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.
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!
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!