At the Temple (2)

"Faster. There isn't much time left till midnight."

Ella pushed her crew to speed things up. The giant tool they were assembling pushed them to their limits. The complexity of the assembly caused even the Stellar Shield to sweat profusely.

She looked worried at the dark sky above. Her life depended on the success of this mission. The Merchant Council didn't like their prominent members choosing a side. They believed in neutrality. Most profits came from earnings from all sides of the conflict.

As a born and bred member of a prominent merchant family, she believed in the principle too. The issue was her opponent. She admitted her inferiority in front of Sterling. Heck, she even loved him. But she wished to be the top earner and that wasn't possible if she stuck to conventional means.