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Trident

Captain Reed H. Millard slept a dreamless sleep in the captain's quarters. Ahab's wooden hull creaked and groaned. The sound was once distracting but now served as the perfect lullaby in tandem with the ocean waves. So it was for his father, his father's father, and his father before.   He heard the sound of knocking at the door. Donovan Gaskell, Reed's second in command, called from the other side, "Captain?"   Reed opened his eyes, his body kept still. Adrenaline burned in his blood, an instinctive reaction.   "Captain, we have a situation," Donovan said.   Reed jumped from the soft embrace of the feather mattress and slipped his boots on. He brushed the greasy brown hair from his face and approached the door. "What is it?"   "Its-" Donovan stumbled as he tried to find the right words. "I honestly don't know where to start. You should see for yourself."   Reed opened the door and stepped out onto the deck. Most of the crew stood in place with their eyes firmly fixed to the sky, a rare sight when at sea. "What do you mean you dont-" His words caught in his throat at the sight. Reed stared at the sky above, his eyes wide and filled with wonder. "The hell is that?"   They looked like like comets, each varying in size. They filled the grey and cloudy sky, falling by the hundreds. They whistled and screamed through the air with white tails trailing behind. They burned, breaking apart in the atmosphere. Small pieces of the whole broke off in vibrant hues of purple, green, and red.   The most peculiar thing occurred when they crashed against the waves. The comets landed, bombarding the ocean with a loud bang. They then let out a rapid series of pops and deep cracks reminding him of fireworks from back home. It didn't take long for the sound to echo around them, disrupting what would have otherwise been a quiet afternoon.   Reed stared with wide eyes. "I don't remember being warned about this."   Donovan nodded, turning away so he could admire the sight too. "We weren't. Someone would have seen this coming. It's strange, sir." He points to one of the comets floating just off the starboard beam. "The comets float. They don't sink."   Reed narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. "Maintain evasive maneuvers and if possible, try to salvage what you can out of the water. Anything else I should know?"   Donovan smiled. "Siegfried. We have two U.S cruisers inbound from Oahu, and approaching fast. I've yet to see a more glorious scene for a battle."   Reed nodded with a smirk of his own, speaking as if the thought never occurred to him, "How right you are. Only fire if fired upon, understood?"   Donovan nodded. "Yes, captain."   Reed noticed an eagerness in the young man's eyes. They both knew Siegfried would fire first, and longed to see the Ahab in action.   Donovan walked to a bell hanging off the wall. the moment it started ringing, Reed raised his voice loud enough to be heard by all, "General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands man your battle stations."
   
by Scott Webb


Seventy percent of the earth is covered in water. The ocean is vast, Deep, and brimming with mystery, even in this age of progress and prosperity. As of now, only twenty percent of earth's oceans have been mapped and explored. The vast majority of it hasn't even been seen with human eyes.
 
There are more than three hundred confirmed cases of Pseudo-Paranormal Phenomena each year, according to data collected by The University and that's just what we can verify. Nearly thirty-seven percent of them involve the ocean, and another five percent occur in freshwater. With so much ground to cover, Trident fills a niche in our Web Of Conspiracies.   Trident is more of an alliance than an organization, similar to The Chiron Group. It's an agreement between three concerned parties, organizations that each have their own strengths and weaknesses seeking to leverage each other to fill the gaps.



Fun Fact: Self Destruction

Many members of Trident operate on larger vessels, but some squadrons, usually made up of those less fortunate than others, have been known to operate entirely out of row boats and rafts. While this is never an ideal situation, some actually choose this option. In their mind, it makes The Hunt more personal.   Trident is filled with all kinds of people, but they all share a special kind of madness that makes them far more willing to take risks and endanger themselves. The same could be said about many in The Web, but with Trident... its special. Members of Trident are usually alone in the world. They often lack families and friends outside of their crew.   The Web comes with more than its fair share of loose cannons, and Trident exemplifies this more than anyone. The Candlelight is dangerous, especially for those who spend time at sea for so long. Nights are darker out there, and that's on top of the constant anxiety of what may lurk beneath the waves. On a long enough timeline, it just breaks you.

