Kai Leng
Kai Leng is a male video game character who features in Mass Effect.
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Biography
Kai Leng was a male human who was a born a citizen of the Systems Alliance though not much else was known about his past. He came to enlist in the Alliance military on November 14, 2172 wen he was 16 ears old though he had faked his credentials. Among his first missions was performing patrol and reconnaissance missions in the Terminus Systems. In 2173, he was transferred to similar missions in the Exodus Cluster where he came to be reprimanded for taking medals from dead enemy officers. Despite that, his previous exemplary service record led to his sentence being reduced.
Whilst on leave in 2176, he was responsible for murdering a Krogan in a bar fight on the Citadel where he used a standard-issue service blade. For first-degree murder, he was dishonourably discharged and imprisoned for 20 years in an Alliance prison facility. This was until he was freed by Cerberus who recruited him as an agent where the Illusive Man came to use him as a wet-work operative and assassin for over a decade due to his skill.
Kai Leng was amongst the forces that Cerberus sends against Commander Shepard. Leng and a sizable contingent of Cerberus forces are deployed during Councilor Udina's attempted coup against the Citadel Council. He was close to assassinating the salarian councilor when Shepard and either Major Kirrahe or Thane Krios interferes. Leng either stabs Krios in a brief skirmish, or fires at the councilor only to hit a cloaked Kirrahe before escaping. If both Thane and the major previously died, or Thane was never spoken to before the coup attempt, Leng will successfully assassinate the councilor. In a race to get to the remaining councilors, Leng disables Shepard's skycar, but ultimately fails his mission and is forced to retreat as C-Sec begins to regroup. As he escapes, Leng reports his failure to the Illusive Man and promises to never let Shepard get the better of him again. In the failed coup's aftermath it's revealed that Leng released a VI into the Citadel mainframe that erased all footage of himself. If the salarian Councilor was saved, Bailey presumes that Leng didn't believe Udina's plan would succeed.
Leng was later sent to the Temple of Athame on Thessia, where he kills a group of scientists waiting for Shepard. Leng remains hidden as the Commander discovers a hidden Prothean Beacon, awakening a Prothean VI named Vendetta, who holds information on the final Crucible piece known as the Catalyst. Leng then reveals himself, at which point Vendetta shuts down upon detecting that he is indoctrinated. Leng requests the Commander's attention and releases a small drone that projects a hologram of the Illusive Man. The Spectre and the Illusive Man exchange words but remain unable to sway each other, so the latter orders Leng to take the VI. The Cerberus assassin then engages Shepard's team in combat but is unable gain a clear advantage, so he instructs his gunship to level the temple. The floor caves in, leaving Shepard alive but unable to act as Leng manhandles the Commander's squad, claims the data, and escaped.
Samantha Traynor is able to track Leng to Horizon, where Henry Lawson is conducting experiments on refugees on his Sanctuary compound. At the same time, the Reapers begin attacking the compound, and one of Henry's daughters is running around attempting to broadcast messages exposing Sanctuary's true operations. Leng is ordered by the Illusive Man to get Henry's research, but reminded to kill the Lawson daughter only if she got in the way. Leng wounds the Lawson daughter when they meet, but otherwise leaves her alone. He manages to complete his primary objective and abandons the Lawsons to die, but is unaware that he still left enough incriminating information behind that allows Shepard's team to locate Cerberus Headquarters. During the Alliance assault on Cronos Station, Shepard can discover video logs detailing Leng's frustration with the Illusive Man's refusal to have the Commander killed. Eventually, the assassin reveals himself in the Illusive Man's office, interrupting the Commander's attempt to warn Admiral Hackett about the Catalyst being the Citadel. Leng and Shepard battle for the last time; the Commander's team versus him and groups of Assault Troopers, Phantoms, and Nemeses he periodically summons. Despite Leng's lethal skills and numerical superiority, he's unable to overwhelm Shepard. With his shielding depleted, he soon succumbs to attacks from Shepard's squad. Despite his heavy wounds, Leng retrieves his blade and silently approaches Shepard, attempting a kill from behind. At the critical moment, Shepard detects him and counters his attack, causing him to gape in shock allowing the Commander to end the life of the Cerberus agent.
Overview
Personality and attributes
Kai Leng is a social darwinist as he only believes that humanity needs to be evolved even if it means controlling the Reapers in order to survive. This crosses with his loyalty to the Illusive Man as he goes along with his plans to assassinate the salarian councilor and stealing the Prothean VI in order to get more information on controlling the Reapers and kill Shepard to tie up loose ends. Leng is arrogant, smug, and overconfident as he believes that he is better than Commander Shepard and constantly boasts in battle, much to Shepard's annoyance. Leng is a xenophobe as he despises all aliens and thinks they should be eliminated for humanity's triumph. He is also a coward as he ran away from the Citadel and fled from Thessia once he got the Prothean VI, leaving Shepard and their squad behind instead of continuing to fight them which Shepard calls Leng out during the Alliance raid on Cronos Station.
It was his prowess in combat and xenophobic nature that drew the attention of the Illusive Man. Leng was shown to not only be ruthless but also discreet and methodical making him perfect for covert missions. He came to be the best infiltrator and assassin in Cerberus along with being the Illusive Man's most trusted agent.
Powers and abilities
He was known to possess cybernetic modifications that included Cerberus's Phantom-class implants. This included a palm-sized weapon in his right gauntlet that projected a kinetic barrier and fired kinetic-based projectiles. One of the most useful tools at his disposal was a tactical cloak that allowed him to sneak up on his targets and evade detection. Leng was also armed with a monomolecular blade for close-range combat which was capable of an Electric Slash.
Notes
- Kai Leng was created by BioWare where he was voiced by actor Troy Baker and featured in the setting of the Mass Effect universe.
- According to The Art of Mass Effect 3, early concepts of Kai Leng gave him metal legs and hard armor, but this evolved into a stealthier appearance with a coat reminiscent of the one worn by Thane Krios. His face and body kept a few obvious cybernetic implants to imply that he had been modified since the events in the books to become even deadlier.
Appearances
- Mass Effect 3:
External Links
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