FSRB Chpt 259

==The Federated Suns Reborn - Chapter 259==
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May 3072Rebuilding
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===Rebuilding from losses taken from Rigil Kentares===
With at least some of the shock from the Battle of Rigil Kentares dissipating the Davion High Command continued to attempt to repair some of the damage caused and move on. Supply depots throughout the Federated Suns continue to be emptied and their contents dispatched to the damaged commands, while replacement transport assets are beginning to arrive. While the jumpships, assault dropships, cargo dropships, and fighter wings are often drawn either from independent wings and squadrons or second line formations every effort is made to at least keep the quality of the crews and equipment as high as possible. Although particularly in jumpships a lot of Monolith and Star Lords are having to be (temporarily) replaced with more numerous but less efficient Merchant and Invader class ships. 
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The most major sign that the AFFS is shaking off the dust from the losses is that they go back on the offensive within not only the Rigil Kentares system but also across the remainder of the WoB Protectorate. Although for the time being the 1st Kathil Uhlans and 22nd Avalon Hussars RCT are kept in reserve due to their losses. 
The Fleet also sees more and more damaged warships, jumpships, and dropships arriving at various repair facilities. Both damaged Avalon cruisers, the FSS Marie Davion and FSS William Davion are for instance sent to the secret but extensive repair facilities in Arcadia along with the damaged Fox IIs of the 3rd Corvette Flotilla. The FSS Diomede by comparison is sent directly to Tikonov where it replaces it's sister ship the newly repaired FSS Divine in the repair slip there. The Davion III destroyers FSS Daring and FSS Dryad head for Edwards and Novaya Zemlya respectively.
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===Surprise visitor on Thorin===
At the beginning of May, First Prince Victor Davion also makes a surprise visit to Thorin - responding to Duke Sakuma's secession from the Lyran Alliance and petition to join the Federated Suns. In private, discussions not only with the Duke but key persons from the world he attempts to gauge the sentiment. It is almost overwhelming in favor of the Duke's petition. At the same time, he gives official approval of Field Marshal Reinhart Steiner's arrest of Colonel O'Connell. The entirety of the 1st Revenant Guards RCT backed up by elements of the 1st Davion Guards RCT that the Prince brought himself march on Firebase Thunderhammer - with official approval from Mount Wotan on Tharkad. The 16th Lyran Regulars is ordered to stand down and submit by no less personage than Regent Adam Steiner himself. Colonel O'Connell attempts to flee with a handful of his officers, but the majority of the troops at the firebase detain him and those responsible quickly before the AFFS units even arrive. Newly appointed Colonel Wilson promises on behalf of the entirety of the unit they will cooperate fully with the investigation of Field Marshal Steiner.
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===Deep Space Patrol Exercise===
At the same time, the 2nd Patrol Squadron and the 3rd Division of the 9th Corvette Flotilla (Re) both are dispatched on a training exercise/deep patrol - Operation Argus. Along with them go the 21st and 34th Avalon Hussars RCT's and the newly hired Eridani Light Horse mercenary command along with both Clan Sun Jaguar WarShips as well as an unspecified number of Clan Nova Cat WarShips. At any normal time the dispatch of such a major task force would be cause for a great deal of notice. However given the recent major battle and the movement of various commands throughout the AFFS it is hardly commented on. Officially Operation Argus is a proposed "Clan Invasion" training scenario. With the listed troops and ships to head into the Deep Periphery and then attempt to return to FedSun's space unnoticed and "invade". As part of Operation Argus, the 1st Sherwood Foresters LCT and 9th Avalon Borderers LCT are dispatched on a hunt/seeker patrol to attempt to find the invaders. As well as to better map out the near-Periphery and conduct the usual anti-piracy sweeps.
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===Developments in Industry===
Not content with the expansions of shipyards and the new shipyard at El Dorado that is being planned additional plans are put in place to begin construction of two additional small scale jumpship yards. Verde's existing repair slip and dropship production facility makes it an obvious location for construction of Merchant class jumpships, while the nearby rich world of Minette is also named as the site of a new Merchant class production facility. Some consideration had been given to expanding production at Firgrove to include jumpship production but in the end it was decided to avoid drawing attention to the state of the art facilities being worked on there. 
