Arokht

Arokht is a character in QUIETUS.

Race Description:
Iceworlders are unique among the vast varieties of aliens because, unlike most aliens, iceworlders are ammonia-based rather than water-based. In addition, iceworlders developed on an extremely cold planet, inhospitable to most life. These differences force iceworlders to use environmental suits in order to interact with other races. As iceworlder culture revolves around conquering, domination, and control, however, 'interaction' usually means 'war'. In addition, they are firm believers in survival of the fittest: only the strongest, most powerful races survive. If they cannot match or overcome the iceworlders, they are not fit to live.

Iceworlders possess a thick, segmented shell that is shed regularly throughout their life cycle. A full-grown iceworlder stands at slightly less than 10 feet tall. Though their ponderous size suggests slowness, iceworlders can move with surprising swiftness. They have two pairs of arms: one pair is designed for crushing and smashing, with hands that have a grasping strength of 2500 pounds. The other pair is much less powerful, but also much more suited to delicate tasks. Their four eyes are each capable of independent movement. They are omnivorous, though predominantly carnivorous.

The average iceworlder environmental suit is fitted specifically for each individual. Because suit ruptures can be fatal, they are designed to make the already-hardy iceworlders into living tanks. Each suit has a layer of non-newtonian fluid that stiffens on impact with any fast-moving material, as well as thick armor plates designed for both maximum flexibility and maximum protection. Military-grade suits, such as the one that Arokht wears, have a large cannon placed over one arm. This cannon is an energy weapon, firing beams of intense cold that can cause instant frostbite and coat whatever it hits in a layer of ice.

Items/Abilities:
Arokht is remarkably robust, even for an iceworlder. At nearly eleven feet tall, he towers above most sapient races, and is strong enough to flip cars. Being a soldier, he also wields a subzero cannon. His helmet gives him a wide range of scanning/targeting equipment. He can process and analyze information remarkably quickly.

Biography:
Arokht is an accelerated-growth clone, grown aboard an iceworlder warship. His unusual size quickly distinguished him from the rest of the iceworlder clone army, but it was soon discovered that his ferocity in battle was just as impressive. He has served in multiple campaigns and battles across a hundred worlds, but has never once seen his homeworld. His life has been nothing but war. After a war, he is placed in stasis to ensure that he is prepared for the next one. As such, he is both unflappable and violent, which is never a good combination for somebody who suddenly gets dropped in a foreign environment.

Arokht's main enemies were the forces of the Black Temple, a pan-universal empire every bit as xenophobic as the iceworlders are. In his first battle, he demonstrated a combination of cunning and brutality by luring a Black Temple mech into a rockslide of his creation, destroying it. Since then, he has shown off his craftiness time and time again, proving himself as both an excellent strategist and a terrifying warrior. His abilities did not go unnoticed, either; Arokht enjoyed a steady climb through the ranks until he was put in charge of a platoon of his own. With an 18-iceworlder force at his disposal, he became an even greater terror. Old, brute-force strategies were abandoned in favor of sneak attacks and ambushes designed to do massive damage with minimal casualties. He and his band of soldiers became, essentially, a guerrilla force made of 10-foot-tall alien crabs. However, his newfound dependence on teamwork has led to an atrophy in his ability to work alone.

His last battle before being dragged into Quietus was his most ambitious one yet, with the objective of destroying a Temple, a combination troop factory and siege engine, with only his platoon.