A Cyber New Year

A Cyber New Year

Juliet pulled her bike up beside another parked right out on the deck, and when she hit the kill switch, the kickstand snapped out so she could relax for a minute, taking in the view. The house sat right on top of a skyscraper, a large, vaguely abstract cat with windows for eyes. The parking space was situated right between the ‘legs’ of the cat, before the double doors leading into the home.

The last glimmers of sunset painted the metal building in shades of ochre and crimson. It was beautiful, and the warm colors were at odds with the chilly air. She pulled off her helmet, shaking out her auburn hair, thankful for the synthetic tresses’ ability to maintain their style despite the punishment her helmet doled out. Setting it on her bike, she paused to look at herself in the mirrored visor. She wore a mostly-white sweater under her motorcycle jacket, glittering silvery threads interwoven with the soft fabric blend.

“You think it’s too much?” Juliet picked at her sweater, brushing freshly fallen snow off of it.
Angel’s reply was quick as though she’d anticipated the question, “Not at all! I think finding that sweater at Retro Luna was fate! Besides, it looks great on you.”

Juliet smiled, nodded, and got off her bike. “Thank you. You’re sure white is appropriate though? The jeans and the sweater aren’t too much?”

“It is supposed to represent new beginnings and the purity of the new year. Like snow! It’s perfectly suitable.”

She lifted her seat to expose the storage compartment beneath. Her Texan sat there, ready for violence, but this wasn’t that sort of visit. She picked up the bottle beside it, straightening the gilded ribbon she’d tied around the neck. “You’re sure brandy is appropriate?”

“It’s a warm, complex spirit that will go nicely after dinner.” Angel paused for a moment, then added, “It’s better to show up with something than empty-handed. Besides, stop overthinking everything. You’re here for dinner with friends.”

“Right.” Juliet shrugged out of her jacket, folded it into a ball, and stuffed it into the storage compartment. Closing it up, she grabbed the bottle and started toward the front door. She took two steps, paused, and frowned as she looked out over the deck again. “I keep getting this weird, I dunno, like, déjà vu feeling. Like we’re in a dream. You feel that?”

“Have we ever shared a dream before? If you’re dreaming, I must be a part of it.” Angel replied in a rather matter-of-fact tone.

“Yeah… yeah, good point.” Juliet shook her head, chuckling softly at the strangeness of it all. She was just visiting a friend; no need to overthink it. With the bottle tucked under one arm, she walked to the front door and rang the bell.

***
A jingle played from the front of the house. It was a simple little tune, one fitting of the holidays. It seemed the first guest had arrived.

“Wanna get that?” Lucy asked. She stood in front of the stove, one hand stirring a wooden spatula in a pot, and the other reaching out to slap the hand of an inquisitive kitten. Said kitten recoiled away from the plateful of cookies that’d just been pulled from the oven.

“I got it.” Cat stood up, stretched her back a bit until it popped, then took a moment to breathe it all in. The kitchen smelled fantastic. Lucy was still on her ‘learning how to cook’ kick, but she’d really pushed herself tonight.

There was a turkey in the oven, roasting away. Cranberry sauce sat on the stove, releasing a delicious scent. A large pot of mashed potatoes being worked over by a couple of the kittens sat off to the side. The New Year’s meal was slowly coming together.

Cat herself had tried to help, but had been shoo’d away when she dropped an entire salt shaker into the cranberry sauce. Lucy hadn’t been impressed. By some miracle, she wasn’t kicked out of the kitchen outright.

Shaking her head, she made her way through the house. The place still had a few decorating from the holidays yet to to be cleaned up. The kittens had put up colorful paper cutouts of trees and snowflakes here and there. The tree was even still up in the corner, which really didn’t vibe with the modern look of the rest of the house… but that was okay. There was always time to worry about cleaning up next year.

A bit of jank was acceptable when it came to spreading holiday cheer.

Cat found herself smiling crookedly as she made for the front door. A shadowy figure appeared through the glass, shifting from side to side. The first guest.

“Coming!” Cat called out before she reached the door and pulled it open. She blinked, then smiled wider at the woman on the other side. “Hey! Juliet! Come on in, get out of the cold. How are you doing?”

“Ah, hey there,” Juliet said. The woman, dressed in white slim-fitting jeans and an almost garish but kind of incredible white and silver sweater, stepped in. She rubbed her hands together for warmth even as she scanned the room with a ‘casual’ glance. Cat, of course, recognized the look. Anyone in the same field would.

“Snowing still?” Cat asked, casually revealing her hands. It was the small, easy movements that mattered when establishing a peaceful setting.

“Sorry. Yeah, it is.” She had something tucked under her arm. Just as Cat was about to ask her about it, Juliet seemed to remember and held out a fancy bottle of liquor bedecked with a red-and-gold ribbon.

“Oh! Um, thanks!” Cat took the offered bottle with a gentle smile. She watched as Juliet brushed snow off her sweater. “No coat?”

“Left it with my bike.” Juliet shrugged then stepped a little further into the room. “Wow, it smells really good in here.”

“That’s Lucy. She’s in the kitchen,” Cat replied. She couldn’t hide the bit of pride in her voice. “So, how was the road? Did you come in from Jupiter this time, or was it the Moon?”

“Oh, um, yeah. I was in Luna City earlier today doing some last minute, uh, shopping.” She paused, lips moving very slightly for a moment before she smiled slyly at Cat. “Angel says hi, by the way.”

“Oh, your AI friend? Hello, Angel. If you want, you can pay with Myalis. I think she set up her own New Years-themed server for all of the AI.” Cat waved her hand.

“All of them? There are others?”

“Just Angel and Myalis? It depends if-” Cat paused as the doorbell rang again. “Ah, more guests!”

She opened the door to reveal a young woman standing there, hands pressed together with nervousness written all across her face. She looked like a cop. Her eyes, one chrome and one not, snaked around the room as she checked subconsciously for threats. “Hi?”

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“Hey! Shiro, right? Come on in, get out of the cold,” Cat said as she moved aside. “Blue Crusade gear, eh?”

Shiro stepped in, nodding her thanks. “Check… you know how it is with unreliable bosses. Ran into the Inquisitor on the way over and got dragged around. Uh- sorry I’m late.”

“Nothing to apologize for.” Cat waved off the apology. “We haven’t even started sitting down yet.”

Shiro looked around, pausing at the sight of the bottle in Cat’s grasp. “Oh, uh, right. Here.” The young woman pulled a small hockey puck looking device from her coat pocket.

“What’s this?” Cat grabbed it.