacation anyway. I just want to stay in here and stare at my ceiling, says Robin.

"Why? It’s The City of Clouds! A jewel of the Prospect Sector and the Furies System!" says Emerald.

I just don’t want to go, says