Jack's Daily Grind

Jack had sent Dharma on one quest to Earth for him but he had another item he needed for the banquet. This one would be beyond Dharma's ability to retrieve so he placed a rush order for it through the Embassy's courier department. It meant sending a team of runners to Earth so he informed them to get a security detail to assist. He also indicated that the item should be assembled and brought directly to the banquet hall but placed in storage there as it was to be a surprise.

That done, Jack read the appointment log and got some background on each applicant. He was getting better at identifying in advance which products and services were a good match. He'd still sit through their presentations as sometimes they introduced a spin that he hadn't considered and sometimes while listening he thought of a spin they hadn't.

He looked at the clock and saw it was time. He looked at Aaros. "I assume you will be coming with me so I'm going to identify you to the applicants as an auditor who is reviewing my work. This will set their minds at ease as they won't feel you are judging them."

Aaros thought about that and nodded. They set off for the presentation hall.

The meetings went well and Jack approved a few more than he'd originally expected as he recognized alternate purposes for two products the vendor wasn't aware of so they were happy. Before he called in his next applicant he realized it was time to head down to the courtyard.

As they walked to the 'battle' Jack pondered ways to expedite this process. "You said that this challenge can be terminated early if they fail to show up at the scheduled time right?"

"That's right. There is some leeway for traffic issues but it cannot exceed a day," the Judge answered.

"So I've just got to convince the next contestant to not show," Jack said grimly.

"You cannot interfere with the members of the challenging party," she admonished.

Jack grinned. "I wouldn't think of contacting them outside of the battle."

They reached the courtyard which was normally empty aside from workers moving between the buildings and the occasional casual foot traffic. Today it was packed with people. Jack recognized staff from both buildings milling around in a large circle. The press had arrived as well. All of the big channels were there. Jack noticed a few from Earth as well which he found surprising. The crowd parted and he saw the space in the center was open. It reminded him of the schoolyard fights from his childhood. He turned to the Judge.

"Am I allowed to make a statement before the fight," he said quietly to her.

"Of course."

He smiled.

The crowd parted on the other side and Lunnae and another male entered the ring. There were boos and jeers from the onlookers and Jack recognized the front row of the crowd were all workers from his office. Denee was the loudest heckler.

Jack stepped forward and held up his hands. The crowd immediately went silent. He looked for and found Narelle and nodded to her. He turned to Lunnae who was attempting to murder him with evil thoughts and glares.

"Lunnae, we're here to settle a Challenge and there are 244 remaining combatants. Is this true?" he called out clearly.

The male's glare turned to a creepy smile as he took in the obvious state of Jack's erection. "That's right! 244 more days."

"So 244 males will have to face me in unarmed combat?" Jack asked loudly.

Lunnae's smile began to look forced as he tried to determine where Jack was going with this. "Yes."

"Were you the one who initiated this Challenge?" Jack asked walking to the center of the open space.

"On behalf of the group, yes," Lunnae called out.

"What number are you Lunnae? When will I face you, the instigator of this Challenge?" Jack asked.

"I'm number 245," Lunnae said with a grin thinking to piss off Jack but he received a laugh instead.

"Coward. Hiding behind 244 males," Jack threw down then looked at the cameras. "I wanted no part of this barbaric activity. I want it known that this is entirely Lunnae's idea."

Narelle stepped forward. "Is the challenging combatant here?"

The male standing next to Lunnae stepped forward boldly with a show of bravado but Jack could see his trembling. Jack felt a little ill about what he had to do.

"State your name for the record," Narelle intoned.

"I am Greggi."

"Take your position."

The male strutted forward and stopped six feet away from Jack. Jack stepped forward to close the gap to two feet and stopped. Then he bent down to look into the eyes of Greggi. The male looked back at Jack and expected to see him growling or glaring but Jack just looked at him sadly.

Narelle saw they were both ready. "Begin."

"Forf-"

CRACK!!!

Greggi's body left the ground and sailed back to land with a thump. He didn't move.

Jack stood up straight from his lunge and shook his head to clear the buzz from the headbutt he'd delivered. He looked at the cameras. "242 more of those before I meet the male responsible for this stupidity." Then he walked over to Narelle.

