[SFAP] Chapter 8:5

This is the fifth section of the eighth chapter of Sonnets from a Proton. The novel starts here.
The next section is here.

“You’re going to love this”
“What?” asked Jane
“They’re not letting you come” replied Laurence
“Let me guess, my age.”
“Yep. They believe you won’t be able to support the weight of their acceleration in battle”
“Sounds about right.”
“I thought you’d be more annoyed by this than that” commented Laurence
“Not really, I guess you’re going though.”
“Oh they insisted on that, doesn’t seem to matter I have only ever seen the drive through the window hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, the fact that I did some maths a decade or so ago makes me the best man to keep them up and running in battle conditions”
“They’re not giving them a proper shakedown trial then?”
“This is the shakedown.”
“You’re not keen then?”
“Why should I be? Dragging me into their squabbles, still it should be interesting.”
“Don’t worry I’ll still be here for you to talk to.”
“Light speed lag is a bitch though. Anyway I’d better get going we’ll be in shuttle range of the Freedom soon and I need to get up to speed.”
“That’s what they called it?” asked Jane incredulously
“Seems like it. Maybe I should have petitioned them to call it the Liberator or some other such thing, I’m sure they’d not get the irony of that.”