When all hell broke loose, different people reacted differently. Some retaliated promptly, opening fire almost instantly whereas others just lost their cool and instinctively tried to retreat if not flee. The problem was that the ship was clearing off! There was nowhere to retreat, let alone flee to.
The Players also showed off their skills, but most especially their true colors. Faced with such a large number of monsters, only a fool would choose to bravely confront them until the very end. Whether there were idiots or not among them was hard to say but they would rather let all the honor and glory go to others.
Well trained and formatted, the troops of the Titan Pearl turned into cannon fodder as they paved a path of retreat for all selfish Players, passengers, and officers. As for Jake... he was shamelessly amongst these self-serving people.