Clouds of Stone

by Nidders58

In the weeks before the False Shepard's arrival in Columbia, Esther Mailer of the Columbian Authority is given a highly sensitive case that could shake up the very foundations of the City. (Written about a character you briefly meet in-game, this story explores the perspective of Comstock's Ideology mixed with ordinary life in Pre-Booker Columbia)

Clouds of Stone – A Bioshock Account

Chapter 1 – A New Day

'The sun shone through the clouds like diamonds, signalling the morning to begin. A bright violet glow lit up the dusty windows of the shops and homes as people began to wake and acknowledge the day ahead. In a matter of an hour the street was alive with a lazy but calming bustle as people walked off to their respected shops and businesses along the cobbled road, smiles and greetings abundant on everyones face. And on that seemingly uneventful day, 7 miles up in the clouds, the cogs of Columbia began to turn.

Esther awoke and rose from her bed. Pulling open her curtains, she observed the innocent goings on in the streets below. "What a world we live in" she thought "There's plenty of room on the ground and what do we do? Build a city in the sky." Esther was not one to question the glory of Columbia. The Prophet had forbidden such notions and she was as devoted as any god fearing citizen to the cause. Having ascended from the Sodom below as a girl she had been exposed all her life to the words of Comstock, having joined the police division and risen through the ranks to a Lieutenant of the Columbian authority, no easy feat for a young woman in a male dominated city. But she loved it. The city was truly paradise and she had committed herself to protecting its name and people.

Having reflected on this, Esther went about getting dressed for work. It was a low point in the year with little reports of crime. But she was cautions as things, in her mind, only had a chance of getting worse. Putting on her uniform she glanced at her body in the mirror. Her tall slim physique and dark brunette hair would have been enough to land her any courter in the city. But with her was a sense of independence and a knack for getting her hands dirty which led her to the Police and eventually the Founders in the first place. "How far I have come" she thought, adjusting her bra and slipping on her shirt, the silver emblem of the Founders sword gleamed in the sunlight, a glowing symbol of the Justice arm in Columbia.

The doorbell rang jus as she was slipping on her gun belt. "Siobhan!" she shouted. There was a brief silence followed by the footsteps of her housemaid crossing the hall to the front door. It wasn't uncommon for white Citizens to have servants, but Siobhan was a special case for Esther. She had picked her up during a case in shanty town four years ago and taken her in when she was fourteen. "Such innocence" she thought. Although she hadn't officially adopted her, as it would have been frowned upon since she was an Irish immigrant, Esther treated her as her own and in they lived a fairly pleasant domestic life together, albeit out of the public eye.

As Esther was exiting to the landing in walked Bobby Bristow, Esther's partner at the station "Morning Bob" Called Esther and he returned the greeting, hanging up his brown bowler hat and coat on the stand by the door."There's Coffee in the sitting room if you care to take some Miss" Called Siobhan as she exited the Hallway to the kitchen. "That Girls accent is getting better and better, you could hardly guess she's Irish" Bob mused. He was a well built man heading past his late forties with hard facial features and a bushy moustache to go with it, having served in the US army when he was young he had seen more than most but came with a calm humorous side that Esther admired. "Bob you're not in uniform today, are you ill?" Esther said, bob was a veteran of the Columbian Authority and rarely took a sick day. "I'll get to that in a minute LT, I'm actually here to brief you, Shall we sit?" he said walking into the sitting room and pouring coffee into two mugs, handing one to Esther who apprehensively took it but refrained from sitting, intent to hear more. "Is it a new case, we've been dry for months?". "Sort off" Bob explained, taking a sip. "I got a call when I got to the office from the Top. They want all hands on deck in our district for a special case over in Emporia. Albert Fink, the composer, needs us for an investigation but won't tell us what for until we're there" "Why so low profile?" Esther asked indicating to bobs clothing. "That's where it gets interesting, HQ says it's got to be kept hush-hush and that the public can't know, if word gets to the streets then we get chewed out big time."

After changing into some more low key clothing, Esther left the house with Bob and started walking to Emporia. They stopped just before the bridge leading into the district when Esther looked over the ledge down to the surface below. "We must be passing over the West Coast" she thought. The laughter of children caught her attention and she observed two young boys throwing stones over the side, laughing at the prospect that they might hit someone down below. "I think it's gonna storm later" said Bob, drawing Esther's attention away from the boys. "Do you think they will change course to avoid it?" she replied. "I don't think so, this one looks pretty big. Must be a hurricane, they'll probably put out an alert later tonight." They both looked into the Sky's Horizon at the growing tempest that would soon hit the city. A distant roar of thunder echoed through the city streets, making the air seem calm and deadly, giving Esther a sense of foreboding.