Lost Automi

By Hethasee Beythastar

The mission to Crescent Watch was supposed to be simple: Send an officer from the Fanellian Rescue Corps to the Crescent Watch Observatory, observe the light anomaly taking place on the neighboring planet, and return to Devalerri HQ and report on the anomaly. This mission was assigned to new recruit Balladine Vox, with her best friend, Piraleia Raossi, being assigned to visit the archives at Revertianni in order to further research the anomaly. Unfortunately, this simple mission turned out to be anything but, as Rescue Corps soon discovered that this anomaly was not natural, but rather man-made. And the anomaly was coming right towards the little island of Fanellia…

Lost Automi (“Automi” is the Revatelle word for “Machine”) is the first in a series of five novels about the Weslantian Invasion, beginning with the invasion on Fanellia and ending with the retaliatory attack on the capital of Westlebruque. Join Balladine and Piraleia as they travel across the island of Fanellia, working to unite the people of both Rescue Corps and Barbares in order to defend themselves from a common enemy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Aug 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886933918

Hethasee Beythastar

Hethasee Beythastar is a Mexican immigrant living in the United States since 2001. He has been interested in literature from an early age and earned his Associate’s Degree in English at San Diego Miramar College in 2020. Since then, he has been working hard on his stories and is proud to bring you Lost Automi, the first installment in a five-novel long series that will show the Weslantian Invasion, from the very beginning to the very end of the Weslantian Empire.

Book preview

About the Author

Hethasee Beythastar is a Mexican immigrant living in the United States since 2001. He has been interested in literature from an early age and earned his Associate’s Degree in English at San Diego Miramar College in 2020. Since then, he has been working hard on his stories and is proud to bring you Lost Automi, the first installment in a five-novel long series that will show the Weslantian Invasion, from the very beginning to the very end of the Weslantian Empire.

Dedication

My mother, Maria Elena Escoto

My father, Hugo Rios Maldonado

My sister, Allison Rios

My best friends, Andrew Lacsamana and Colin Winegardner

Copyright Information ©

Hethasee Beythastar 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Beythastar, Hethasee

Lost Automi

ISBN 9798886933901 (Paperback)

ISBN 9798886933918 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023910879

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Preface

The following story takes place in what you would call a fictional universe. The events and people are accurately depicted under the standards set by the Revertianni Mannedesen Education Bureau and follow the regulations set by Article 6.A.ii of the Revertianni Foreign Presentation Act of 1953.

Tribute to Nature

As this tale came to be within my mind,

I was reminded of a beautiful truth of life:

That the world as I perceive it now will always be

One of the greatest gifts from wise Nature.

This is because an undeniable truth that we know

Is that all who live and once lived in this world

Are born from the domain of Nature and its blessings,

That we will always belong to the Natural World.

And so I return to this tribute after the story has been told, And long after the dust in Crescent Watch has settled,

To speak to you the lessons I learned from Nature,

The truths that we are all born with and can never deny:

To observe and appreciate the gifts of Nature is to be a wise and humble human being,

For it is the outside world and its many mysteries that remind us why we are special.

Chapter One

Signs

The island of Fanellia was a small but diverse landmass, dotted with forests, deserts, and a large mountain range along its northern edge. Hidden away in this mountain range was a small town named Crescent Watch, named after its high altitude, which made the moon appear just a bit larger than anywhere else on the island. But on this particular night, the people of Crescent Watch were gazing up at one of the other planets in their solar system, which had begun to shine with a peculiar, orange-red light. This light would flicker at times, and at other times it would disappear, only to return a day or two later. Its inconsistency was considered abnormal by the people of Crescent Watch, including an officer that worked in the Rescue Corps outpost of the town.

Fanellia was where Piraleia Raossi had been born, but she never truly considered it to be her home. Her biological parents had abandoned her at an early age, and she learned to get by on her own, barely surviving on scraps until the day she met a couple that was visiting on vacation, a married couple that took Piraleia in and brought her with them to their homeland. And so, Piraleia grew up not in Fanellia, but in the nation of Revertianni Mannedesen, a sprawling country of interconnected cities and futuristic technologies. Piraleia was raised as a Revertian and was home schooled until she was old enough to study at the Colierri Revertia, the largest university in Revertianni.

In reality, Piraleia had been taught at the Colierri from the very beginning, as her adoptive parents worked there and would bring her with them. Piraleia grew up at the Colierri, learning about the arts and humanities from her mother and about technology and politics from her father. Her mother, Princess Phoebe Maxol, was the Superintendent of the Revertian Education Bureau, the Colierri her headquarters. Her father, Kynard Raossi, was the Head of Security at the Colierri Revertia. After completing her education at the Colierri, Piraleia decided to return to Fanellia and enlist in the Fanellian Tribelands Rescue Corps in order to help those in need, to make sure that the life she lived as a child would not repeat for anybody else.

