Matsu Aux stared at the ten foot mechanical beast in front of him like a parent might look at a disobedient child. Clipboard in hand, he scribbled out the last name on a long list. “You just had to be difficult, didn’t you?” he muttered, scratching at the back of his neck helplessly.

Slowly shaking his head, he peered back up at the creature, a defiant monster made of steel and synthetic nerves. Its eyes, dead and dormant, seemed to stare right back at him, and the plates around his face gave him an almost cocky expression.

The Mechanical Cervidae—or, C-Mech, as they were commonly referred—was quite the sight to behold. Even with the trouble the machine had given Aux, he couldn’t help but feel a small swell of pride as he looked at his creation… his baby, almost. As the machine’s name suggested, he took the appearance of an elk with twisting antlers, a powerful body, and spindly legs, although he stood at around 10 feet at his shoulder—which was actually quite small for a C-Mech. But this was no ordinary C-Mech, after all.

Aux had poured his heart and soul into the design, and he was almost overwhelmed by the sight of the completed machine every time he saw it.

Of course, that didn’t make up for the fact that he refused to work.

“That was the last one, huh?” he asked wearily, although there was little question in his voice. He had the list of recruits in his hands, had watched each of them try and utterly fail to connect to the beast.

Since the statement had been directed at no one in particular, he was a little shocked to find that there was someone standing next to him who answered. “That’s what it appears to be.”

Aux nearly jumped two feet into the air. “G-general, Sir! Um, didn’t see you there—didn’t even know you were here. Sorry. Sir?” He performed an afterthought salute, an apologetic smile stretching his face. He had figured General Samuel Mallon would have had more important things to be doing, but Aux couldn’t deny the fact that, yes, the General was standing right in front of him.

“Relax, Aux,” Mallon said, giving him an expression that Aux couldn’t quite figure out. “You are Matsu Aux, aren’t you?” Mallon motioned vaguely toward the dormant machine standing in front of him, as if that was supposed to mean something.

Aux nodded. “Yes, Sir, that’s me.”

Mallon turned toward the C-Mech with his hands on his hips, looking it up and down. “So this is the troublemaker I’ve been hearing about.

Aux laughed nervously and glared sidelong at his stubborn creation. “Yeah, that’s him. I wish I could have better results for you, but…” He let out a heavy sigh. “He failed to even recognize any of the potential Riders out of this batch or the last… or the one before that, and well…you get the point.” He looked down at the thirty crossed out names on his clipboard. “They were all in the top section of their classes, with topnotch scores and plenty of aptitude. But none of them could get through to him.”

Mallon didn’t reply for a good minute, instead opting to slowly walk around the C-Mech, letting his fingers glide over the smooth dark metal. Aux half-expected the beast to roar to life and swat the General away. He knew it was just the light playing tricks, but the machine’s eyes seemed to flicker angrily. Even dormant, the C-Mech had a strong personality. Aux could only wonder what he would be like when he had a Rider to truly bring him to life.

“You designed him,” Mallon finally said after completing his brief inspection.

Although it had not been a question, Aux nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

Mallon quirked one eyebrow as he looked up at the C-Mech’s devious face. “Any reason you made him look like he’s about to play a nasty prank?”

Aux shrugged lamely. “Uh, no. Just seemed to suit him. Especially with all the trouble he’s given us.”

“I heard about all the mishaps,” Mallon said with a nod. Of course the General knew, Aux thought crestfallenly. News of the various incidents—the machine turning on when he wasn’t supposed to and nerve fibers short circuiting among other things—had been rampant across the base.

Aux chuckled weakly. “I know he doesn’t have a name yet, but some of the crewmen have taken to calling him ‘Little Bitch.’ Can’t say it’s entirely inaccurate.”

Aux thought he heard the General stifle a laugh, though he couldn’t be sure. “Little Bitch, huh? He’s certainly lived up to that name today.” Mallon turned back to face Aux, and he wore a more serious expression. “Thirty candidates attempted to forge a neural bond with this C-Mech today. All thirty failed, and over half reported migraines and unpleasant feelings after the fact. Why?”

“I… I don’t know, Sir,” Aux admitted with a desperate shrug. “Of course, every C-Mech is different. You know that. But he just… he’s picky, I suppose. The fact that he rejected all thirty though… I can’t understand it.”

