Besides being beaten black and blue, Ashton had another job: expanding his faction's power.
By the time the Ghosts reached the Tower, ONI officials had sorted most job applications into categories. Despite their best efforts to shortlist deserving candidates, the number of applicants after the initial weeding stage was still beyond ten thousand.
From production to strategies and from combat to support, each category had at least a thousand applicants, excitedly waiting for the news of their selection or rejection.
As if that wasn't enough, the news of Ashton's successorship sparked another wave of applications coming his way. It was to the point he could no longer procrastinate it.
"After registering the Inhumans as mercenaries, our numbers have increased to 53, sir." Leon reported, "I understand we need better and stronger forces, but our funds are limited-"