General of the Army Joseph Lente is the secondary antagonist of Killzone. He is the commander of the Helghast Third Army, and answered only to the direct authority of the Helghast leader, Scolar Visari. Lente personally led the First Assault Division of the Third Army during the invasion of Vekta, and stormed several beachheads, as well as command the overall Helghast invasion forces.
Biography[]
Joseph Lente was born some time in the early 24th century at the time of the great depression on Helghan. After the rise of Visari, Lente joined the military and due to his great leadership skills, became an important elite officer. He was a staunch supporter of Visari and his beliefs, and helped his rise to power through his own propaganda and fear.
After Visari asked for a decade of power to rebuild the military, Lente became the General of the new Helghast army. He was an important advisor to Visari, along with other high ranking leaders. He shared his leader's beliefs of a great Helghan empire, and wanted to seize control of Vekta.
He suffered a setback in his career when many members of his senior staff, including his chief of staff and friend, Colonel Gregor Hakha, deserted him in disgust of his radical beliefs. After Hakha defected to the ISA, Lente personally executed Hakha's brother for defending Gregor's defection.
Lente helped organized an invasion on Vekta and was largely responsible for mobilizing the invasion force and instigating the attack plans. In 2357, a plan was made. General Lente would lead the Third Helghan Army in the invasion. The ISA traitor, Lieutenant General Stuart Adams, would deactivate the SD weapons platform over the planet, and the Helghast would successfully invade the planet with ease.
Second Extrasolar War[]
The invasion plan went off perfectly. Led by Lente from aboard his ship, the Helghast pushed through Vekta. Lente secretly went onboard the SD platform with a squad of soldiers and took over the facility after Generals Adams and Bradley Vaughton reactivated the platform. Vaughton was then executed by one of Lente's men at the behest of Adams, and Lente then continued to oversee the rest of the conflict from onboard the SD platform, as it caused havoc on the ISA with its reactivated weapon now in Lente and Adam's hands. They then waited for the UCA reinforcements from Earth to arrive so that they could be destroyed with the platform and allowing the Helghast to force the UCN to sue for peace, with Vekta under their control.
However, a team of soldiers, led by Captain Jan Templar, had discovered Adam's betrayal, and attempt to stop their plans. Lente was disappointed with Adams's efforts to eliminate Templar's squad and decided to go planet side to take care of them himself. He arrived at an abandoned base in the mountains with a team of soldiers to ambush the ISA squad. Templar and his group however, managed to fought back and defeated Lente and his bodyguards.
A wounded Lente discovered that Hakha was among Templar's team, and he spitefully told him that he was a disgrace to the Helghast, and how he executed his brother. Upon hearing this, Hakha shot him dead. Templar's team soon undone Lente's plans, disrupting the invasion and costing Visari the loss of one of his most prized commanders.
Characteristics[]
Lente is fiercely loyal to Visari and will stop at nothing to ensure that the Helghast conquest of Vekta is successful. He is described as the black heart that beats within the Helghast, and a sane, cold, intelligent and notoriously proud Helghast. He is tactically astute and shouldn't be underestimated, physically or mentally.
He appears to be ruthless enough for a Helghast and is a man of enormous experience. He is also a man of infectious patriotism and is hugely respected by all corners of the Helghast military. Unlike most Helghast who are aggressive and violent, Lente is a calm and sophisticated general, which is the reason why he is the general of Helghan's most famous and highly decorated field army. Despite this, he cared greatly for his closest friend Gregor Hakha and was saddened and upset about his betrayal.
While most Helghast hate humans with a strong passion, Lente holds a less intense disdain for them but still considers them inferior to the Helghast race. He does not like having to work with Lieutenant General Adams, even if he is on their side. When Adams fails to kill Templar, Lente decides to do it himself, saying that it takes a Helghan to do a Helghan's job, and that he will inform Visari of Adams' efforts.
Description[]
Like most Helghast, Lente is bald with pale skin and frail in appearance. He appears quite old and has somewhat oily skin. He is likely in his 50s. Lente wears a long dark- grey, cloak-like jacket like military uniform, which is also worn by the Helghast officers during the invasion. He has very thin, dark, striking eyebrows. Like most other Helghast leaders, Lente seems taller than most other soldiers. He is most likely an evolved Helghast as he doesn't wear a breathing mask like other Helghast. His voice is calm and a more upper class kind of accent. Although it could just be a shadow, his neck seems to be much darker and almost black. Although he never fights in battle anymore, Lente likely carries an officer's pistol, and when he fights Templar's team, he is using a StA-52 Assault Rifle.
Conversations[]
Escape[]
| Show: SD Platform Arrival |
|---|
|
ISA: "We're cleared to lift off in five General! You and your men will be up on the platform in fifteen!" |
Misty Waters[]
| Show: Adams' Allegiances |
|---|
|
General Adams: "You see, General, everything is going without a hitch. I trust the concerns you voiced about me to our leader have been laid to rest." |
Hunting the Traitor[]
| Show: Adams' Efforts |
|---|
|
General Adams: "Failed?? There's only four of the little bastards!! I ordered fire to rain down on them! Troops to lay into them! I set up that encounter on my terms and they walk away from it unscathed???" |
Forging a Path[]
| Show: Missile Base Approach |
|---|
|
Helghast: "We are approaching the transport base sir." |
Hidden Past[]
| Show: Missile Base |
|---|
|
General Lente: "Hakha?" |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Lente can be seen in a painting in Visari Palace in Killzone 2. He is seen with Visari, along with General Armin Metrac, Colonel Tendon Cobar, and Colonel Mael Radec, the other antagonists of the series. There is a similar painting in a museum in Killzone 3.
- Due to the fact he only answers to Visari, it may imply that he and Admiral Orlock were rivals.
- General Lente is about as durable as one of his own Bodyguards, requiring approximately 20 rounds of M82 Assault Rifle fire to bring down. He wields an StA-52 Assault Rifle in combat.
- In the Dutch language, his surname 'Lente' literally means spring. The underlying message possibly being that he marks the end of the hard times the Helgan people are in. Blossom is also a thing of Vekta, and of spring.
- In Killzone 3, one of the cutscenes in the senate room, if one where to look VERY carefully nearing the end with Stahl appearing, what may appear to be a model of either Lente or Hahka can be seen (it is unknown if this either a carefully hidden easter egg, or a case of misidentification).