“There must be something different about him,” Mallon pressed, taking a step forward. “Out of all the C-Mechs on this base, he was the only one that didn’t take someone out of the first ten candidates.”

“What do you want me to say?” Aux replied bitterly. His frustration with his creation poured into his voice. “He’s a new model, a test run. I upped his intelligence from previous models, so of course he’ll have some kinks.”

“Not being compatible with a Rider is a pretty big kink,” Mallon pointed out.

Aux stared at his feet, dropping his clipboard to his side. He had no rebuttal, because the General was right. With a human connection to give the machine life, it was… well, it was just a machine.

“I’m putting an indefinite hold on the project,” Mallon announced.

Aux felt like he had been hit in the stomach by a bag full of bricks. “A… hold?” he sputtered. “Indefinitely? But Sir—!”

“That’s my decision, and it is final,” Mallon said calmly.

Aux sputtered incoherently, not even able to make full words. Months he’d spent on that machine… over a year. And all of it was gone just because he was too stubborn to choose a Rider. Aux pulled at his hair. “No, no, no,” he muttered, feeling gravity increasing on his body.

“I’m sorry, Aux,” Mallon said with a sigh. He rested one hand on the C-Mech’s cold leg. “But your funds would be much more appreciated in other areas, what with… well, you know.”

“But…” Aux stammered. “There can be more tests—there’ll be more candidates, more recruits—Just give me a little more time. I can work out the bugs—”

“Aux,” Mallon said firmly, stopping the engineer’s prattling. “My decision is final. Perhaps in the future we can look into evaluating more candidates, but for now… Project Echo is done. You’ll be put to work on the Delta class again, effective immediately.”

Aux’s head drooped, and he could no longer meet the General’s eyes. He clutched his clipboard tightly. “Yes, Sir,” he mumbled.

Mallon turned to leave before pausing. “Since he never connected with a Rider, he was never truly named, seeing as that’s the Rider’s responsibility. He’ll need one for the reports, even if he’s just going to end up in storage.” Mallon fixed him with an expectant look.

Aux tilted his head to the side in confusion before realization dawned on him. “Me?” he asked, startled. “You want me to name him?”

“You’re the one who’s spent the most time with this beast,” Mallon said with a shrug. “It only makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“I guess,” Aux said. On the spot, he looked up at the C-Mech’s face. The plates over his eyes looked like downturned eyebrows, and with his toothy jaw set currently attached, Aux could definitely see where the General had gotten the impression that he was a prankster. His antler’s bow tines curved from his brow, and at the angle from the ground, the machine looked like he had demonic horns.

“Troublemaker,” Aux blurted out on impulse. He was a little surprised at himself, but truly he couldn’t think of a more fitting name. The hulk of metal had been a pain in his side for some time now.

“Interesting choice,” Mallon mused. “But better than Little Bitch, I suppose. I’ll be sending a crew to move him into storage later, so be done with him by then. I’ll have the final papers on your desk by tomorrow.”

And with that, the General walked out of the small hangar, leaving Aux suddenly feeling very alone.

“You’re too smart for your own good,” Aux grumbled, sinking down to the ground as he talked to the silent C-Mech. “But how amazing you could have been…”

He was still baffled by the C-Mech’s reluctance to even interact with any of the candidates. C-Mechs were primarily powered through the mental and physical link to their Rider, the hard part being, of course, first establishing that link.

But it had never been this difficult.

Aux had viewed a few other C-Mech testings before and talked to the candidates afterward. Most reported feeling a solid presence, being able to reach out to it in their mind, and if the presence reached back… well, the C-Mech had a Rider. And the process usually went smoothly.

But none of the candidates for Troublemaker had even reported feeling anything at all. It was as if he was just an ordinary machine, which, Aux could assure, he completely was not. The neural multi-core in Troublemaker’s chest and the artificial brain nestled in his skullcase said otherwise.

He had designed plenty of C-Mechs using the Delta class standards (all of which performed flawlessly), and when he had been offered funds to build an experimental Echo class, he had nearly fainted in excitement.

Aux snorted. That seemed so long ago.

“Well, it was fun while it lasted, big boy,” Aux sighed, slowly pushing himself to his feet. “I guess I’ll see you later, Troublemaker.”

Aux smiled softly at the rhyme and fondly patted the C-Mech’s leg, letting his fingers drift along the smooth metal, feeling the bumps between plates. He exhaled deeply, gathered his things, and left the chamber.