Salen Kotch

"Today, the Front embarks on a conquest. Here and now, we will eradicate the authority and influence of the Earth! Our world is just beginning. Theirs is dying. It is not enough to break free. We will break them! Their cities will burn along with the pages of their history. Mars aeternum."

- Salen Kotch' speech. "Death is no disgrace!"

- Salen Kotch' pathetic quote

Admiral Salen Kotch (simply known as Salen Kotch) is the main antagonist of the 2016 video game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. He is the ruthless leader of the Settlement Defense Front, a group of off-world insurgents bent on controlling the entire solar system.

He was voiced by Kit Harington.

History
When a soldier trio, tasked with securing classified weapons before the SDF can conquer the settlement on Europa, is attacked by the SDF while attempting to do so, the sole conscious surviving soldier, Wolf, is interrogated by Kotch. Kotch asks him how many soldiers were sent but Wolf instead inquires about the health of his men. Kotch is amused and shoots one of his own men, claiming that care clouds judgment and that this is the reason why Wolf and his men cannot win. He then rips out Wolf's oxygen tank and orders his men (including Bradley Fillion to kill all three soldiers.

War against Earth
"You lack all it takes to win this war!"

- Kotch to Reyes as begins to succumb to his injuries. During the Fleet Week Parade at Geneva, the SDF hijacks the planet's planetary defense system and turns it on the parade, destroying most of Earth's fleet and killing most of the civilian bystanders. The SDF then land troops in Geneva, planning to conquer the planet. However, the ground teams of the SDF are eliminated and the SDF's starships near Earth's orbit are destroyed or flee. Nonetheless, the SDF has effectively declared war on Earth.

When a team of marines enters a base on a planet fought over by Earth's forces and the SDF, Kotch contacts the captain, Reyes. He orders Reyes and his men to surrender, threatening with execution should they refuse. Nonetheless, Reyes and his men are able to escape the SDF base before it detonates. While Reyes and his men escape the planet in their starships, Kotch's flagship, the Olympus Mons, shoots down Reyes' starship. Reyes is stranded in space and his ship, the Retribution, is forced to retreat under fire of the Olympus.

Kotch lures the team of the Retribution to a fiery meteorite, hoping that they die in the flames. Although the Retribution loses its sergeant, the rest escapes unharmed. Kotch then contacts the ship directly, threatening Reyes and vowing that he will continue to wage war against earth. To strike back, Reyes plans to set an ambush for Kotch in return, intending to lure the Olympus to earth to fight them there.

Indeed Kotch's fleet arrives in Geneva. The Olympus attacks a military HQ, killing Reyes' superior Admiral Raines and everyone else inside. Despite this throwback, Reyes and his team are able to successfully enter the Olympus Mons and head towards the bridge. While on their way, Reyes is contacted by Kotch who threatens to destroy the Olympus, which would result in the destruction of Geneva. Before this can happen, Reyes sends a bot to the bridge which fights through Kotch's men and smashes Kotch into the ship's control panel. The bot then self-destructs, exploding and wounding Kotch. Kotch dies from his wounds while Reyes and his men storm the bridge.

Personality
Kotch was an extremely manipulative and ruthless person who is willing to do anything to defeat the UNSA and was one of the most feared men in the Solar System whilst commanding upon the SDF and the Olympus Mons, he was just merciless on the ground as shown when he had SCAR Team 7 brutally executed after feigning sympathy towards them.

Also, he believes a victory in all costs and willing to sacrifice his own men or even his own ship and his own life if it means to destroy the Earth's people. Overall, he is fanatically devoted to defeating the Earth forces and conquering the Solar System as it said, even if it causes to his death.

Trivia

 * Kit Harrington is the first voice actor in COD series to both portraying and both voicing his own character through using CGI motion-capture, although the role was given a low onscreen appearance and many fans were disappointed.
 * If the player kills Kotch by stabbing him with the knife, it will award the player with the "You Know Nothing" achievement. This is a reference to phrase "You know nothing, Jon Snow" from the TV series Game of Thrones, in which Kotch's voice actor, Kit Harington plays the character of Jon Snow.