Precious Declaration 
by Michael J. Pfeffer 

The story so far... Michael Andrews and crew have been to Moscow and back, almost
getting killed in the process. Michael's father, James, caused some trouble in Moscow in
1989, and a bloodlet has been set for the entire Andrews family. Thanks to Michael's spy
heritage, his father arriving to help out, and his MJP-911 personal aircraft, he was able to
take his friends back to safety. Still, many unanswered questions remain. What is the origin
of the MJP-911? How did Michael begin his spy career? Why is Eddie, the shipboard
computer, so euphoric? 

North Caldwell, New Jersey 
1996 

The spacecraft descended silently through the upper atmosphere of the planet Earth,
basking in electromagnetic rays from the star Sol, its pilot knowing that it was programmed
to escape the Javin sector and land somewhere on Earth. 
Somewhere happened to be 29 Del Valle Avenue, North Caldwell, New Jersey. 
Right where Michael Andrews was coming home from school that day. 
He had stepped off the bus which drove away like a bat with its wing on fire. "Yeah, fine,"
he said to himself, "expel exhaust fumes in my eye." Michael opened up his mailbox. Well.
A new issue of _Popular Mechanics_, some junk mail, and a new _Jane's Defense
Weekly._ A few nice things, but otherwise... 
The winds picked up, and the mail went flying. "Dammit." He bent over to pick it up, when
another, much stronger and consistent windblast sent it into a gutter. "Wonderful. Just
great. I... what the hell is that?" A sleek object was descending from the sky. It had
forward-swept wings, a short, curved tail structure, hawkish and avian in the front, its entire
tail and engine structure looking like an afterthought. It was not like anything he had ever
seen. Slowly, gracefully, it landed in a hover. "Damn," he said. "Only Harriers do that!" A
hatch hissed with equalizing pressure as it came open. A tall, gaunt, alien-looking figure
with greyish skin and huge almond-shaped orange eyes. "Earthman... you shall take this
craft." Michael was stuttering. "What... who..." The alien held up a hand. "No questions.
Javin Sector authorities will never search such an undeveloped planet. You will take this
craft and these." The alien held out an attache case and a huge box. With that, he pressed
a few buttons on his belt and fizzled out into thin air. Michael's eyes were wider than dinner
plates at this time as he slowly moved towards the strange craft and the attache case and
box. He opened the box, which was held together with masking tape and cardboard,
surprisingly. Inside it were seemingly hundreds of small capsules and a note. The note
read, in scratchy cursive, "Add water, but be careful." Michael tentatively took out one of the
capsules and dipped it under a hose for a few moments. The capsule swelled and grew, at
exponential proportions, until it became a weapon that looked just like it came from a
comic book. He picked it up. It was surprisingly light, and made of very shiny metal. It
looked like a shortened M-16A2, without the magazine and wooden stock. The center of
the barrel glowed a bright red, and there were two switches under it, as well as a safety
near the trigger guard. He adored the military, and thus knew how to use weapons, but
never saw this in Jane's. He looked at the switches. One of them said "Burst" and "Long
Shot," and the other was a switch between "Stun" and "Kill." He switched it to Long Shot
and Stun, and aimed at a rabbit. After holding down the trigger, it fired a blast of azure light
at the creature. It froze, twitching, but it was still alive. Michael felt the barrel. It was cool. He
switched to Kill and fired a blast straight into the ground. It burrowed deep, almost severing
a water line. Michael breathed a little faster. This was too cool to believe. 
His father was on some business trip, and his mother would be late, so he had plenty of
time to examine the contents of the case, box, and inside of the ship. The case had
incredible things- a micro-press for making almost real money, miniature cameras, and a
weird watch. When he put the watch on, it lit up, showing him the time and a small menu.
He poked around and eventually found that it could track TV channels, radio stations, and
control computers. Impressive. There were also these weird belts and a note, also in
scratchy cursive. "The ship's computer will conform to you. Never tell anyone of how you
came across these. Make up a story. Best of luck," it read. "This ship will serve every luxury
need for Earthmen tastes." Michael put the note down, and walked into the fantastic ship.
There was a lounge with comfortable leather chairs, a service area, and a cockpit. He sat
down in one of the flight control stations. A voice piped on. It was deep and baritone. 
"Can you hear me when I say this?" it said. 
Michael was able to manage a weak "Yeah." 
"Good," said the voice. "Now can you hear me say this?" it said in a high, squeaky tone.
Michael nodded. "Very well," it said in a comfortable pitch. "I am your shipboard computer,
here to cater to your every whim to you, the pilot of this grand MJP-911 fighter. I am armed
