to the veterans around the table, the back and forth is nothing new. to new faces, their frustration is plain. freya shoots Isaac Merlo a sympathetic glance. a topic of a new elite four member is broached by Greyson Connors and she turns her chin, nodding as half the room agrees with him. those that disparage the notion are noted, but are insignificant in the wake of more pressing topics. 

amnesty continues to churn under relentless scrutiny and freya is invited back into the conversation with a look from ollie morales . 

"with all due respect, it seems a majority of the room does not understand the structure of the amnesty program. ollie morales is right; those we intake don't need to be on the frontlines. they don't need to be anywhere near confidential intelligence. we have some amnesty members doing administrative work and filing.

"we already have methods in place to weed out any potential spies and access to higher priority missions is earned. amnesty is not entirely self-sufficient, as is the case with most government projects, but it's damn near close."

but she disagrees with ollie morales . she's a behind-the-scenes director. her face isn't meant to represent what the amnesty program is. Isaac Merlo is their breaker of chains and he has already inspired many. even if he doesn't have enough hours under his belt, she'd bet her life on that man, and she knows dozens of others would too. 

but now is not the time to get stuck on propaganda. 

Melody Miro makes her bite her tongue. she feels as though she's back at Navy 's gym leader summit all over again, surrounded by blathering fools who can't trust their own because of transgressions from years prior. she pinches the bridge of her nose, debates whether her anger is worth it, and narrows her eyes when melody looks at her. 

"adept battlers are sometimes approached by the league and offered recruitment opportunities into the ranger and officer tracks, but those duties are largely overseen by our gym leaders.

"the gym circuit is not an active recruitment center. this is a public perception we've been trying to quash over the last few months, melody. many civilians think that because they're adept battlers and part of the circuit, they're prepared to enter combat zones without proper training. it has compromised the safety of many.

"just as secrets held from our own have." her stare is stoked with fire. "alexei received a formal warning for withholding information about tornadus. you, our champion, did not trust those in this room - hoenn's highest ranking officials - with your avatarship? where was this information when i was drafting our raid on sootopolis?"

her gaze cuts from Melody Miro to Remiel Calcifet . 

"and because the crown prince is so insistent on throwing passive aggressive tantrums due to his impatience, we will skip through the commissioner's agenda."

a spare nod is made in her direction, but her gaze never leaves remiel's.

"the agreement was an unwilling one, calcifet, despite whatever fantasies you've conjured in your head. it was my only option, short of taking my own life, but had i and the world would be drowned in a primordial sea.

"declan walsh called kyogre to sootopolis. he corrupted the first blue orb and has stunted the growth of its replacement. my draconid blood can keep the leviathan sated, but i must return indefinitely to ensure it does not awaken. 

"and do not doubt me when i tell you that man was impossible to kill. he claimed kyurem's prophecy would protect him and when i went to tear out his throat, it did. over and over and over again, fate intervened, so don't you dare insinuate that this was anything but an impossible decision."

her knuckles are white, balled at her sides. she hadn't realized she'd abruptly stood from her chair. cracks slither over her, recognizable perhaps only to Eva Morales and Isaac Merlo . the slow fracturing of hope. 

"now, can we pull our heads out of our asses long enough to discuss actionable plans for the near future? the league has a foothold in sootopolis now, for better or worse. while we protect our mainland, we can work on swaying public opinion back to the league's favor. it was, after all, their ascendant and her patron that saved them."

AQUA ASSEMBLY

explains the amnesty program
explains the gym circuit
gets madge at melody
claws out at remiel
talks about sootopolis, leaving little out

☉

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The Commissioner recalls her conversation with ollie morales at the beginning of the dragon year. How jarring is it to be met with a memory of dango and celebration at the war table.[break][break]

"the amnesty program is a pivotal mechanism that plays multifaceted roles beyond its core purpose. intel. documentation. reconciliation. yes, there will always be a modicum of risk involved, but the opportunity for change must always be granted."[break][break]

She looks toward Isaac Merlo, Remiel Calcifet. Their inclusion at the table reflects the everchanging palette of the region. She wonders who will come sit with them next.[break][break]

"nevertheless, we have limited resources indeed. we can tighten the vetting process during this era of danger and account for the possibility of new kantonian defectors."[break][break]

The name of the previous commissioner causes her lip to sour and curl. However, she resets herself with a breath.[break][break]

