Usze 'Taham

'Taham and his Elite comrades on the offensive

Usze ‘Taham is an Elite (Sangheili) assigned to the Fleet Security of the Fleet of Retribution's Special Warfare Group.

Background

Although Usze ‘Taham was born into a respected merchant family, he was fathered by Toha ‘Sumai—one of the preeminent swordfighters of this age. Usze graduated with honors from the top War College in the Iruiru region of Yermo, Sanghelios (a distinction he shares with Rtas 'Vadum). Shortly after receiving his first post within the Covenant Navy he was offered a place on the Prophets’ Honor Guard but he declined citing “lack of practical experience”. In truth, he had no desire to be part of a largely ceremonial unit, and at the end of his third combat tour, Usze ‘Taham again refused the post—even though his superiors warned him such behavior could be misinterpreted as apostasy.

Since that time Usze has evaded countless punitive actions, at least two assassination attempts, and served with distinction for two additional tours before the Great Schism. Following the dissolution of the Covenant, he was approached by the Ascetics to become one of their liaisons within the Navy.

Usze wears a special purple armor type, bearing similarities to the Ranger Elites on Cairo Station and Gravemind in Halo 2.

Trivia

• It should be noted that his name lacks the "ee" suffix associated with Elites in armed service. This is because he has split from the Covenant, and the "ee" suffix denotes an Elite in the Covenant military.
• Usze 'Taham is a playable characer in Halo 3 as the fourth player character over either Xbox Live or System Link.
• Due to his name being a Sangheili name, players have dubbed Usze as "Uzi", in reference to the Israeli Uzi Sub-Machine Gun.