Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 1.5: Taiyou-Shi, City of the Sun

Gustav furrowed his brow. "That is odd. No one ever sees members of the Executive branch. Doesn't the Executive branch approve laws enacted by the Legislative branch? Something's bothering me here."

"Keep going, Gustav, you're going to hit it just now."

"Wait...since they're the ones approving the laws, I thought there was a counter-balance that forbade them from participating in everyday affairs."

Fala nodded at Gustav grimly. "Exactly right, Gustav. Zentar's and Felicia's presence here isn't only uncalled for, it's a complete violation of Taiyou-Shi law."

Fala strained to look, trying to read their lips. "What's Zentar saying?" she asked. "Did he say 'Project Maiden'?" She looked around at the other screens. "It looks like that camera is in one of the sections we passed through earlier." Fala grabbed Gustav by the hand. "The measurements can wait. Let's go see what they're talking about."

The pair exited the room and retraced their steps hurriedly. Fala led, almost dragging Gustav all the way through. "Fala...let's be careful!" Gustav said in protest.

Fala's heart was racing, she hoped they would make it in time to catch the conversation. They found the section just past two rows of Dark-Suit containment units. They hugged the wall and stayed hidden in the relative darkness.

"Output from Project Maiden proceeds well. We can continue to meet demand in this way, but continued experiments with the output may have long-lasting effects on the source..."

A woman's voice interjected. "The procedure is running too slowly. Doesn't Treaty 7745 allow for a different process?"

Fala gasped suddenly, her gray eyes widened in terror. Startled, Gustav turned to face Fala. "Fala...what happened?"

Fala pulled Gustav's arm, this time in the opposite direction. "Gustav, we need to get out of here as quickly as we can."

"What about the measurements?" he whispered back.

"We don't need them anymore."

"What?"

Fala was moving quickly, She began to break out into a sprint. "Gustav! This is very bad, we really need to get out of here right now!"

"Fala, what is Treaty 7745?"