Judge Aaros joined him after quickly checking on Greggi and Jack whispered to her. "I didn't kill him did I?" She heard real fear in his voice.

"No Jack. We are made of sterner stuff than that. Especially a male's head. There is nothing denser in the known universe. Greggi is unconscious and likely has a concussion but he will live," she responded and saw him relax. His eyes became cold and hard as he looked at Lunnae who was standing completely still staring down at Greggi's unconscious body.

"Same place and time tomorrow?" he called out to Lunnae who just nodded unable to stop looking at Greggi.

"So noted. 10AM in the courtyard, this location, for the next combatant," Narelle said loudly. With a nod and small smile for Jack she left with her security escort.

Lunnae suddenly seemed to notice what he'd just agreed to and panic was setting in as he realized he had to convince number three on the list to step forward and he only had a day to do it. He looked over at Jack and caught the tail end of Jack's cold stare as he turned away and headed back to his office.

"All of this stupidity because of Lunnae's fragile ego!" Jack raged quietly. His anger was rapidly spinning out of control and his muscles shook with the need to strike out at something or someone.

"Breathe slowly Jack and calm yourself. This is just a symptom of withdrawal. It will pass," Aaros whispered to him.

"Withdrawal?" he blurted.

"From sex," she answered.

Jack snorted and felt his rage quiet as the euphoric surge of his amusement washed over his mind. Whoa! His emotions WERE a little raw and exaggerated.

"Human's don't get withdrawal from lack of sex," he explained.

"You're no longer completely human though, are you," she said looking at his horns as they rode the elevator back to the presentation room. Jack pondered that as he entered the outer hall. The room erupted in applause from the waiting applicants. Jack and Aaros stood in surprise as they took in the cheering and grins on the faces in the room. They saw the large monitors on the wall were showing news footage of the battle in the courtyard.

Jack saw what his attack looked like from the side in exacting detail and in slow motion. One second he was staring into the eyes of Greggi and the next he was launching himself forward to slam his horns into the forehead of the male. He seemed to transfer all forward momentum into his opponent's body as he stopped moving and Greggi lifted right off his hooves to fly back like a rag doll. Jack had to look away.

He smiled to the crowd then went inside to pick up where he'd left off.

The rest of the morning went quickly. The applicants were all in good spirits and even those who were rejected left feeling like they'd received something special for just being there.

They finished up a little late due to the interruption of the battle.

The afternoon was to be spent in the Embassy and once more Judge Aaros gave her speech to the workers and Jack had to endure their cries of dismay.

Once the office settled down Jack called Denee into his office to find out what his afternoon had scheduled. Aaros took a seat on the couch munching on a sandwich an office runner had brought in for them since they missed lunch.

Denee sat across from Jack with her tablet in hand. "Jack I just wanted to apologize once more for starting this whole mess with Lunnae."

"You had no idea he'd get this stupid about it but I'd appreciate if you could be more discrete in the future," Jack said. She gave him a lusty look thinking about future encounters. Jack's cock throbbed at her look and he found himself leaning forward, fire in his eyes. Denee's eyes widened and she bit her lip as her nostril's flared.

CRASH!

Jack and Denee jumped and looked over at the Judge who was picking up the metal serving tray she'd dropped intentionally. She scowled at them as she held her hand over her nose. She walked over to the window and opened the ventilation system all the way.

"Control! Jack's rapidly losing his so you need to control your reactions around him," the Judge growled at Denee who looked mortified at what she'd almost done. She looked back to her tablet trembling in shame.

"This afternoon, in ten minutes actually, you are meeting with an Allsa Komanae delegation and there was a last minute request from the Phem Kalos to meet. They are scheduled for 3PM. That's all. I'm so sorry Jack." With that the female rushed from the room.

Jack pushed back in his chair. He was suddenly aware of how little control he had. He now saw the true danger in the trap Lunnae had drawn him into. He had almost reached across the desk and grabbed Denee. And she would have willingly participated. He shook with reaction clenching his eyes tight.

"Should we cancel your meetings this afternoon?" Aaros asked gently.