Three years passed since Piraleia first enlisted, and she climbed the ranks of Rescue Corps until she had become the President’s right hand officer. During this time, she made good friends, lost some of them, and saved the world multiple times. But one friend stood out to her, a friend named Balladine Vox. Piraleia had met Balladine two years ago, and they had become good friends during the Shade Crisis, working together to end it and save the world from the clutches of a demon known as the Shade King. But then, Balladine disappeared, never to be seen again.

She had completed her own goals and moved on, and so Piraleia felt she had been abandoned once again…

No, she’ll be back one day. I know she will…

Today was a slow and calm day at Devalerri, the headquarters for Rescue Corps. The local farmers were up and about, preparing their fields for the next harvest, but the rest of the townsfolk were either asleep or relaxing at home. The newest Rescue Corps recruits were out in the yard, doing their daily workout routine, whereas the officers were either preparing for their next mission or having breakfast in the Mess Hall. In contrast, the third floor of Devalerri HQ was buzzing with activity, particularly near the President’s Office.

Piraleia would have to see the President today, but she had all day to go check with her.

Right now, Piraleia was at her apartment, watching the local news while having a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Today would be an easy day for Piraleia, an easy day indeed… So Piraleia took her time with her oatmeal and watching the news, and then slowly got dressed for work. And once she felt comfortable with going to work, she opened the door to her apartment, stepped out of it and into the Devalerri HQ main lobby, and then locked the door behind her. From there, getting to the President’s Office was a short elevator ride away.

President Kate was talking to one of her assistants when Piraleia reached the office.

Piraleia gently knocked on the door and stood outside, waiting and looking down at her boots until the assistant opened the door for her, letting her into the office. President Kate looked worried about something, but that worried look quickly gave way to a smile as she greeted Piraleia.

Ah, welcome back, Miss Piraleia. Tell me, what do you know of planetary anomalies?

What kind of anomalies?

The planetary kind.

Oh, that helps me out quite a bit. It’s almost as if the answer appeared to me in a dream.

That’s all I have for you.

I need more information. If it’s in retrograde, it may have collided with something, or it could just be an optical illusion.

Crescent Watch wouldn’t contact us just because a planet is in retrograde.

OK, perhaps it’s smaller, in which case it’s friction from nearby orbiting objects.

Doubtful, it would be a more gradual change, not a sudden one.

Then I’m out of ideas. I can return home and research the anomaly at the Colierri, since both my parents have maximum clearance there. But until I know what exactly has been observed, I can’t give any exact answers because I don’t know what to look for.

I understand. I’ll put in a request for further information, stand by until then.

A message appeared in Kate’s computer, an enlistment application from Southbound.

Kate turned around and sat back down to look at it: Feel free to wait here or grab a drink, it may take a while before Crescent Watch tells us more, and I’d like to read this report as well.

May I ask what it is?

An application from a recruit, a Revertian named… Balladine Vox. You wouldn’t happen to know her, would you?

Piraleia looked at Kate and smiled: Balladine’s applying to work with us?

You’ve met her before.

I’ve worked with her in the past, yes.

And?

She’s an Automi, one that’s capable of bringing forth weapons from across time and space. She’s definitely skilled in combat, I think she would make a great addition to Rescue Corps. But I don’t know why she waited until now to apply.

It doesn’t matter anymore. She’s one of us now, and we’ll be needing her soon.

You’re worried about that planetary anomaly?

Correct.

Piraleia nodded and looked out the window, slowly growing bored of talking. She watched the new recruits running laps around the yard, a group of off duty officers playing a ballgame in the center of the yard, an elderly woman walking her dog nearby… Piraleia kept watching the dog as it hopped in and out of a small water puddle: Placing her in training will be pointless. Automi are physically perfect, Balladine more so.

Why is that?

She was designed to be able to change her very appearance with ease. A change in central frame and face takes about three minutes, and suddenly she’s a tall, muscular man. With a skeletal frame that can support both, she’s far more athletic than any human can ever be.

Do you suggest I give her a trial by fire?

I suggest she visit Crescent Watch as her first mission, travel there alone and fend for herself. She can make contact with Crescent Watch Outpost and observe the anomaly in person. And in the meantime, I visit Revertianni to conduct research.

You think Revertianni will know about other planets?

Piraleia looked back at Kate and smiled: We Revertians have visited the other planets in our solar system and won a war against Sistel Nuveris, the next closest solar system. We’ve been to other planets, and we’ll know how they function. It’s only a matter of me finding the answer and bringing it here quickly.

