oh, thank fuck. ronan lets out a breath of relief, not really caring that he's still being watched by both roach and könig, "conor. sir." ronan's tone is tense enough that he knows his commander can hear it over the line. there's a brief moment of silence before- "am i...

interrupting something, lieutenant?" o'conor sounds almost amused, but there's also clear worry in his tone, and it warms something in ronan's chest. "nothing at all. is there something you need from me?" in the end, o'conor ends up calling for everyone into the meeting room,

including both kortac members and the 141. despite the urgency, it's a relatively quick meeting. laswell sits at the head of the table with the laptop ronan and ghost had managed to snag. the expression on her face isn't all too pleased. with everyone settled in the room,

either team standing on opposite ends, laswell finally speaks. "according to what i've managed to find while sorting through this piece of junk, things aren't looking good for us. whatever makarov's got planned, it's something bigger than what we initially anticipated. at the

very least, we're not too far off track. putting kortac and the 141 together is already a step in the right direction seeing as how we need as much manpower as possible, but just us isn't going to cut it, not in the long run. and, for that reason, im calling in some more

reinforcements." laswell meets o'conor's eyes and when she nods, he continues where she left off. "within the next 24 hours, we'll be joined by two shadow company operatives that commander phillip graves has graciously offered to aid us." ronan's not surprised by the various

protests around the room. he's worked with the shadows before, all of them have, and while graves isn't the worst person to exist, not in a world where hershel von shepard iii also exists, he's not really a fan favorite, and neither are his shadows. before the protests can get

too loud, however, laswell quickly shushes the room. "you will not complain about their involvement. i know these men and i trust them entirely to provide the kind of backup we're looking for. sergeant black is a recon and infiltration expert, and sergeant thatcher will provide

extra fire power. if you have anything to say about this, keep it yourself, do you hear me?" there isn't another peep from anyone else in the room, and laswell sits back in her seat. but the silence doesn't last. ronan can't help it, he /has/ to ask. "laswell..." she looks up

at him and the expression on her face reads as tired and firm. still, ronan pushes. "when you say sergeant thatcher..." please don't let it be him. /please/ don't- laswell smiles. "it's dex, ronan." thank fuck! it's not like ronan has any personal issues with the older of the

thatcher brothers, he is just...not someone you easily get along with, not the way dex is. with ronan breaking the ice, price pushes forward next, not that anyone is surprised. he'd looked the most pissed when laswell brought up bringing in more people to help. "i don't

understand where you think you have any kind of control in this operation, kate. this is meant to be under /my/ command. not yours," he looks up at o'conor. "or yours. what makes either of you think you can make decisions without my input?" o'conor crosses his arms over his

chest. there's a hard look in his eyes, one that clearly reads as him being done with price's shit, but he keeps his voice even and calm. it's a bit of a surprise, if ronan's being honest. o'conor is the type to give back the same energy he recieves. "i apologize, captain, if

it feels as though we're going behind your back. but these are things that have been discussed in meetings /you/ were invited to and yet refused show up for. it seems that you have no plans on treating this operation with any kind of urgency or importance, so responsibility has

been shifted to me." price has half the room flinching when he slams his fists down on the table in front of him. "what the fuck are you talking about?" o'conor remains as calm as ever. "exactly as i said, price. you're no longer the lead on this. you're following my orders.

or, if you'd prefer, you can be taken off this assignment entirely. i'm sure we can find...other help." /better/ help, ronan knows o'conor means to say, but as much as he'd like to push price's buttons, that would be going too far right now. "you have no right!" "we have every

right, john." laswell cuts in. she's shut the laptop and her hands lay folded over the top. "your performance for the past couple of years has been...lacking. there has been discussions about dissolving the 141, a decision i've tried hard to push back on for your sake, but if you

can't handle this, then i fear i may not be able to continue to help you. you have two choices: fall in line and keep your men, or continue to throw a fit and lose everything you've worked for. which would you prefer?" it's like ronan can see steam coming off of price. it's a

little scary. he's never seen the captain this mad, not even at him, but still, both laswell and o'conor hold their own, patiently waiting for a response. ronan expects price to lose it. he's already on the brink of exploding, clearly. but he surprises him. price takes a deep

breath and straightens his back. "i'll do things your way, kate. this time" with that, price makes his way towards to door and leaves without waiting for a response. it leaves the room quiet for a long moment, but eventually, o'conor sighs. "again, our backup will arrive within

24 hours. but again, for now, continue as you were. we'll continue with our plan of action when everyone is here." ronan doesn't quite shuffle out the way everyone else does. instead, he waits till it's just him and o'conor left in the room, the door shutting behind the last

person to leave. o'conor doesn't look surprised in the least that it's just them, but still, he raises an eyebrow. "do you need something from me, soldier?" he asks. "if this is about the shadows-" "no. i just...do you think this is a good idea? price is pissed. you've stolen

his target from him, kicked him from his leadership position," ronan leans back against the wall, relaxing from the firm position he'd been holding himself in. "even if i didn't know what he was like, i'd still think this is pushing him too far. he won't let this go so easily,

yunno." o'conor chuckles. "what, you think i'm afraid of what he'll do or say? you heard laswell. if he continues to throw fits over not getting his way, his team is done." ronan frowns. that doesn't really...make him happy. and o'conor can tell. "laswell wasn't lying, you

know." huh? "about his task force's performance. what she said, it's true. but specifically, there'd been a decline in their performance ever since they lost /you/. it got better when they recruited sergeant sanderson, but it's still not on the level people expect from task force

141. catching makarov? that's the only way price gets to keep that little team of his. it's partially why this operation is so important to him." there's no fucking way.... ronan can't believe it. "you're kidding. there's no way-" "there is every way, ronan. they lost a very

good solider. it makes sense that it would effect them negatively. not that i can say i'm all too upset about the situation, seeing as how i ended up you instead. one man's loss is another man's gain. you are invaluable." ronan wants to shrug off the compliment. he's really not

that amazing, not in the same way o'conor is, or könig, horangi, roze, hutch, calisto, /any of them/. ronan swallows thickly, just to jolt when he feels the heavy but warm weight of o'conor's hand on his shoulder. he looks up and meets his commanding officer's eyes, and o'conor

gives him a warm and reassuring smile. "you're meant to be here, rowan." ronan nods, because there's no denying it when o'conor uses /that/ voice. he's not a liar, he wouldn't sugar coat things for ronan, baby him, falsely reassure him. he's a genuine man, someone who had

quickly gained ronan's loyalty and respect for those reasons. "thank you, sir. i'm...sorry for doubting you." o'conor grins and squeezes ronan's shoulder, sending another shock of warmth through him before he lets go. "i like that you're not afraid to ask questions or second