"NO! Sorry, no. You don't cancel with the Allsa Komanae. Too dangerous. You meet. You listen, carefully. Then you find some way to deny their request because nothing they say is what they mean. Everything they promise results in loss, ruin, and suffering. They are long-time enemies of Earth which doesn't make my job any easier as they despise Humans," he explained.

"In your current state of heightened emotions is it safe for you to meet with them? Could we have someone else meet in your place?" she suggested.

"I'm the only one here today that's trained to speak with them. Karrel could but she's on maternity leave. It's OK, I can do this. We use the circular room for them. You'll be seated in the outer chamber, it isn't safe for you to enter. You'll have full visibility and there is only one way into the room so it doesn't break the rules. We should go. You don't make the Allsa Komanae wait either." Jack got up and stiffly walked over to the door. He rolled his neck then he opened the door and headed to the meeting room.

When they arrived he gestured for Aaros to take a seat next to the door. As she sat the wall in front of her seat became translucent. "You can see in but they can't see out," Jack explained.

Inside the room were three tall and broad figures cloaked in black cloth that disguised their bodies. They had hoods pulled far over their heads so their faces were in shadows. Jack entered the room.

The three went still as Jack approached them. The room was circular, completely white, and had no furniture. No distractions or places to hide.

"Greetings. I am Altarian Ambassador Jack Danner," he said and nothing else.

"A Human? The Altarians insult us by sending us a Human?" the one in the middle spoke. There were no distinguishing markings to identify them nor would they give their names so Jack just numbered them One, Two, and Three. Number two was the speaker in the group it seemed.

"You receive no special treatment from the Altarians. I am the Altarian Ambassador," he simply stated.

"Special Treatment it calls it when in reality this is an affront, a heinous insult, a vicious attack!" the voice got louder and Jack started to get worried. This behavior was well outside of the scope of normal behavior for this race. They didn't raise their voices nor did they issue threats. They were far sneakier. Jack felt his own rage bubbling just beneath the surface but he held it down with all his might.

"If you have no business with the Altarians other than to scream at me then I suppose this meeting is over," Jack said stiffly. Then he made a mistake. He turned his back on them.

The middle one flung out its arm and a cord shot out and wrapped itself around Jack's neck. Had it been a normal Human neck he would have begun dying immediately from a crushed windpipe as the coil dug in and tightened.

Jack reached back suddenly, grabbed the cord and yanked. The Allsa Komanae instinctively gripped harder for they never let anyone take anything from them. He should have let go. Instead, he was yanked forward off his feet to fly towards Jack who spun his body back to face them with his left fist coming in fast. Knuckles shot into the shadowed hood and hit... something... which broke.

It screamed. God how it screamed. It lost its grip on the whip and Jack pulled the handle to him. The coil hadn't loosened yet and Jack didn't want the others to get a hand on it.

Number One and Three hadn't moved or spoken during this entire confrontation. Now they reached for Number Two and pushed it to the ground.

Then they stomped it to death.

Jack backed to the door and exited, sickened by what he was watching. The stomping continued as the door closed behind him. Aaros was at his elbow immediately and medical personnel were standing by. Jack inspected the handle of the whip and saw a control he recognised was the power switch. He pressed it and the coil went slack. He still needed to peel it from the skin of his neck and it left a deep indentation and bruise. That would be coming up as a welt soon and he just hoped it wouldn't scar.

His voice was a little raw as he spoke to the security detail. "When they are finished in there, please escort them to their Gate and off of Altaria. I will be filing a formal complaint." The medics took images of the damage to his neck and one of the security personnel sealed the whip into an evidence bag. The meeting itself would have been recorded so he had that for the complaint he would file. "Let's see them talk their way out of that!" he thought but realized they probably would considering what they were doing to his attacker.

Jack and Aaros went back to his office and when they arrived the group took one look at his neck and came charging. Aaros imposed her body between Jack and the wailing staff and shouted them down. Jack made his way into his office and pulled Mella from her hiding place under his desk. He spanked her bum and sent her on her way. He thought he might have spanked her a little too hard but she gave him a fiery look and grin as she left his office. The door closed and he slumped back in his chair. His cock was throbbing and his head was spinning from the scent of the ladies. Even injured the need was growing.

