Xerxes fluff (additional concerns)

[toadchild]

There was a minor fix in d6d0deb that addressed a reference to clan Iron Helms.

Looking at the fluff entry in TRO: 3067 page 168, I'm concerned about a couple other sections.

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Though second-line designs often struggle to find purpose after the introduction of OmniFighter technology, the Xerxes has remained in active service, continuing to fill escort and close support roles well into the modern era.

I think this is trying to paraphrase this from the original:

After the dawn of the OmniFighter, these craft quickly became relegated to second-line status, acting as DropShip and WarShip escorts instead.

This is a bit nitpicky, but it feels like it's putting the cart before the horse a bit in the way it implies that it was already second-line before omnifighters came on the scene, which isn't how I read the TRO quote. It's also stated again a bit more clearly in the History section:

The rise of OmniFighter technology during the Clan Golden Century gradually pushed the Xerxes from front-line service into second-line assignments, primarily as DropShip and WarShip escorts.

Although it's still flipping "quickly" to "gradually", which is a significant distinction.

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The rise of OmniFighter technology during the Clan Golden Century gradually pushed the Xerxes from front-line service into second-line assignments, primarily as DropShip and WarShip escorts. Production at Kirin wound down as newer designs took priority, though the fighter remained common enough that it continued to see action across the Clan homeworlds. Several other production sites, including facilities operated by the Fire Mandrills and Ice Hellions on their respective homeworlds, produced the design throughout the Succession Wars period, ensuring it remained available to virtually all Clans.

There are references in the TRO to Fire Mandrills and Snow Ravens maintaining high concentrations of this fighter, but a) there's no mention of Ice Hellions in the TRO and b) there's no mention of historical manufacturing sites held by other clans. Not that there couldn't be, but I don't see where that's coming from. And if I check the Early Succession War availability on MUL, it lists Coyote, Fire Mandrill, Ice Hellion, and Smoke Jaguar. After that it's just HW Clan General / IS Clan General until the Jihad.

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From the final paragraph...

During the Wars of Reaving, the Hell's Horses transferred their Kirin holdings, including Orbital Works SJ-3, to Clan Coyote as part of their preparations for migrating to the Inner Sphere. This transfer gave the Coyotes a continuing production capability for the design well into the Dark Age period.

I'm unclear on the source for this, and am somewhat suspicious about anything purporting to have data on homeworld clans post-Reaving.

The Hell's Horses, meanwhile, established new production at Csesztreg Industriplex Delta in their Inner Sphere territory, allowing them to maintain domestic aerospace manufacturing capacity alongside the variants they developed during their years as the design's primary homeworld producer.

This part, however, is consistent with Objectives: The Clans page 8.

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