Pearce attempts to return to Britain and to Emily, who is pregnant with his child. Admiral Hotham and Ralph Barclay both retain the power to obstruct him, while the law allows Barclay to claim legal fatherhood and control Emily’s position.
Naval orders and private obligations repeatedly pull Pearce away from home. To protect Emily and the Pelicans, he must outmanoeuvre senior officers without providing them with grounds to end his career or prosecute him.
Pearce’s difficulty is that naval hierarchy gives his enemies legitimate administrative tools with which to obstruct him. Orders, promotion, courts and patronage can all be used without appearing openly vindictive. His private struggle for Emily therefore mirrors his professional struggle to preserve independence inside a service where obedience is essential and senior officers control the meaning of disobedience.
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