Admiral Hayden Ward

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>  | *Humanity is weak, cruel, and wicked. Democracy, freedom, they are flaws that weaken and divide us. Order. Control. Strength. Morality. It is through these ideals that humankind can find peace. Only a strong hand can protect humanity from themselves. Our great Eternal Empress will be the savior of mankind, the deliverance from our cruelty. Once, I was blind to this truth. But now I see. And I serve the one true God...Skyler Brooks.*
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## Admiral Hayden Ward

### Occupation

U.S. Navy Admiral (formerly)
Geneva Strategic Alliance Naval Commander (formerly, defected)
True Sons Admiral

### Role

Founder of The Children of Eternal Destiny Commander of the U.S.S. Glory

### Education

B.A. in Theology, Cambridge University
Masters in History and Political Science, Stanford University

### Specialized Training

U.S. Naval War College
Officer Candidate School
U.S. Naval Academy

### Family

Mira Ward (wife, deceased) Morgana Ward (daughter, alive)

### People

* Grand Admiral Wolfram Von Model
* Skyler Brooks

### Callsigns

Scourge

**Admiral Hayden Ward** is a high-ranking officer in the True Sons Navy, commanding the Victory-class aircraft carrier U.S.S. Glory. A proud and decorated U.S. Naval Commander, Ward was known by Naval leadership as a loyal, hard-working, and responsible commander, but was noted for his often misanthropic views and his refusal to engage in any conversation that didn't directly relate to military operations, which made him easy to rely on but hard to like. During an international naval exercise in Oslo during the Cold War, he was witness to then Ensign Phoebe Ackerman's public decrying of the operation and autocratic views. Although he did publicly state on the matter, and he found her pro-autocracy views to be naïve and overly simplified, he did agree with some of her points.

Over time, especially following the War on Terror, Ward's views on humanity secretly began to grow more extreme. He believed that history had proven humanity were cruel and violent species that could not be trusted to rule on their own. He believed a single leader with a vision to unite humanity could be the exact force needed to end war and suffering.

Following the outbreak, Ward was stationed in Guam, but left for Germany along with many surviving government officials after the True Sons took control of vast swathes of the country under the New England Republic. After the creation of the New American Empire, and the subsequent formation of the Geneva Strategic Alliance, Ward was appointed as commander of a naval fleet by President Patricia Caldwell. However, he and his ship and crew were taken prisoner by a detachment of True Sons Marines, who sent Ward and the crew to Seventh Circle Military Prison.

Over the next few months, Ward became convinced that Skyler Brooks and the New American Empire could be the legitimate force to unite mankind and rid it of hatred, greed, war, poverty, and weakness. Not long after, he stated his intentions to his jailers that he wished to defect. His experience allowed him to be restored to the rank of Admiral, and he was assigned to the 4th Naval Fleet.

Ward has since earned a reputation as possibly the most fanatical and zealous officer in the True Sons Navy, even more so than Admiral Ackerman. He soon founded a small religious cult around Supreme General Brooks, The Children of Eternal Destiny, who see Skyler Brooks as a deity who will create an everlasting world peace through war against the enemies of peace, namely The Division, the Geneva Strategic Alliance, and anyone who would oppose their efforts.

Ward worships strength and power, and believes freedom and democracy are flawed systems that put weak cowards in power. He thinks humans are largely incapable of governing themselves and need a firm, yet kind hand to rule over them. He loathes the ideals of men like Damon Rommel, who he sees as a man who is blind to the "truth" just as he once was. Ward thinks all cultures all have the same thing in common: they promote hatred of one another, and believes a new, homogenous world order will erase the divisions that separated the peoples of the world and create a utopia where all mankind is united under one flag, one culture, one religion, one language, and most importantly, one empress, who will reign for all time.

For his devotion and service to the cause, Ward has been inducted into both High Command and the secret Crimson Imperium, and is considered the next candidate in line for a promotion to Grand Admiral alongside Admiral Quinn Garrett.

## Early Life

Hayden Ward comes from a relatively upper-class background, one of six children born to a wealthy family with a distinguished history of naval service. His father James was a retired Joint Chief of the Navy who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, while his mother Abagail was a teacher and deeply religious woman with a history of running charity events in the state.

Like many boys, Hayden looked up to his father and desired to make him proud. He attended debate club in high school, and was frequently top of his class, excelling in mathematics, English, and history. However, as Hayden grew older, he desired a military career over a political one. Even at a young age, he despised politics, though he was far from the radical he would eventually become. In his teenage years, he would accompany his parents to formal dinners with Virginia and DC's political elites, and Ward found he had a disdain for men he saw as not worthy of their positions and stature in society.

## Military Career

At 18, Hayden enlisted in the U.S. Navy Routine Officer Training Corps, graduating as an Ensign. Over the next two decades, he would rise through the ranks of the Navy, attending the U.S. Naval War College and the U.S. Naval Academy, the later of which he studied under Vice Admiral Gillion Trench, and was classmates with Quinn Garrett.

At the age of 25, Ward used the GI Bill to attend Cambridge University to study Theology. That same year, he was promoted to Junior Commander, and attended to a joint naval exercise in Norway, designed by NATO as a show of force against the Soviet Union.

To be continued...