Horace was now meet the man's eyes with a fiery glare, one that made the crew step very carefully when they saw it. "A man cannot be a part of the crew unless he has been signed on. And since we have finished with the pleasantries." The Spiteful's first officer swung his gaze to the two waiting marines, causing both to them to flinch. "Get this man off the ship immediately," He snapped, turning his back to all three.
"But sir..." One of the man started. The man stumbled over his words as that glare swung back to him. "I mean... Sir? The ships already cast off."
Horace looked around. Indeed it they had cast off. The distance between the dock and the deck was slowly increasing, meaning that the only feasible way to remove Elric from the ship would be to throw him overboard. And while that was sorely tempting, he decided that it would be best not to. "Fine. Then you will detain Mr. Rolance below decks until further notice. He is only to be given a ration of bread and water twice daily until myself or the captain orders otherwise." This time Mr. Thomas held is ground, watching as the two marines approached Elric, grabbing his arms and preparing to haul him to one of the small prison cells below.
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William smiled kindly at Miss Whitmoore as she explained to him her circumstances. "Unfortunately I am as much in the dark about why they assigned you to my ship as you are. I imagine that it has to do with the fact that we were already planning on leaving port this day. My orders were to circumnavigate the globe, but with the recent crisis my ship and crew likely represented the fastest means of response. And if you are as good at your job as you say I imagine that it made sense to them to have you leave with the first available ship."
With Miss Whitmoore not taking the offered seat William felt slightly uncomfortable, he always did when sitting in the presence of a lady, but he decided it would be best to remain seated. It would give him a look and sense of authority, it would be know could to show anything that could be interpreted as weakness with such a new crew and an unknown factor like this bounty hunter. "While I can certainly understand the benefits of being a 'no rules' person with a profession such as your own, I will have to ask you to follow my orders. You will have some leeway due to your unique situation, but I do not tolerate insubordination under those in my command. You are free and welcome to ask questions and make suggestions, but when I give a direct order I must ask that you follow it, for your own benefit as well as for the benefit of the ship, crew and our mission. I will also remind you that my orders, duty, and honor require me to do everything in my power to bring the Princess back safely and I will appropriately deal with any who may try to stop me." Normally William would not have added that last bit, but with her nature of being a mercenary and bounty hunter he felt that it would be best if he did so. Beneath him he could feel the ship moving and slowly picking up speed as she left port and made her way out onto the open ocean. "Now, are there any question or concerns that I might be able to address at this time?"