One area that is also looked into is the expansion of production of the massive Colossus class dropships for ease of transportation of RCT scaled assets. Clyde shipyards at Firgrove are quietly ordered to double production of not only the Colossus, but also the Excalibur class ships built there with such orders felt to be low level enough not to constitute a risk to the other expansions there, while FedBoeing's facilities at Galax and Verde and Salvador Inc's facilities at Layover receiving similar orders to increase production, with Salvador also ordered to increase production of Vengeance class dropships to replace losses. 
At factories on Defiance, the new Hauberk battle armour plant goes operational at GM's factories there. At the same time the large scale production of Lorica pattern battle armour begins to shift over to the functionally identical Cavalier class suits. Demand from the ComGuard's is expected to begin drying up with the endgame in sight in their battle against the WOB - although Lorica production is intended to continue indefinitely for the time being. The Victoria facility likewise begins shifting production over to the Cavalier. Although the Victoria plant is expected to shift over entirely to Cavalier production by 3073. For the time being the Davion-Com and Achernar facilities producing the Lorica continue unchanged. 
On Kestrel, the New Independence line for the Victor's transitions over to the new omni variant. The upgrading team begins heading for Tikonov to begin upgrading the line there to the new standard. After which they are intended to begin work on the multiple lines of Victor production at Quentin. 
Johnston Industries see their Dagger-O production on Torrence expand to a full five lines in May. The company decides to expand their flagship plant on New Syrtis by two additional Daggers OmniFighters lines over the next year given the high demand which is only expected to increase given the losses at Rigil Kentares. 
On Deneb Kaitos, the Draconis March Heavy Industrial Mech Company see's their fourth line for the Kiso construction-based IndustrialMech go operational. Even with all four lines there and a similar number on Deiron demand is still outstripping production. Achernar contacts the company to discuss licensing the design but is firmly rebuffed. Instead the company take out further loans from the FedSuns Government and House Sandoval in order to add an additional two lines at each of their plants.
Blackwell put an additional Falcon-C line go operational in May. Unlike most of their production lines there is little issue with quality control with this line's first products. Largely because they are working to an existing template. At the instructions of New Avalon they begin a third production line for this versatile ClanTech battlemech.
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===Other Events in the Inner Sphere===
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====Ghost Bear / Republic Treaty====
The Free Rasalhague Republic formally accept the ten year non-aggression treaty with Clan Ghost Bear. Not that they have many other options. 
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====Clan Wolf - Jade Falcons "War"====
Within the Clan Occupation Zones, the Wolves and Jade Falcons engage in a series of running battles, before officially the Jade Falcons drive the Wolf saKhan and his "bandit caste dezgra followers" out of their Occupation Zone - right into the rear of the newly carved out Hell's Horses Occupation Zone. The saKhan hammers into the Hell's Horses rear areas and cuts the legs out of their plans to shift and attack into the gap that the traitor Katrina "Steiner" left with her betrayal. Clan Hell's Horses cancel their plans to drive deeper into the Wolf Clan territories and instead shift over to holding onto what they have. Ivan Kerensky's hard fighting troops are on the verge edge of combat effectiveness, but know that their Clan is counting on them to buy it time. Time that Khan Raddick is using to increase production of all manner of military equipment, repair damaged mech's, fighters and even warships, rush sibco's through their Trial's of Position and refill the ranks of the Touman. Every day that saKhan Kerensky can buy increases the chances that Clan Wolf will survive. 
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====Heroic Sacrifice on Gibson====
On Gibson the 2nd Shadow Division reappears, which it launches a full scale suicidal assault into the 1st Orloff Grenadiers and 8th Free Worlds Legionnaires. Quarter is neither asked nor given by either side. When the 2nd Shadow Division breaks out tactical nuclear ordinance, the FWLM responds with heavy orbital bombardments. Force Commander Hodzic of the 8th Legionnaires 3rd Battalion is posthumously granted admission to the Order of the Saber following his calling down of a full broadside from the frigate FWLS Gawain upon his own crippled and wrecked battlemech when his position was overrun by an enemy force of mixed battle armor and battlemechs. By the end of May the 2nd Shadow Division is officially declared wiped out. For the second time.
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