"Ladies and gents, we are beginning our final descent into Mauville International Airport. Please make sure all electronic devices are powered off and tray tables are back into their upright position. We thank you for flying with Patriot Airways, the official Airline of the Kanto-Johto Federation."
Ash felt the plane begin a slow but gradual descent as he looked outside.
It was hard to believe that the ground beneath him was a land where he had never been before. His previous tours as a Commando included Johto, Kalos and Unova just to name a few. Now he could add Hoenn to his list.
Officially the Republic of Hoenn, this island country was home to more than ten million people, covering over thirteen thousand square miles. It was a bit of an isolated place, as it was about two thousand miles south of Sinnoh and nearly two and a half times that distance from the Federation.
Until recently, Hoenn had kept in touch with the other nations around, having somewhat abundant trading relations and rarely joining in military exercises. This reclusive nature put them at quite a disadvantage, should it ever go to war.
However, Hoenn has remained quite an easygoing and peaceful nation, having one of the best life expectancies in the world. The small island had quite a diverse amount of geography, having a large volcano dominate the north with a desert to the east and super dense forests in the west and northeast.
Culturally, the island was quite on top of trends, thanks to its multiple cities that incited a place to getaway towards a utopia. It wasn't uncommon for business tycoons to have a summer house or retreat at one of Hoenn's coastal cities.
Finally the plane, a widebody Airbus A330 passed over the concrete runway before gently planting its gears down. Onboard, everyone felt a slight jolt before the spoilers on the wings kicked up and the engine's reverse thrusters were applied to decelerate out of landing speed.
Scurrying past another line of jumbo jets, it wasn't long before he scooped up his backpack from underneath the seat in front and he headed through the jetway.
"Welcome to Mauville International Airport. The current time is four-fifteen in the afternoon. We hope you enjoy your stay on our island of Hoenn."
Looking at his watch, Ash had an hour and forty five minutes to make his connecting flight. That was plenty of time to get through customs and unwind.
When he headed to the immigration area, he handed over his passport and curtly answered the questions that were sent his way. Surge had informed the Mauville Airport of his arrival and they had granted him pre-boarding clearance due to the fact he was here strictly on the Federation's and Hoenn's governmental business. Therefore, he had already been cleared to enter the country before the flight had even left Celadon's international airport. All they had to do was to verify his identity and arrival.
For the second time that day, Ash let out a grunt as he finally stood up from his seat and stretched his muscles. After sitting for several hours on the transoceanic flight and the shorter flight to Petalburg, he could finally try and get over the jetlag that was plaguing his eyes. Checking his watch, the current time was only seven in the afternoon. Back in the Federation, it was three in the morning.
His schedule was already beginning before he could even get a chance to locate his set apartment on the base. Thankfully, Petalburg International Airport shared the grounds with Wagner Military base, where he was going to be staying at.
Surge had briefed him before he had left, saying that Hoenn's officers and even their premier had requested his presence at Lynch to assist in reworking their integrity.
In the recent months, a crime syndicate had suddenly emerged out of nowhere and had gripped parts of Hoenn with fear. They were involved with everything, from smuggling to outright violence against the Republic's officials. Threats towards the nation's leaders were becoming more frequent.
The premier of Hoenn knew that if he wanted to seek a reelection, he would have to do something about this lingering syndicate.
Efforts by the Hoenn military were surprisingly unsuccessful; the group was well armed and fought like professionals. In the year alone, more than a dozen servicemen were killed. It didn't help that their influence was rumored to have been seeping into the political part.
Hoenn had reached out to the Federation for help in seeking military advice. At the same time, it served as a hopeful sign that the two governing bodies would begin to have friendly ties with one another. Surge himself was expectant of a software upgrade to their mission systems from a Hoenn based software company in the midst of the cooperation. The Federation agreed and sent a Commando, which Hoenn was surprised to hear. They had instead asked for advisors, but instead gotten a better package.
Petalburg was overall a very nice city. With a population just under two million on the west coast, it was one of Hoenn's leading cities in arts, finance, culture and entertainment, not to mention the second-most popular tourist city after Lilycove.
Wagner Field was located on the western area of the city, where it had a large training compound, barracks and a port for the Navy. Ash's rented house was along the shoreline, where some of the higher ranking officers maintained comfortable homes.
Going straight to business, Ash was ushered into a large conference room where dim lighting had barely outlined five figures sitting at the other end. At the wall behind them was a large map of the Hoenn island.
