[SFAP] Chapter 14:10

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

“You know AIs really were not the best idea, never send a robot to do a man’s job”
“Humans would have never survived the acceleration needed to get them there in time.”  responded James “Hang on, you said you know what these things are, what are they?”
“Well I guess it’s no secret now, those battleships you’re up against were designed as a last resort to an invasion. Before the Habitat they’d have never got approved, but with most of the Earth population leaving, the environmental concerns about the fallout were lessened; especially for such a desperate measure as this.”
“What the hell are they?”
“Nuclear bomb driven warships, throw a bomb out the back and then ride the blast wave. It’s about the only way you can build very big ships, at least until we get these AM drive ships mass produced, and even then Orion beats it on so many fronts especially for a big heavy ship. Even the small ones of these could give the Freedom a run for its money”
“Yeah but we destroyed that.”
“Quite, but these have a few other tricks up their sleeve that the Freedom didn’t have”
“They’re ancient technology.” said James, his voice dismissive.
“So’s a spear, that doesn’t mean it can’t be deadly though.”