'Jack's New Position' is the second story in the saga of Jack Danner. Minimal effort is made in this tale to explain the backstory so it is highly recommended you read the previous stories in the following order:
Jack's New Job
Jack's New Position
All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older.
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Jack Danner was a very happy man. He was also a very busy one. As the Trade Representative for Earth and the Altarian Ambassador he finally had work that fit his personality and skill set. He loved his new job! Both of them!
As the Trade Rep he got to meet people from all the nations of Earth who were trying to sell their products and services to the Altarians, a market of billions who were spread across dozens of planets. For every profitable deal he'd approved he'd turned down dozens. The ratio was probably closer to fifty rejections for every acceptance. His selectiveness was based on his genuine concern for protecting the Altarian people. If it wasn't healthy, safe, or beneficial to the Altarians it didn't get past Jack.
As he was supposed to be Earth's Trade Rep, pushing Earth's crap onto the unsuspecting aliens, he always pretended to be listening to an earpiece he wore to every meeting. When he made his call on the products the vendors believed he was in communication with the Altarians and it was their decision he was conveying. This seemed to work quite well.
In recent months there had been an increase in the number of military backed contractors trying to get a foothold in the huge market. So far each one had proven to be less than honest in their offerings which would have resulted in long term dependence on the contractors. Jack had nixed each one and word got back to him through other vendors that back on Earth there were definite grumblings about his loyalty. The most recent communication he'd received from the Trade Commission Headquarters on Earth told him to 'Stop blocking trade and push more products!' Jack had responded that none of the products which had been rejected were deemed suitable by the Altarian Trade Commissioner. While they were suspicious, they hadn't caught on yet that he'd actually been given that authority.
In his role as the Altarian Ambassador he initially got to work on diplomatic issues between Earth and the Altarians. He unfortunately couldn't use the same earpiece trick with this position so instead he harnessed his people skills to their utmost. The representatives that arrived from Earth were initially surprised to find themselves negotiating with another Human but quickly learned that this gave them absolutely no advantage. Their smugness quickly disappeared when they discovered the friendly, reasonable, and calm man they faced was strangely protective of the Altarians and their way of life. More than one envoy was politely sent packing when Jack identified their true intentions or suspected they weren't negotiating in good faith. Once more, he made a number of enemies back on Earth but his reputation on Altaria grew.
This local reputation lead to his recently taking on the responsibility of meeting with races from other planets who were also interested in relations with the Altarians. They too were surprised to find themselves negotiating with a Human. He was particularly successful with these negotiations as he had less concern about displaying his protectiveness of the Altarians.
Through all of this Jack discovered he really liked working with people. In fact, when he looked back on the many jobs he'd had on Earth the bright spots had been those where he interacted with others. The skills he'd picked up as a wedding planner, a hospital orderly, a convenience store clerk, and even as a bouncer helped him excel at communicating with the diverse groups of people he came into contact with on a daily basis now.
The Altarian staff he had working for him were extremely efficient and took care of all of the tedious details these positions required. He couldn't imagine handling the workload he had now without them.
Karrel, the 'official' Altarian Trade Commissioner, worked very closely with Jack and was delighted with his ability to identify the applicants whose offers/business proposals were not beneficial for the Altarians. He seemed to have an instinct for flushing out the parasites from those genuinely interested in mutually beneficial business and/or cultural relations. He ensured the contracts they eventually created left both sides satisfied.
Karrel also managed to work in a little personal satisfaction with Jack at least once a day, typically when he first arrived at the office in the morning. The female was insatiable! Jack certainly had no complaints about that either. Karrel was gorgeous but then Jack found all Altarians to be beautiful.
Something he found most attractive was their gentle natures. Friendly, even tempered, optimistic, cultured, and kind, they were beautiful on the inside as well.
Physically, the Altarians resembled Satyrs of ancient Greek mythology with cloven hooved feet and hands with two strong fingers and opposable thumbs on both sides. Generally slim and petite in stature, adult females ranged in height between 4' 10" and 5' 8" at their tallest. Adult males were typically at the lower end of that scale. Their bodies were covered with a felt like fur which ranged in color from blond to chocolate brown which was Karrel's coloring. Over this they wore gossamer flowing gowns of varying translucence. Their heads were humanoid but their eyes were twice as large as a human's, had diagonal pupils, and the lids had long lashes. Jack thought they set the standard for the definition of 'doe eyed' but he kept that observation to himself.
Their ears were long, pointed, expressively mobile, and typically projected horizontally. Many took to wearing tiny gold rings along the lower edge of their ears which would ring faintly when movement bumped them together. They had slim noses and wide, black lipped mouths which he knew from personal experience were delightful to kiss. As a race of herbivores they had beautiful white teeth with a definite lack of pointy fangs.