"Lieutenant Ketchum." The one in the middle spoke.
As far as he was concerned, while he still fell under the code of conduct and regulation by the Feds, he was now a member of the Hoenn military.
Snapping a salute he reported himself, "Lieutenant Ash S. Ketchum at your service."
"At ease." The man rose up and walked over, extending his hand, "Thank you for coming. My condolences to your mother."
"Family comes first," Ash replied, "Although she had told me not to wait for her."
"Very well. Let's get down to business."
He saw one member from each of Hoenn's military branches being represented in this conference, all seated behind name signs and quietly whispering to one another.
"We requested you here for military advice. The enemy is unlike anyone we have fought before on Hoenn. Well trained, well armed and very dangerous, ever since this Cacturne Syndicate, led by the mysterious Harley has surfaced. We've tried operations on Hoenn's north shore, only for them to be ineffective."
"So that's why I'm here." Ash finished, "To make the military look like it knows what it's doing."
"Lieutenant, we know what we are doing." The Admiral at the Navy chair sternly replied, "I suggest you mind your manners, since you are no longer in Federation territory and therefore we are your superiors."
"Admiral, with all due respect, I do not believe that the armed forces of Hoenn are able to deal with this threat. They are built for foreign threats, not internal."
"What are you proposing?" The colonel at the Marines asked.
"Give me three of your best men or women from the Army, Navy and Marines." Ash took out a datapad, "And this Lieutenant from the Navy,"
"Lieutenant, we brought you here to create an army and neutralize the threat."
"If you're under the belief that I'm going to make you an army of Commandos, you're highly mistaken." He got a flurry of murmurs from the panel upon that statement, "I've trained two dozen of them and only half that number made the cut. It is one of the most difficult units to get into, which is why I asked for the best men and women from those three branches. This is a job more of a small task force, not for an army."
"Ten men against dozens?! Are you out of your mind?"
"Last week, I led four others against dozens of Hunter J's men and came out victorious."
The Army general drummed his fingers on the table and gave Ash a penetrating stare. He was used to such gazes and paid scant attention to its underlying meaning, "Perhaps it was a mistake in bringing you here."
Had they been lower ranking, Ash would have been a bit more emotional, but he kept his cool in check. Throwing back an equally icy gaze, he flatly stated, "You just pulled me away from my dying mother, who has weeks to live, halfway around the world to do my job and then you begin to tell me that what I am saying is absurd and that it was a mistake. Now I see why it is hard to tackle this threat and how it got so powerful in just a short time; you are very conforming."
His words had silenced the officers and they stared blankly at him.
Ash continued, "I know it is hard to accept criticism. Believe me, I get plenty of it, however you have a problem and I'm here to fix it. If you want this Harley and Cacturne Syndicate neutralized as soon as possible, I can call Surge and sanction an operation from the Fed's top brass. I'll have a whole platoon of Commandos and we'll roll in and erase the group within forty eight hours. However, I don't think that is the best option. I can't create and army of Commandos at your disposal as you may have initially thought, but I can create a squad of them."
He paused to let the cogs in their head turn at what he had just said. "Bringing me here and telling me things I can't do is a waste of my time, as you have instructors who can do the same thing. I'm not saying that I am going to fix this problem by my proposed squad task force, but the methods you are using right now are definitely not working well. What I have in mind might not just deal with the Syndicate, but anything else that may happen domestically and it could be even worse. So if you're going to continue criticizing my ideas as unorthodox, go ahead. As a Commando; it's my job to think outside the box. Or, you can listen to what I have to say and let me do my job."
The panel conversed with one another before the Army representative finally nodded, "Alright Lieutenant, we'll give you a chance. But one further incident of insubordination and we'll make sure you pay for it. I don't give a damn about what your service to the Feds, I'll personally make it so that you can't step a toe onto this country again without a major hassle, even if it's on duty. Am I clear?"
"Crystal."
"Very good. Now what do you have in mind?"
It would be safe to say that the stunt that Ash pulled off in that room would probably incite a worse punishment that just a threat.
Next chapter we get to meet May and slowly inch towards where the two will meet. Apologies for not being around, this chapter was just difficult to write and I feel like it's not my best, even after editing twice, plus I am shopping for a new car since my cousin will be buying my old one. I had wanted to show a bit of drama and having an experienced guy like him, show the uptight officers that he is a bit unorthodox. Besides, these guys are not the first people he's going to be butting heads against.
Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.