[color=cd7f32][h3][center]Hassan Ahmad[/center][/h3]

"Wasn't there in the original almost-conflict, but I was deployed in the subsequent waves to help keep the two forces separate. Made a few warnings myself a few time when their ships got too close. Never managed to see one of their Walkers though. Wonder what they were like..."[/color]

[color=44bb44][h3][center]Mikhail Brukhanov[/center][/h3]

[i]The humidity, oh my.[/i]

The thought flashed through his mind as Mikhail strolled the streets of Horizon. He knew it was Colony Day and that everyone had turned out for the parade, but large crowds made Mikhail uneasy, which was why he had elected to get a view of the parade from where he was: the uphill sector of the city, a relatively quiet area, mostly abandoned in the past decade as newer areas of the city were developed. In other cities such an area would be a refuge for the homeless and adrift, but here, in this vital city of the Federation, the city council had swept those off the streets some time ago.

Mikhail stopped as he crested a slope, resting on the shaded entrance of an apartment building. He could see the bustling city centre from here, no problem.

A sound from behind alerted him, and he turned to see a young child, clad in stained grey clothing and broken sandals, looking up at him. She had likely not seen strangers in these parts in a long time, Mikhail surmised, from the dark rimmed eyes that looked up at him curiously.

Before he could smile and greet them in the local tongue, they turned and ran back into the apartment building, towards the distant sound upstairs of an old woman hollering. Mikhail's smile faded.

[i]Even the cities of the future have their refuse.[/i][/color]