In the hectic days leading up to and following the Hyperion's recommissioning he had had less time than he would have wished to get to know his new officers. The three junior ones seemed keen enough but were very young and with little experience. Their uniforms shone with newness and their faces were as pink as any midshipman's. The second lieutenant, however, a man named Stepkyne, had qualified as a master's mate aboard an East Indiaman and had found his way in the King's service when appointed to a cumbersome storeship. It must have cost him much hard work and bitter experience to attain commissioned rank, and as he stood swaying easily on the Hyperion's deck Bolitho could see the tense lines around his mouth, an expression bordering on resentment as he glanced sideways at young Inch.

Beyond the lieutenants were the ship's six midshipmen, again very young, but obviously excited at the prospect of what was for most of them a first voyage.

Captain Dawson stood with his marines, heavy-jowled and unsmiling, with his lieutenant, Hicks, an incredibly smart but vacant-looking young man, by his elbow. Bolitho bit his lip. The marines were excellent for forays ashore or the cut and thrust of close action. But they offered little help in the matters of driving a ship of the line under full sail.

He felt the wind swirling damply around his legs and added shortly, "That will be all for now." He nodded to Inch. "Prepare to get the ship under way, if you please."

Bolitho caught sight of Joshua Tomlin, the boatswain, by the entry port, his sharp eyes moving quickly across the men nearest him. Tomlin was another of the original company, a squat, massively built man, almost as broad as he was tall, and extremely hairy. When he smiled, which was often, he displayed a fearsome and maniac grin, having had both front teeth knocked out by a falling block many years before. He was known for his patience and his rough good humour, and Bolitho had never yet seen him strike a man in anger, which was unusual in his trade. But it would take more than his store of tolerance to remain calm with his new collection of hands, he decided grimly.