The Orsini siblings left the Vale Compound furious.
Their transport was attacked mid-air.
Not by rebels.
By engineered interference.
Helix frequency sabotage.
The craft destabilized.
Plunged toward the city core.
Vesper was in the east tower when alarms blared.
She saw the descent trajectory.
She ran.
Leapt from the balcony.
Softened.
Fell through air.
Then hardened mid-plunge.
Her mass increased exponentially.
She hit the failing craft from below.
Stopped it.
For half a second.
The hull tore.
Flames erupted.
Aurelio and Valentina were trapped inside.
Vesper forced density into maximum.
Her skin turned metallic black.
She tore open the hull with hardened fingers.
Flames licked across her shoulders.
Valentina was unconscious.
Aurelio shielded her.
The engine core ruptured.
Vesper wrapped both siblings in her body.
Hardened completely.
The craft exploded around them.
Shockwave rippled across Helix Prime.
When the smoke cleared—
She stood at the impact crater.
Cracked pavement beneath her feet.
Orsini heirs alive in her arms.
Aurelio stared at her.
Breathless.
"You saved us."
She softened slowly.
Burns faded as density normalized.
"You're politically inconvenient dead," she repeated softly.
But this time—
Her voice shook.
Valentina reached for her hand.
"Thank you."
Across the skyline—
Kael watched the smoke rise.
And for the first time—
He realized he may have unleashed something far larger than sibling rivalry.