Stunning Hope

 A True Sacrifice

Hank and Jeremiah have been prisoners for 3 days. They were on a mission to terminate J'onn and after encountering him, woke up here. J'onn is about to take Hank away, presumably to kill him. When Jeremiah, stalwartly and passionately offers an alternative.

“No please, take me.” Jeremiah Danvers said in a rush. The alien lowered his fist. “I might not like him very much, but I cannot let this continue. He's no longer any threat to you, you gain nothing by this. Keep me, let him go...please.”

“I do not understand what you are suggesting. Please elaborate.”

Jeremiah hesitated for a moment. “He has a beacon on him to activate in emergency and call for extraction. Activate the beacon and leave him as he is...or drop him off somewhere. Agents from our organization will find him. And you'll never hear from him, or anyone from the D.E.O again. Truth be told, If you take me with you, you'll be giving me a new life. But if you kill him...I cannot let you take his life. Whatever I think of him, he's still my commanding officer. I cannot keep silent and just let this happen. We have rules even in war. He's no longer any threat to you. If for no other reason than to prove you're better than him, leave him alone...take me.”

“You would give up your freedom for this man's life?” The man said, mystified.

“For his freedom AND his life...yes. If you will not only let him live but let him go, then without your order to the contrary, I'll not leave your side.”

The alien bent over Hank Henshaw and put the back of his hand against the man's temples. He closed his eyes briefly before righting himself. “Activate the beacon you mentioned. And we will be leaving here.” Jeremiah took a small device from his jack-shirt pocket and turned the top. He set the beacon down on Hank Henshaw's chest. “Follow me.”

After 2 hours of walking though the fields with a sinking sun to their left they came to a clearing, dotted by a few houses with flat roofs made out of red clay and what looked like an old one room school house. With a wave of his green hand J'onn motioned his companion into the structure. The room was sparsely furnished but dry and cool. A cot was set up on cinder blocks with lightweight sheets and fluffy white pillows on it. A low set table and an equally short bookshelf stood off the one side. “I...hope you'll be comfortable here. I have to go see a friend.” He turned to leave.

“Wait please.” Jeremiah reached out his hand, almost reaching for his alien captor. “We should at least learn each-others names.”

The alien looked embarrassed, or confused. “Of course. That is polite even among enemies.” He looked meaningfully at Jeremiah. “And WE are no longer enemies.”

“I'm Jeremiah Danvers.” The man said simply. He extended his hand.

The alien straightened himself and extended his right hand. “I am, J'onn Jo'nzz.”

“What did you do to Hank?”

“I...made sure he wouldn't come here looking for you.”

“Thank you.” Jeremiah said in a heartfelt tone. “You gave me a new life, you kept your word. I could literally ask no more than that from anyone, so thank you.”

“I get the feeling I should be thanking you.” J'onn replied. And he was gone.

Jeremiah got to his feet the instant he walked in the door. J'onn looked disquieted at the courtesy. “There is no need for that, please.”

“I'm sorry, I guess, old habits must die hard. I'm...not sure what to expect.”

“Do your people have a word for being able to move freely throughout the premises as long as you do leave the premises?”

“House arrest.” Jeremiah said.

“Then I suppose 'house arrest' is the best description. I do not intend to treat you as any sort of captive Jeremiah. I...I suppose I can only ask you to believe that. You are not a prisoner of war, you are an unwelcome guest, I think.”

“Would I seem, impolite to ask why you are being so kind to me?” J'onn started. “I wasn't an eager participant but I was on a mission to kill you.”

“You were the first human to speak to me as an equal, seeing me in my true appearance.” Jeremiah cocked an eyebrow. “My people are shape-shifters. We can look human if we choose. And for most of my time on your planet, I have done. I would hope we can continue to be equals.”

“I would like that as well, J'onn. And I know enough to know I'm not a hostage here in the strictest sense. I just wasn't sure...who or what to expect if you understand me.” J'onn nodded. “I owe you an apology. I don't understand what happened, we were VERY wrong about you. And I am sorry.”

“You were the first human to look me in the eyes when you talked to me, without either anger or fear. Believe me if I didn't have as high an opinion of you, I would not let you stay here.”

“Well that makes sense. Wait, does that mean I can see the rest of this place?”

“ 'The rest of this place', is what I came here to show you.” J'onn said with a slight smile. Jeremiah fell half a step behind J'onn and they walked out of the school house. It turned out they were in a rather pleasant meadow, with the mountains away to the north. After about ten minutes walk J'onn brought him to another clearing. This one dotted with houses constructed mostly of gray stone or wood. A well beaten path ran between the structures and at a distance, under the shade of the mountain there was a structure made entirely of dried sticks covered in moss and held together with what could have been twine. Jeremiah got the impression that whoever lived there preferred the company of animals to that of bipeds. And might well have been the 'friend' J'onn had mentioned before. “Welcome to Arias.”

“Arias, what does that mean?”

“In many languages it means something between and including 'city in the clouds' and 'near to God.” J'onn said with a clear note of joy in his voice. “It's simply a more specific word for 'sanctuary' which doesn't always translate the same way in our languages.”

“It doesn't?” Jeremiah asked before he could stop himself.

“For Zyerilians a sanctuary is a cloister, set apart from the outside world, dedicated only to the pursuit fo religious knowledge. For Enkarens it's a military or government training school where you cast aside all other concerns to become the best of whatever you pursue.”

“Ahh, yeah I can see how that would get confusing. Why intentions rather than functions would help best if you have different 'native' languages. This may be a weird time to ask it but were we right about you? In so far as we thought you were a Martian, were we right about you?”

“Yes, I am a Green Martian. And the distinction is significant.” J'onn did not say anything else on the subject and for a few moments did not say anything at all. He simply stared off into the near distance, lost in thought...or perhaps in the past. I regretted upsetting him. He was a good man. If nothing else he was a man of honor and someone his people, the people of Arias looked to as their rock. That's when I realized what Sarrin had been talking about. They follow J'onn because they believe in him. Not because he was their commander or governor. And when Sarrin had mentioned she didn't wear a bracelet, she'd been trying to tell me she wasn't bound to J'onn by anything but self-decided loyalty. That she didn't obey him.