Possible acceleration systems

[The Architect]

The particles making up the solar wind move at about 400km/s

That's a major bummer indeed
 
There is the obvious reason why it wouldn't work I was missing, on top of what's already been said


I'll come back for the rest later, and on the other thread too where I had an interesting idea

For now I'm thinking that if I go the route of a "disposable" amat-fueled engine for the acceleration up to 0.1c, the engine could then be used to drop small stealth monitoring systems on or a little way off the trail behind the starship. They could all decelerate with magsail breaking while powering up to stay alive as long as possible and then stay afloat around 0.01c towards volumes the Cathedral (Orwellian AI core) wants explored or monitored. They would self-destruct if anything tries to catch them or when they power is depleted.