Liesel's father sighed and said, "Yes. Brunhilda has told me that she plans on trying to get you and Liesel to aid her in getting her son recognized as the next fleet leader."
When Liesel's aunt had first learned about Avery and his quick rise through the ranks due to his achievements, she had recognized the opportunity.
If he and his entire company were to back up Liesel's cousin, that would certainly give him an edge over the other succession candidates.
Avery led an impressive force of mercenaries, and it was something he had built up himself. That made him all the more respectable.
"Do you know what her plan is exactly?"
"Brunhilda didn't tell me all of the details, but she's hoping to integrate you into her team. If that's not possible though, she wants to bring you in as a long-term contractor. With a war going on, no one will bat an eye if she brings in outside help. Especially since you've already proven yourself to be capable and are married to Liesel."
Hearing this made Avery want to groan, but he held it in.
Once any group grew to a certain size, faction politics were bound to become an issue.
That had not happened yet with his company, but they were still young and growing. In the future, he might end up having to deal with similar issues.
"I've already told you that I have no intention of getting involved any further in this war. My company has already done enough, and I don't want to take any more risks fighting against another state's military. We've got plenty of money already, and I'm sure they'll be a lot of other jobs that end up neglected because of this. There will be more than enough work to go around." Avery said, making his stance clear.
"That's fine. In fact, I personally don't want you to stick around. I'd love to be able to see Liesel more often, but I know she does not want to be a part of my sister's plots. Also, I don't want her anywhere near this war going forward. It's only just begun, and I know from experience and records that things are just going to get worse as time goes by."
Avery was glad that Liesel's father was on the same page as him. It would have made things uncomfortable if he tried pushing Avery to back his nephew.
Now that he knew what to expect, Avery asked some questions he had about Liesel's childhood.
Luckily, her father was well and truly buzzed by this point and answered most of what he asked.
Though, he did want to know about Avery as well. He was the man that his daughter had married after all.
For several more minutes the two of them just chatted. Until Liesel and her mother came back.
Avery glanced towards Liesel, and when their eyes met, she blushed and looked away.
Her mother wore a pleased grin on her face seeing this.
"You two seem to be getting along better. I'm assuming that Avery has passed whatever arbitrary mark you set." Elise said as she sat down next to her husband.
He looked disgruntled to have this pointed out, but he had no chance of hiding anything from his wife.
"Yes. Avery a fine young man. Liesel's clearly happy with him, and unless he's an impeccable liar and actor, I can tell that he'll cherish her. You will keep her safe and cherish her, won't you, Avery?"
The glare that the man was giving Avery showed that he was still not entirely happy with entrusting his daughter over to him.
Considering that they had basically eloped and this was their first time meeting, that was to be expected.
Avery was just happy that Liesel's father had not come at him with a weapon.
There were plenty of fathers out there that could lose themselves to their emotions when it came to their daughter's safety and happiness.
'I mean, if I had a daughter and she one day sent me a message saying she had run off with some random mercenary, I'd probably chase them down and put the guy through the wringer.' Avery thought, imagining the scenario from Liesel's father's point of view.
Avery might not have had any children right now and did not plan on having any for a long time, but he had three wives. Naturally he had thought about the possibility.
Almost as if she could sense what Avery was thinking about, Liesel's mother said, "So, when might we might be expecting grandchildren?"
"Mom!" Liesel shouted in outrage.
"What?" Elsie said innocently. "When I asked you just a few minutes ago if you wanted children, you told me that you did. I was just wondering if Avery felt the same way."
"Y-Yes! But not right! W-we haven't even been together that long."
"That's right! Liesel is too young to be even thinking about kids. She's still my little girl. It's too soon for her to be doing stuff like that" Liesel's father yelled, some tears in his eyes.
Perhaps he was a bit drunker than he had let on. He was a big man, but he was on his fourth bottle of some pretty strong stuff.
"Oh, I believe that we were doing things like that when we we're even younger. You just have to accept that our little girl is all grown up now. And from what I can tell, she's certainly in good hands now."
Elsie winked at Avery, and he would be lying if he said her vote of confidence did not make him feel good.
He obviously loved Liesel and wanted to get along with her parents. As much as they had been imagining the worst possible scenarios, he had been as well.
'I still have to meet her aunt and great grandfather, so it's possible someone still might chase me around with a laser pistol.' Avery thought jokingly.
With this being the first time that Liesel's parents had seen her in over a year, they were in no rush for her and Avery to leave.
What was only supposed to be lunch lasted all the way until dinner time, and they had a meal together again.
After being undercover and fighting a drug peddling criminal organization for so long, it was nice to relax with something so normal as a family gathering.
'I should really go a visit my own parents soon. Something to consider after we collect our rewards in the cpatial system.'
As much as everyone was enjoying themselves, the day was coming to an end, and Avery and Liesel returned to the Dauntless so that they could head back to the Intrepid.
"You know that you two could have just spent the night. Liesel's room is still just as she left it." Elise said as the four of them stood Infront of the airlock.
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure that I'd feel comfortable with that." Avery replied.
"Mom, haven't you already teased us enough. We've got a meeting with Aunt Brunhilda tomorrow. I doubt that it is going to be as laid back as today. It'll be best that we rest in our own beds and can prepare in a more comfortable place."
"I see. Well try to get some sleep then and don't be too wound up. I know that your aunt might be a bit tough to deal with sometimes, but she does love you. Don't forget that we're all family."
With those parting words, Avery and Liesel passed through the airlock and back into the Dauntless.
Though, Avery was fairly certain that he heard Liesel's father whisper, "take care of my daughter" in an almost inaudible voice before the door closed behind them.
"I told you that I would work out well. My parents definitely liked you, I can tell. If they didn't, well, things would not have been as peaceful. Especially with my mom. Her disapproval would have been much worse than my father's." Liesel said, a far off look in her eyes.
Avery had already felt that the pressure her father had given him was more than enough. He had no desire to find out what Elise was like if she was upset.
Liesel's mother may have been warm and playful throughout the day, but Avery had sensed an underlying edge to her. No doubt she could be quite scary if she did not like someone.
Reminding himself to never get on his mother-in-law's bad side, Avery activated the sequence to decouple the Dauntless from Liesel's aunt's ship.
From there they made the quick return trip to the Intrepid.
It was flying alongside the rest of the Kaizer Fleet which was enroute to another battlefield.
Luckily, they still had around four more days or travel, so Avery and Liesel could finish up their business with her family before getting drawn into another fight. He and the rest of his crew desperately needed a break.
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