| Hayden Tenno | |
| |
| Age: | 29 |
| Height: | 6'1" |
| Weight(s): | 185 lbs |
| Nationality: | American |
| Voice Actor: | Michael Rosenbaum |
Hayden Tenno is the protagonist of Dark Sector. A morally ambivalent C.I.A agent and "clean-up-man", he has congenital analgesia, which renders him unable to feel physical pain. He is supported by Yargo Mensik, a scientist and sleeper agent who knows the origin of the Technocyte virus.
Due to the connection of the event of Dark Sector and Warframe, Hayden Tenno is considered to the first and progenitor of all Tenno.
Biography
Early Life & Career
His background and upbringing remain a mystery, so Tenno's life was essentially tabula rasa until he began working for the US Air Force, and eventually the C.I.A. And it was, literally, a role he was born to play. Even considering his relative youth, Tenno quickly became the CIA "cleaner," able to accomplish any assignment no matter the location, the risk or the operational FUBAR, which would inevitably take place due to the nature of his missions.
And what was the nature of his missions? Hayden Tenno was assigned to clean up after the operational messes left all over the globe. Whether an agent went down or failed an assignment, Tenno had to go in and tie up all the loose ends into a nice, pacified, quiet bow.
At some point before the Lasria mission, Tenno had an operational failure, which resulted in a demotion in status and reputation. Details of this assignment are classified, though it involved the slaughter of many people he feels did not need – or deserve – to die.
Dark Sector
As Dark Sector begins, Tenno is offered redemption by his Assignment Director and sent into Lasria with the promise that this will be his last mission. Tenno is perfectly suited for this job, since his borderline superhuman tolerance for pain, his relationship with missing Agency operative Robert Mezner and his previous involvement with another rogue Nadia Sudek gives him a physical edge and an emotional stake in the Lasrian problem.
Upon arrival in Lasria – and his subsequent infection by a new strain of experimental nano-virus – Hayden realizes that in many ways, his entire tenure at the Agency has been a set-up for this particular assignment. The Technocyte virus begins to change Hayden, creating a metal carapace sheath along his right arm. Soon after the initial infection, Hayden is able to manifest a specialized weapon from the organic metal, sprouting a curved metallic Glaive that erupts from his forearm and comes armed with varied, ever-growing lethal properties.
Using the very method of Lasria's destruction as a means to save the ravaged Russian city – and to redeem his own wounded soul, Hayden continues with his mission. They sent their fallen angel into a locale that would ensure either one of two results: his death, or worse -- a successful completion of the mission, which would, by its very nature, change Hayden into something more than man… but less than human…
Personality
"I don't know. I just know, my whole life, I never seem to do the right thing."
- Hayden to Nadia
In the beginning of Dark Sector, Hayden appears as an uncaring or even ruthless individual, willing to follow orders even if they seem morally questionable. An example of this is when Hayden kills an unarmed prisoner who works for the very same agency he does, due to the possibility that he may be infected by an epidemic that Hayden was ordered to prevent. He is also shown to be calm in most any situation, rarely showing any indications of fear or surprise in the face of danger or unknown environments.
Later on however, he is shown to be a morally ambivalent individual of many regrets, telling Nadia that "[he] never seems to do the right thing." He also believes that the previously unmentioned mission led to numerous casualties which he believed were unnecessary. His regret is corroborated by the fact that during his initial interrogation, Mezner claims that Hayden's C.I.A. psychological evaluation classifies him as "psychotic" and "unfit for duty," to which he does not argue, instead stating that maybe he "deserved [to die from the infection]." After defeating Nemesis (revealed to be Nadia), he again says that he "deserved [to be infected]."
He also is shown to hold grudges, telling the silent Nemesis "I've been waiting for this" as he throws his Glaive at it with the intent to kill in revenge for being infected. He also stabs his A.D. with a syringe for manipulating him for his own benefit. Hayden also demonstrates recklessness during the encounter, throwing a punch which is easily grabbed and countered after his thrown Glaive was easily deflected.
Surprisingly, even with the aforementioned traits apparent in his personality, he continues to try and reason with others despite any negative interpersonal relationships with them, such as with Nadia, who attempted to kill him, and with Mezner, who infected him, then tried to control, and kill him, multiple times. He continues this attempt to reason up to the point where Mezner planned to release the Technocyte Virus, before finally being forced to kill him.
Powers & Abilities
- Weapons Training - Hayden is shown to be adept at using a variety of weapons with ease from the glaive to various firearms such as the pistol to a rocket launcher.
- Close Quarters Combat - Hayden uses various melee attacks with and without the glaive either in assault (slashing at an enemy's throat) or stealth (sneaking up behind the enemy and quickly slitting their throat or twisting it). This is further shown when he tries to attack nemesis with his fist when his glaive was deflected though he was easily defeated by it.
- Pain Immunity - Hayden suffers from congenital analgesia, a rare condition in which a person has a severely reduced feeling of physical pain. This is how Hayden was able to maintain his sanity after his infection; he feels severely reduced pain from the infection.
Technocyte Abilities
- Metallic Skin - After his infection by the Technocyte virus, the skin of Hayden's arm began to mutate and encase itself into an organic, greyish-silver metal. Over time, the infections spread to the right side of his chest and began to transform the skin into this metal.
- Shift - Hayden can become invisible for a short period of time
- ShieldPower - Hayden can project a shield for a short period of time to deflect various projectiles and attacks before it is disabled.
- PowerThrow- a charged-up throw of the glaive for deadlier attacks
- AfterTouch - Hayden can guide the glaive through the air, being able to kill multiple enemies
Glaive Abilities
Hayden armed with the Glaive.
Hayden's signature weapon is the Glaive, a tri-blade throwing weapon similar to a boomerang which returns to Hayden after each throw. The Glaive is a natural side-effect of his infection and is part of his mutated anatomy. The Glaive can be used for long-distance combat, solving environmental puzzles, and picking up in-game items. When in close proximity to an enemy, context-sensitive actions may appear, allowing the player to execute enemies with "finishers". it can also absorb various elements to inflict various types of damage i.e. absorb fire to put nearby enemies on fire; electricity to electrocute enemies or disable electronics; and ice to freeze enemies.
Hayden also comes across a prototype armor (dubbed 'proto-armor') that further enhances his abilities significantly, allowing him to fight toe-to-toe with Nemesis and defeat it.