"securing monroe could prove to be a pivotal objective, but i fear that his involvement will cast further doubt on the league. this is something we must continuously combat and with freya's involvement in sootopolis, we can more effectively, change the tides of the rocket sympathizers there and around the region."[break][break]

"our top champion divulged her avatarship to me. her blessing was recent, and the full extent of her abilities was yet unknown. ivanov is an extreme case, having hid his involvement with tornadus for," she shakes her head, "an exorbitant amount of time with no real good reason. i can take the blame for keeping melody's avatarship a secret. so much attention has been drawn to her as of late due to her new position, pokemon home and the island concert."[break][break]

"we do not know exact numbers, but it is clear that the whole kanto military is not here." The Commissioner ignores the request for a break. There is no respite in war. "but we should expect more to come in the coming months."[break][break]

She remembers PENELOPE LIVY's conversation. Of the League surviving over winning.[break][break]

"we can and will bring the fight to rocket... and we must grapple with the possibility that yes, this might include operations near or on kanto soil. if a suitable candidate for another elite four member arises, then inform us. until then, we will make do."

Eva welcomes the back and forth, the exchange of ideas. More minds are better than one, but when emotions get involved, things could get messy. She smiles softly, squeezing illeana reyes’s hand in support beneath the shadow of the great table, “Unfortunately, there’s no perfect answer,” she mutters beneath her breath for her friend to hear before retracting her hand and putting it back into action tapping at her tablet and sipping her coffee.

That is, until the dragoness’s invisible flames engulf the room, a storm of explanations she didn’t owe. She sacrificed so much, to save so many. To question her loyalty or actions is to disgrace that sacrifice. This is, perhaps, where Eva’s emotions seep through the logic a bit too strongly, “An impossible decision at an impossible impasse; you did the right thing, Freya,” a sentiment she has consoled her with before, “Sootopolis’ people will be forever in your debt and with their god’s support, there will be no question to their loyalty,” the true people of Sootopolis, that is. The Rocket plants might try to stir the pot but they could be weeded out. It’s a nod to dahlia goode’s foreshadowing of winning back the hearts of the Rocket’s sympathizers that were stolen by lies and false promises.

Her brows knit together in contemplation, shifting to the Commissioner, “Brining in Monroe should bring more credibility to The League overall,” of course, she’s not a politician so her mind doesn’t fully comprehend the invisible checks and balances people like dahlia goode, FERNANDO SILPH, and PENELOPE LIVY would consider, “Someone has to be held accountable. We can not appear complacent. What is the alternative? I imagine very publicly arresting and questioning a former League Commissioner would show that we mean business,” a simplistic way of looking at things, sure.

FERNANDO SILPH commandeers the hologram and Hoenn is laid out before them, burning bright with carefully constructed statistics, the offspring of equations that quantify odds. But odds are never absolute. Just like prophecies - things can change.

She studies it with interest, paying little attention to the numbers. Rocket is an ugly infection in an otherwise healthy organism. Contained, for now, to a small portion of the body. They need to ensure it stays that way or else they risk potentially fatal sepsis. She’d leave the development of that strategy to those more suited for such a militaristic task.

“Johto won a defensive war against Rocket,” she glances up at Fernando as he stands resolute above them all, “They successfully resisted Rocket’s push from Kanto. Perhaps there’s something we can learn from them. History is there to teach us lessons, after all,” Eva Morales, ever the scholar.

Her gaze traces the room for a moment, “Is anyone from there? Johto?” someone may have a better idea of how they managed to keep Rocket at bay, “Do we have a good enough relationship with the Johto League to consult with them?” with this question she turns to dahlia goode and FERNANDO SILPH, the Councilmember that oversees their foreign relations.

---

- Squeezes Illie’s hand in support - There is no 100% right answer
- Supports Freya, of course, and offers some words of encouragement
- Suggest bringing in Monroe would bring more credibility to The League. Someone needs to be held accountable and very publicly arresting a former League Commissioner for his crimes shows they aren’t complacent, no matter who it is
- Studies the map provided by Fernando. Mentions that Johto won a defensive war against Rocket when they tried to move into their region from Kanto
- Suggests trying to have a conversation/a summit with Johto to see how they did it. Asks if anyone is from Johto or knows anyone there they could reach out to
- Makes another mental note to prioritize reaching out to her contacts in Kanto