The plan is to use one lightly armed ship; the sea route has not yet been decided.

There had been five fully armed ships at the outset.

"But our guns aren't good enough to fight off an armed ship!"

For each two armed ships it sent, one was kept on Earth.

If so, it's the first armed ship that ever did.

And even from some distance, he could see that it was an armed ship.

The trouble was, far as he knew, no other armed ship had Escaped, ever.

So far as we know, you command the only armed ship ever to Escape.

Here is an intelligent being that has taken hostile action against an armed ship.

You'll notice, out there, two armed ships and four not.