Talk:Miss Jane Bird/@comment-112206-20190109145934/@comment-3967731-20200214201419

It can be assumed or at least argued legally that by abandoning ship with needed provisions (they had taken food, supplies, and at least one shotgun) they endangered the crew. With the final lifeboat taken, the crew (as small as it was by that point) were effectively stranded as there were not enough people to effectively manage the Obra Dinn.

I'm not an historical or naval scholar, but I can say with reasonable certainty that in those days abandoning ship without the permission of a senior officer was a punishable offense. I'm also fairly certain that back then a ticket was tantamount to a contract whereby in exchange for safe passage, passengers were honorbound to obey the rules and commands of the captain and senior officers. Thus explains the ladies' fines.

As for Davey James, I have no answer. Perhaps he was a minor while Jane Bird was an adult (yet unmarried) woman. More than likely the real answer is that it was an oversight and all the desserters were meant to be fined. A last (unlikely) answer is that Eavans and James' commendable behavior during the monster attacks was deamed to have negated their "reckless" behavior for abandoning ship. Who can say but Lucas Pope?