Chapter 1713: He said the magic words
The silence that fell in the room could not have been called heavy. Instead, it was awkward and full of confusion.
"Are we not a crew already?" Ollie asked. "Did I give up my position as first mate to a fake crew?"
The Shadow Talon was absolutely furious, though that may have more to do with it losing to Tiny-Sparkles when it tried to retake the position as first mate, inspired by Pebbles’ stupidity. It couldn’t be helped, the first mate needed to be strong to handle issues in the captain’s absence. As prone to misadventures as Jack was, compared to his crew, he really was the responsible one.
"We are a crew, and a real one at that," said Jack, noticing the confused expressions. "But a lot of you just joined along the way, whether it was out of necessity or a matter of convenience, and it was never an issue. Yet in front of us now is a delicate and dangerous situation. I want you to consider carefully whether you want to stay with the crew, or depart. I won’t hold it against you if you want to leave, and I’ll treat you like family if you stay. For those that remain, we will make a pact to protect one another, keep each other’s secrets, and help each other in their time of need.
"By the way, I’m just going to throw this out there for those of you interested, yes our crew will eventually get a name, but I refuse all names like Tiny Terrors, or basically anything that is a play on size. Be more original, think of something new."
It was obvious at a glance that the crew all wanted to answer immediately, but Jack told them to think about it carefully. This was not a simple decision. So, against their own will, they all sat there brooding.
Jack was about to explain that they didn’t need to sit right there and could take a couple of days, but unexpectedly, Longbeard spoke up about something unexpected.
"The captain does raise a good point," he said, his voice heavy and reluctant. "It might be a good idea to split up while the times are good. Some of us may... may have a past that could catch up with us, and then the rest would suffer because of that as well."
This time, a heavy silence fell upon the room as they all realized that Longbeard might be running from something, and was afraid of implicating the others.