[I will respond to your shout with the full response, but for now:]Pulpatoon wrote:He cranes his neck to take in more of the scene. Officers can be notoriously short-sighted, but this level of obliviousness is outright farcical! Does he see anything that might have addled the officers' wits?
Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:11 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
Bridge
Studying the scene for a few minutes reveals the true cause of the inaction ... a struggle for command of the ship. Officers appeal to the Captain to issue orders and take action, but something has rendered the man incapable of action or decision. From his few babblings about "pirates" and his "logs" you sense a man that has broken inside. The Captain will be of no use in this crisis.
Nature abhors a vacuum and the remaining officers attempt to fill the command vacuum left by the Captain's departure in mind, if nor in body. Were this a Navy Ship, the chain of command would have been clear and adherence to it without question ... mutineers were still hung. Unfortunately, things are more complicated in the Merchant fleet.
The First Officer, who should be next in command, advocated attempting to rescue the ship by manning the pumps and remaining aboard the ship to defend it from both pirates and salvage claims. He was also in his mid-twenties and a nephew of the ship owner.
The Second Officer, who was nearly fifty years old, was arguing violently for the need to abandon ship.
The First Officer was threatening to charge anyone who abandoned their post with dereliction of duty. So the lesser officers remained paralyzed at their posts as the battle for command raged between the First and Second Officers ... and the Captain updated his Logs.