Rex King

The engineer of tomorrow, the man whose creation shortened war efforts by an estimated 4 years. He was the pilot and head creator of the Banchee 1 mechanical tank, but his story is much simpler.
Born in the United States (or equivalent), he was raised by his mother and father as an only child. They were not the best in terms of living conditions and money, but they lived relatively happily. Rex spent much of his years helping his father fix things like cars and other mechanical devices, so he grew a deep love for them and sought to become a steam core crafter, something that only the most skilled and steady-handed engineers could accomplish.
However, war broke out. Through various political assassinations, annexing and invasions, he was set to be drafted at age 18, but he lied about his age and joined when he was 17. He left his home for the first and last time and went off to a hell that could not be described.
In the war, he was a part of the mechanical division just behind the front, working on tanks and cars, though that didn't save him from the chance of getting sent to the front lines or hit by a stay piece of artillery. For a few months, he worked and risked death every day until the welcoming sound of a whistle was heard. An automaton made by Sinclaire Graph, big and proud, drops off medical supplies and carries critically wounded further back to a hospital. Seeing it come night and day, 24/7 and its ability to get by even the toughest terrain formed thoughts on what could be done with it. He snuck on and looked inside of it, measuring it before it went on its route back. He spent days and nights designing a concept with his friends. He gave him the mock-up of what it could be, showing the leader (Cornel Jacob Banks) that his measurements were exact and that his design would work if given time. Banks approved of the acquisition of the automaton, and Rex, Jay, and Roberto began work.
Through various testing and months of upgrading, armoring, and equipping the automaton, they were able to take its automatic movements and turn it into something that could be controlled by a pilot. The space for the wounded was replaced with munitions and a diesel engine. Its port door on its stomach was open with a flamethrower and Lewis gun on a tripod bolted on like a tumor. They realized that the heat within the machine would cause them to die of heat exhaustion, so they had to make special suits that would accompany camel packs so they could survive it. Roberto's final, personal touch was affixing an Aztec death whistle to its steam output, making it scream in pain and anguish as it lumbered, and with that came the name Banchee1. The autonomy was taken from it. Like a broken horse, they led it.
After 6 long months, it was completed and ready for its first real test. On its first attack, it was accompanied by 4 tanks, another more recent advancement in war. The soldiers on the enemy were relaxed after 3 days of very few engagements, and then the screak was heard. They rushed to the posts to see the glowing eyes from the fog slowly approach them and begin to fire on them, even with the tanks coming from the front. After the messy engagement was done, Rex and his crew learned a few things: they were not practical in the least bit, they were the main focus if they took them on from the front, and they caused more psychological damage than anything. With this, they began to create their tactics, take on enemies from the side rather than the front, and focus armor on its sides at the cost of leaving the front relatively exposed. With just over 7 attacks on its name, the Banchee1 became the prime symbol of the new age of war and terror in the enemies, and Rex King became known as "the Engineer of Tomorrow" through propaganda. But Rex and his team knew that their time was limited. To save himself from being placed in the front completely exposed, he had put himself as the enemy's prime target, and he paid the cost.
He and his team received word that they would travel through an untested and unknown environment, an urban city. He brought his concerns up with Banks, but the plans had come down from high command themselves; there was nothing they could do about it. Rex and his team planned all they could, but even they knew this would most likely be their deaths. The weapon advancements had overtaken them, the chances for anti-tank weaponry were higher, and there were too many spaces for attack. They prepared and went out and were engaged by the enemy. 
During the attack, they flanked and took a bullet to a gear, causing a piece of metal to be lodged within its moving gears. They were sitting in the open, completely still and taking heavy fire. Rex reached into the burning hot mechanism and dislodged it at the cost of his ring and pinky finger getting crushed and ripped off by the gears, and 2nd-3rd degree burns over his arm and shoulder. He wrapped it and went on to pilot when they were hit by an anti-tank rocket and crashed into the ground just in the middle of the battle behind enemy lines.
Rex woke up to see Roberto dead; the rocket went right through his body, Jay was injured and unresponsive, and Rex could hear the enemy coming. in his disoriented state, he pulled out his pistol and exited the wreckage to hold them off. 3 men ran up, to which Rex was able to wildly shoot and kill 2 of them. The last young man and Rex shot at each other, and when the ammo ran dry, the man used his rifle as a club to run at Rex, who barely dodged it. The fight turned into a brawl in the mud and blood, fights being swung at each other with reckless abandon. Rex finally got on top and started gouging out the eyes of the terrified young man, took his knife, and stabbed him repeatedly. 5 more men approached but were gunned down by Jay who woke up and gunned them down. The two then bunkered themselves inside the Banchee1, waiting for the attack to settle down so they could seek medical attention. Rex watched the young man bleed out through an opening left by the crash. Rex and Jay were successfully extracted and made it back to base.
Jay was cleared to go back out with only a minor concussion, but the nerve damage in Rex's arm led to constant shaking, and he was medically discharged, with Jay taking up the mantle of commander and the Engineer of Tomorrow. During his rehabilitation, he was given a letter of recommendation from a general, one that would get him into a prestigious college back in the US, and Rex accepted this gift. Now eager to go home, he went on his way, but the dreams of what happened still haunted him.