This one was harder than I expected to write. It took all manner of a lot of time, and I only figured out what to call it about four minutes ago. This sets up the Silverhold story arc, which focuses on Sylvia's past, and reveals why Jacob didn't get dead when he faced down the Operatives.

There's more'n a little exposition in this chapter, which means I must be a bit more like Joss than I realized. He did say he was a fan of exposition. Jacob just keeps getting more and more dangerous and dark with every passing episode, as the Alliance comes closer and closer to taking that which he holds dear. As well, the last of the Reaver Flashbacks is in this episode, so there you go.

Serenity is Joss. Legacy is me. Dong ma?

Feedback: Yes!

Veiled in Midnight

How was he going to tell her? He pondered this question again as his wrist twisted and the sound produced brought him a moment of joy which faded almost instantly. It used to last. Used to. Now, though, things were very dark for him. Very shaky. So he engaged in his hobbies and he waited for some clue as to who would do this to his family. First his daughter betrays him, walks away from the family business, and now this. The hobby wasn't distracting him as he thought it would. As he hoped it would.

How would he tell his wife? She always loved him the best. The apple of her eye. She'd loved him almost as much as her nephew. That one had betrayed him also, thought he could sully his reputation. Gregor underestimated the importance of a man's reputation. Blood is not so thick. He had to be strong. Be more than gossip. He had to be solid. And he wanted to know who did this thing to him.

Adelai Niska was angry.

That wasn't the first time he'd been angry in his life. He did become angry just about any time somebody thought they could sully his reputation. He tapped the razor edge of his dagger against the man's chest. "I am sorry," he said. "My heart, it is not here today."

"Really?" The man said, hopefully.

"Too many things on my mind. This is not wo