Trident
Although the authorities tend to believe Trawler—with her history as a smuggler and dubious “salvage operator”—is the force behind the Trident, the group actually came together due to one of its other members. Coral Snake has extensively studied her Serpent People heritage and the secrets of ancient Lemuria. She believes the key to greater power and control over her ophidian nature lies there, deep beneath the Pacific. To reach it, she needs help. So she came up with the smuggling scheme and recruited Trawler and Steelhead to help back it, promising Trawler a shot at the greatest treasure trove she could imagine. Forked tongue firmly in cheek, Coral Snake dubbed their new venture “the Trident”.
Initially, the smuggling operation relied heavily on Trawler’s resources and the capabilities of its three founders. Success has allowed for expansion, including investment in better equipment (such as the Trident’s sea-cave hideout and “sea serpent” submersible) and more personnel. Indeed, with the boom in illegal activities in Emerald City and the surrounding area, the Trident has more demand for contraband—particularly illegal weapons and technologies—than it can supply.
Structure
In spite of past successes, Coral Snake does not want the smuggling ring to overplay its hand. There’s added profit in keeping demand high, while also lying low to evade the authorities, who are increasingly intent on closing up the smuggling routes into Emerald City. Eager as she is to further her own goals, she councils patience to the others.
The Trident prefers to operate unseen—literally beneath the surface—as much as possible. Either the Sea Serpent delivers cargo to a vessel offshore or, more rarely, to some hidden cove or abandoned dock late at night. In places with more potential witnesses, Trawler or Steelhead can carry small amounts of contraband sealed in watertight crates and held in heavy netting.
In the event they are caught in the open, the Trident’s primary tactic is to get to the water and submerge as quickly as possible. There they have more of a “home field advantage” and can attempt a quick getaway. Coral Snake uses her venom to slow or petrify foes, while Trawler and Steelhead use their nets to likewise slow any pursuit. Steelhead is the most likely to fall behind to trade punches, and he’s largely unaware of how likely Trawler and Coral Snake are to abandon him should he become a liability in those circumstances.
Public Agenda
The three primary members of the Trident each have different motivations and goals for the group, although some of them are not entirely aware of those of the others.
Steelhead is fairly satisfied with the Trident’s outward goal, namely making a lot of money from smuggling and putting some of that profit back into growing the organization, allowing it to earn even more profit. He likes opportunities to thumb his nose at the authorities and make enough money to live like a king. The only thing he’d like better is if he were the one in charge of the whole operation, or at least an opportunity to get rid of that creepy Coral Snake chick so he and Trawler can run the show by themselves.
Trawler plays the smuggling game well, and certainly doesn’t object to making a hefty profit, but her real passion is finding and claiming lost treasures. Coral Snake promises the haul they will find in the ruins of Lemuria is greater than anything she has seen before, enough to set them all up for life, so Trawler is willing to be patient and help her “business partner” acquire what they need to reach their goal. Still, she doesn’t entirely trust the snakewoman (or anyone else, for that matter) and wonders what Coral Snake’s angle is on all of this.
Coral Snake needs Trawler’s expertise and, to a lesser extent, Steelhead’s muscle and deep-sea capabilities. She wants to claim the mystic power she knows awaits her in Lemuria. Once she has that, she’ll have no further use for her so-called “partners.” Until all the pieces are in place, however, she keeps Trawler close, dangling promises in front of her, and Steelhead at arm’s length, keeping a close eye on him.
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