Good, I await your answer. Thank you, Piraleia.

No problem, President.

As Piraleia left President Kate’s office, she could help but remember the time she spent working with Balladine during the Shade Crisis. There were both high and low points for both of them, but they overcame any challenge they came across and eventually defeated the Shade King together. After the dust had settled, Piraleia agreed to bring Balladine with her to Revertianni, so that Balladine could meet her creator and ask her any questions she had. But Piraleia soon decided that this was a mistake, as it was after meeting her creator that Balladine decided to simply disappear, leaving Revertianni and going on her own adventure without any explanation or warning given.

Piraleia returned to her apartment and began to load up her travel pack with the usual set of supplies: A canteen, a tent tarp, a hatchet, some flares, and packets of dehydrated food. Her mission wouldn’t be difficult, as the majority of the traveling would be outside of Fanellia, which was the most dangerous region of the planet, but she was better safe than sorry. There would also be a drive from the Northern Forest to the Capitalle delo Revertianni, her hometown, but she had a vehicle stationed at the Northern Forest.

Once her travel pack was ready, Piraleia checked her uniform to make sure it was clean and ready and then put it back on, slowly walking into the bathroom to look at her reflection. There she was, standing tall and in her Rescue Corps uniform: Navy blue jacket, gray shirt, black pants, and the navy-blue cape with a gold insignia of Revertianni, a gift bestowed to Rescue Corps by two of its founders, Piraleia’s own parents. The insignia depicted a person standing under the sunlight, their arms raised to better accept the sun’s enlightening rays, the symbol for the Beings of Thought, Revertianni’s original founders.

Piraleia noticed that her hair needed to be trimmed, as it had been two months since her last haircut. She hated haircuts, as only a few barbers were skilled enough to avoid cutting her ears. Unlike the typical Mainlander, Piraleia was a Mar’ Elli, one of the animal peoples of Fanellia. She was a raccoon Mar’ Elli, and she had the ears to prove it; Piraleia had two raccoon ears at the top of her head, rather than human ears on the sides of her head, and some barbers wouldn’t notice and would accidentally nick her ears. Piraleia gently moved her hair so that it wasn’t covering up her ears, and then put on the gray Rescue Corps hat. It too had the gold insignia of Revertianni, located front and center.

After getting dressed, Piraleia returned to the living room and picked up her phone, carefully dialing the number for the Colierri’s Administrative Building: You have reached the Colierri Revertia Administrative Building. If you know your party’s extension, feel free to dial—

Piraleia dialed 1898 onto her phone, and she could hear the dial tone on the other end of the phone line. A few seconds later, a woman answered the phone: Superintendent’s office, this is Phoebe Maxol.

Hey mom, it’s Piraleia.

Piraleia! How are you doing?

I’m doing alright, I just got my next assignment.

And? Will it be challenging for you?

No, actually. One of the planets in the solar system has a weird thing going on with it, and President Kate wants me to look into it. She’s assigning me to return to Revertianni to do research at the Colierri.

That’s wonderful! Your father and I will be going on our yearly vacation soon, perhaps we’ll see you before you leave. Or perhaps you’ll come here before we head out?

It’s possible, but I’m not leaving today. We just received word that Balladine’s enlisting with us at Rescue Corps, and she’s arriving tonight.

Balladine? She’s back?

Yes.

That’s amazing! Do tell her that your father and I say hello, will you? We’ve missed her all these years, I can imagine that you’re just as happy, if not happier, to see her as we are!

Yeah, but…

What’s wrong?

"I still don’t know why she left in the first place, and I don’t know if she’ll tell me at all.

What if she left because—"

No, honey. Balladine didn’t leave because of you, you know that. She left in spite of how close she was to you, not because of you.

I know, but it’s hard to shake off that feeling.

I bet… Tell you what, why don’t you come with us after your assignment? You and Balladine both. You need a change of pace and scenery, and having Balladine with you will make things much smoother. You can talk to her about the past two years, make up for that missed time… It’ll be fun!

Where are you and dad going?

We’re going to Barbares, to see—

To see the king? Mom, I know you and Dad did your best to help him out, but the king you knew back then… he’s gone, he’s no more. King Thon as you knew him either died or was never real. It doesn’t matter which, since the outcome is the same: The King Thon of today is not the man you knew, he’s a different person entirely, a brutal king who plunged his nation into civil war just to regain power.

Phoebe sighed and thought about her response: I know, Piraleia… But I can’t give up on him, not without at least trying to bring the old King Thon back. Even after everything he’s done these past three years, even after starting the civil war, I still see him as the same lost, terrified child that he was when I first met him. He’s still lost, and he’s still scared. He needs help.

"I