'but there is the question of how much that decency would be preserved were their positions reversed' now THAT would be one hell of a role swap au

see if fitzjames and hickey were roleswapped (so that hickey is a commander and jfj is an able seaman/mate) i feel like it'd end up with hickey trying to engineer increasingly convoluted ways to get jfj killed in order to stop him from getting in the way of his attempts to manwhore manipulate manslaughter his way into seizing control of the expedition while jfj through a combination of skill and sheer luck and his historically accurate roachlike ability to survive against incredible odds keeps dodging his attempts like an ant in a microwave (until the scurvy gets him)