Jerry didn't respond. His fatigued brain wasn't up to any sort of critical thinking.
“You'll be deploying again soon, Mr. Harper. Just a heads-up. Ed Stevens will remain in command of Promontory's reorganized battle group. You'll be getting a few fresh ships, both Navy and Auxiliary. We're bolstering your infantry complement, too, just in case of a ground assault. Nothing's really off the table at this point, so I'd like this fleet to be prepared for as much as possible. I wish we could send some tanks with you, but the logistics don't work out at the moment. It'll be a sort of rag-tag battle group, but it should prove sufficient for a war patrol.”
“No tanks, sir? Not even a cluster? Just infantry for a potential ground assault?”
“Afraid so. We have other battle groups tasked with full-