"Jack, you should cancel the next meeting. Go home. Rest. Relieve yourself if you can," Aaros said gently.

"No, I just have the one meeting left and these guys should be far more rational. I have NO clue as to why that Allsa Komanae flipped out like that. I got the impression that his companions were also surprised." Jack looked at Aaros with a confused expression.

Jack got up from his chair and walked over to his large couch. "I have forty minutes before the next meeting. I'm just going to rest my eyes for thirty of them, OK?" She nodded and sat in a chair to rest.

He closed his eyes and seemingly a minute later he felt a hand stroking his horns. He kept his eyes closed as he was really enjoying the soothing touch. It actually eased his need a little. The hand pulled away and he heard a voice.

"Jack, it is time to wake up." It was Aaros. She'd been stroking his horns. He opened his eyes and looked up into her smiling face. He looked at the time and saw he only had five minutes.

"Undo my braid please. It's apparently best to visit Phem Kalos with my hair free," he explained.

Aaros pulled the ribbon loose and ran her fingers through his hair to undo the braid. He caught her languidly running her fingers through it and pulled away. "We have to get moving," he said brusquely as the cursed throbbing began again.

They walked to greeting room one and entered just as the clock ticked on 3PM.

"Greetings FennLann De Jark, FennHark De Kurk, FennDurr De Dent. May I introduce Justice Aaros. She is... here to keep an eye on me," Jack finished lamely as he hadn't considered what to say about her.

The Prince stepped forward with a grin. "No need to explain the female's purpose. We watched the combat this morning and learned what we could of it. It is an ancient law and fascinating to see enacted! Tell me. What was that male attempting to say before you slammed into him?"

"He was attempting to forfeit. They filed a Challenge of unarmed combat but none will actually fight. I didn't give this one time to say the word," Jack said feeling a little ill as he recalled Greggi's fright.

"It was a rather one sided battle," FennLann smirked. "You had a better opponent with that Allsa Komanae!"

Jack's head whipped to look at the Prince.

"The news of its attack on you is all over the news! Somehow the security footage was 'leaked' to the press. You are a formidable opponent! Grisly way they dispatched their injured companion though. I can see you didn't walk away uninjured yourself." FennLann was looking at Jack's neck with excitement. This was the kind of action the Prince craved. He was taking a real liking to this Ambassador and his bare knuckles approach to diplomacy. Besides, no one trusted the Allsa Komanae and seeing one taken down was a special treat. "I wouldn't be surprised to hear that this story had spread across the entire Gate Network by tomorrow morning. Not to worry though. The Allsa Komanae already hate Human's for exposing their attempted genocide of the Chuuruthians. That cost them dearly." The Prince was grinning widely.

The two councillors looked like they wanted to be anywhere but here. As much as Jack enjoyed the company of the Prince he had to be diplomatic to the two older beings as well.

"Was there something specific you wished to discuss at this meeting? I understand you already had the Asset Disclosure meeting," Jack said.

"Actually I have something that might help you. When I looked up the ancient laws in the Phem Kalos database I did a little reading on that Abstinence Clause. It has a tactical purpose. The longer the Challenged party is delayed from having sex the less control he has. As part human you have shown remarkable control but eventually it may start to show. Way back in those days the Phem Kalos weren't as friendly with the Altarians and sometimes they interfered with these Challenges." The Councillors were back to looking uncomfortable. Likely the Prince was disclosing state secrets.

"If the Altarian being challenged was the one the Phem Kalos were backing and if the Abstinence Clause was invoked we would gift them with a pouch of special herbs from Phem Kalos which have a side benefit of neutralizing the potency of Altarian female musk. This helped calm the male nullifying the tactical advantage of the Abstinence Clause."

"You wouldn't happen to have some of those herbs, would you?" Jack asked.

The Prince smiled once more. "I do!"

Jack waited but the Prince just smiled. "And what would you like in exchange?"

"I want to know what the fun thing is you're planning to show me at the banquet!" the Prince gushed.

Jack smiled. "Ah, very clever. OK, we have a deal. In exchange for these herbs I will tell you."