Despite her age, Starwind actually has some reasonable qualifications for the job of ship's Captain. She was easily the most experienced sailor of the lot, and all of her sailing experience was recent. She also puts the crew first, even at her personal expense:
If the half of what you say is true, there is no turning back. Even if there were, the turning back would be as risky as the going forth. And even if I did, I'd likely be condemning these damn fools and the poor matelots to an ugly death, which I'm loath to do. So I'll go onward, even if does kill me.
Or the expense of any single member:
I'll be sorry to see you die if you choose to commit suicide by angering King Martin, but I won't let you kill the rest of us.
She doesn't really want the job either:
I didn't ask to be Captain, but I seem to be our best hope of getting through this in one piece.
In fact, she thinks it's a royal pain:
I can understand not wanting to commit yourself to leading us; I can warn you it's like--well, trying to hold the ship to course in that hellstorm the other night.
She can't quite figure out why she got it in the first place:
I really don't think Prince Brand picked me for my authority and experience.
And in fact has tried very hard to get rid of the job, but not at the expense of her duty to the crew:
If that's the way you all feel, I can hardly abandon my post. I'll stay on as Captain. At least until the lot of you decide to toss me overboard ...
But she doesn't like it very much when someone bucks her authority:
As for the rest of your little tirade, I'm going to remind you once, and only once, of what I told you on board the Morning Breeze. I'm done play-acting at being Captain. If you want me out as Captain, ask for a vote, and we'll see which of the crew wants you after the tantrum you just threw in there. But in the meantime you will bloody well follow my lead or you will leave and not endanger the rest of us.