with countermeasures, various projectile weapons, air-to-air missiles, turret lasers, and
straight-fire lasers. Here, let me calibrate my Nutri-Matic systems. Please, ask for an
obscure Earth food and drink." 
Michael scratched his head. "Uhh... gimme a grape soda and some Chinese tangerine
chicken." A small panel opened up, and a can of Minute Maid grape soda and a steaming
plate of tangerine chicken emerged on a tray. Michael took the fork that came with it and
tried the chicken. It was some of the best he had tasted yet, even better than the legendary
20 Mott Street restaurant in Chinatown. The grape soda tasted like the mass-produced
drink found in vending machines. "It's pretty good," he said to the computer. 
"Excellent!" it said. "Call me Eddie if you like." 
Michael leaned back. "Okay, Eddie," he said with a twinge of sarcasm, "where did you
come from?" 
The computer responded, "My long-term memory banks have been wiped clean. All I know
is that this is the planet Earth, the year 1994. I read from your DNA that you are Michael
Andrews, resident of North Caldwell, New Jersey. The box that you have is an armory of
weapons, collected from far and wide. If you like, I can fix them up for you and store them in
the weapons locker." Michael nodded. "Yeah, sure. Go nuts." 
A few minutes later, all the weapons were secure. There were ten laser rifles like the ones
Michael had tried out, twenty pulse pistols, ten grenade launchers, countless bandoliers of
ammo, some assorted high-explosive projectile weapons, one gigantic minigun with a
large box of ammo, and an electromagnetic railgun. There were almost thousands of
charge capsules that Eddie had elected to keep in miniature form for storage. Michael had
found the remote system for the MJP-911 and kept it in his pocket. Michael had taken one
of the smaller pulse pistols and had Eddie sew secret pockets for it in all of his long sleeve
shirts, so he could use it as last-ditch protection. It was that next day when the tiny pistol
would prove itself. 
Michael was walking down the halls of West Essex Junior High School, carrying his usual
load of books. He noticed that two of his acquaintances, Lindsay Boslett and Maria Natale
were putting up watercolor pictures that students had painted. "Hey Lindz, Maria. What's
up?" They both said hello as Michael walked along, when all of a sudden, Ryan Bonanno,
the class bully and chronic smoker, appeared from a side hallway. He was flicking a lighter
and acting like Beavis and Butt-Head, and then as a joke, rushed up to Michael and started
flicking it up to his shirt. Laughing, Bonanno walked away. Enraged, Michael yelled "Hey,
come back here and do that, you fat asshole!" When he heard that, Bonanno turned around
and rushed Michael, shoving the lighter up against him again. Michael pushed him away,
and Ryan came forward, fists swinging. Michael ducked and spun around, landing a deft
punch to Bonanno's midsection. With a _whoof,_ he stumbled and stood back up. It was
then that Michael saw the outline of the .38 Special in Bonanno's pocket. His eyes widened
in shock. Reacting quickly, Michael jerked his arm forwards and backwards rapidly, the tiny
pulse pistol sliding into his hand. He flicked the switch from Kill to Stun, and fired at
Bonanno. The pistol shot out a sparking blast of lightning at Bonanno's prone form.
Traveling at the speed of light, it struck him, and he fell into a dreamless sleep. Michael put
the pistol back into the secret pocket of his shooting arm, and glared down at Bonanno.
Regrettably, he would be awake soon. Thankfully, Lindsay and Maria had left to report the
fight and Bonanno attacking Michael. Later, Ryan would be suspended, but Michael never
pressed charges for fear that Bonanno would report his weapons, and Bonanno never
pressed charges for fear that Michael would come back for him. 
Michael came home that day with a mission. He knew what he had to do. His family would
be moving to California in a few weeks, and he could start with some esteem there. 
He would become a mercenary. 
Not a true soldier of fortune, but a secret agent. His vast military knowledge would serve
him well. He had the grappling hooks, micro-cameras, and tons of other incredible
weapons. He would set up a lab, modifying the weapons as necessary. This, he thought,
would be really great. 
Meanwhile, events were conspiring. Many miles away, in the state of Maine, another family
would begin preparations to move. They would, however, make their switch in the summer.
Sean and Marisa Jacobs were tired of the tourist life in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. They
needed to move to Lawndale, but their daughter Mara wanted to stay a while and see the
planned Alternomega tour. They agreed. The move would be made in late summer. Mara
would stay and see the music and the beach one last time. She reserved tickets for
Alternomega and planned to fly out the day after the concert. Little did she or Michael
realize their paths would cross, changing their lives drastically. Little did they know what
was about to happen. Little did they know that fate would finally bring love to two more
souls.