Tip of The Iceberg

To fully understand Trident and its place in The Web, one must look to its origin and complex struggle with internal politics. They are not allies, instead preferring the term "business partners." Operatives work well together out of necessity, but there's always a difference of opinion here and a border dispute there.   The ocean can't be claimed by a nation or a governing body. Trident operates independently, and the organizations within equally so. Language barriers and the occasional vendetta between ship captains complicate operations regularly.   This is a major reason why Trident is considered a troubleshooting organization despite their size and capabilities. Their membership numbers in the hundreds, their field of influence spanning large swaths of the globe. Still, they lack cohesion and centralized command, operating on something akin to an honor system. Once the job is done, they may as well be complete strangers.
   

Origins

Many organization in The Web began during the world wars, and Trident is no exception. Some of the early steam powered frigates are still in use by members of Trident today, capitalizing on The Gift of Tall Tales to empower the vessel.   The first of the three organizations, Deepwatch, began in 1915 with British naval divers in search of mines along the African coast. The first of The Diluvian Leagues wouldn't appear till the battle of midway in 1942. Finally, Blackwater emerged in the late forties, a reaction to the increasing influence and logistical needs of the other organizations.   The three would enter an agreement in 1968, thus officially forming what we know as Trident. The ocean is big, and that's just the surface. To manage incursions on the ocean floor, and sufficiently keep the operation going is no easy feat. By coming together, they encouraged cooperation and exchange of information. It also clearly laid out jurisdictions for operatives to help ease the burden, combat linguistic challenges, and sooth ideological differences.

Tools of the trade

Trident has little in the way of unique equipment compared to other organizations. Most of the time, they can get by with what would be available to anyone. The only exception is irisite coating. Irisite can be conditioned and refined, resulting in a glossy liquid that will coat just about anything.   It adds durability and assists in diffusing energy in the case of trauma. This makes their clothing, vessels, and equipment hard to penetrate and thus hard to damage. By coating ammunition, they capitalize on another peculiar quality of irisite. Irisite has explosive qualities when heated and exposed to extreme trauma. A bullet coated in irisite penetrates up to 6 inches of steel, and detonates as the round passes through. This means annirisite round can be fired into the water without ricocheting and losing most of its momentum.   It varies from vessel to vessel, but Trident often employs military equipment as well, such as advanced radar, depth charges and torpedo launchers. While it makes their operations tedious and more strategic, it's arguably their greatest strength. It's rare for deep sea entities to work out where a torpedo is coming from when launched from a Deepwatch submarine half a mile away. Deepwatch is also known for using upgraded variants of the APS, a rifle designed for use underwater.

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Cover image: by Andrew Neel

Comments

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May 27, 2022 15:09

I'm so glad to see new content on The Web! This is a big, complex world, though, and I need to reorient myself with some of the background and history. Hope you are doing well!

May 27, 2022 17:46 by R. Dylon Elder

Lifes been crazy but otherwise I'm doing well. Hope you are too. It is definitely a big and complex world. I got some plans to make it easier to navigate as well. Sooon... thanks so much!

May 27, 2022 16:25 by Morgan Biscup

I love the story you wrote into this one!   I almost feel sorry for Siegfried. Almost.

Lead Author of Vazdimet.
Necromancy is a Wholesome Science.
May 27, 2022 17:48 by R. Dylon Elder

Wooot thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm glad at least a little sympathetic. I really. Need to delve into them more cause sometimes they're presented as almost cartoonishly evil. XD

May 28, 2022 13:41 by Starfarer Theta

Sounds like other dimensions could be involved with they way the comets just appeared. Trident seems to have (mostly?) benefited from the strangeness since they got Irisite! Great article :)

Jun 5, 2022 08:46 by Grace Gittel Lewis

Sentient ghost ships, meteor metal, and new tech— always nice to see more from The Web!

Jun 23, 2022 00:03

I am so excited to see the Web again, I love the Void Between but one of the earliest articles I read was your on the Web. Love this Baskerville, Molehill, Scarecrow, and Einstein.


Graylion - Nexus   Roleplaying
not Ruleplaying
not Rollplaying
Jun 23, 2022 16:04 by R. Dylon Elder

Ooo I have big plans I'm cooking up for the web. I'm so excited to be writing in it again. I love the void between but I missed it here. Thanks so much!

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