Zuka 'Zamamee

Zuka 'Zamamee was a Special Operations Elite who appears in the book Halo: The Flood. He is said to be Prophet-blessed and he holds the position of Special Operations Officer, wearing the black armor of a Special Operations Elite.

Biography

Soon after fleeing Reach, the UNSC Pillar of Autumn arrived from Slipspace into the Threshold system, where Installation 04 was located. The human ship attracted the attention of the Covenant forces in the area, which subsequently sent boarding parties to destroy the ship. Zuka 'Zamamee was one of the leaders of the raid.

'Zamamee led a group of Grunts into the Pillar of Autumn where he encountered the Master Chief and Cortana attempting to escape. He attempted to stop them, but the Master Chief shot him in the head with a Pistol, injuring but not killing him. However, 'Zamamee's assistant was killed. As he lay wounded, a unit of Grunts, led by Yayap and Gagaw, picked him up and carried him off the ship for medical attention so they could avoid having to fight and inevitably die.

Not long after the the battle, 'Zamamee took Yayap as his new assistant (much to the Grunt's immediate dismay). He told Yayap about a plan to kill the human who wounded him, "a warrior so capable that he represents a danger to the entire battle group" and appealed to the High Council of Masters members aboard the Truth and Reconciliation.Soha 'Rolamee, a Councilor Elite, turned his idea down at first, but it is later approved after the Master Chief raided the vessel, killing hundreds of soldiers and rescuing the valuable POW, Captain Jacob Keyes.

'Zamamee set his first trap inside the security center of the Silent Cartographer, utilizing a pair of Hunters and a Lance of Unggoy under Yayap's command. However, one of the Grunts, Linglin, accidentally killed one of the Hunters with a clumsy overcharged Plasma Pistol shot to its exposed back, allowing the Master Chief to overwhelm them all. 'Zamamee and Yayap survived only by hiding in a cargo pod. Master Chief killed the other Hunter and shot Linglin's head, decapitating him, and then escaped.

After escaping the island, 'Zamamaee is then warned by the Prophet aboard the Truth and Reconciliation that the price of another failure is death. The Prophet shows the Elite 'Rolamee's severed head, and orders 'Zamamee to continue seeking the human.

'Zamamee later arranged for Yayap to be captured so that the Grunt can be taken to Alpha Base and signal him when the Master Chief arrives there. When signaled, 'Zamamee led a group of about thirty Special Operations Elites aboard Pelican Charlie 217 and infiltrated Alpha Base. The mission was simple; capture as many landing pads as possible and hold them for six dropships filled with Grunts and Jackals and more Elites. He also coordinated for a contingent of ground forces led by Field Master Noga 'Putumee to lead a simultaneous assault on the base. Though he freed Yayap, the two barely manage to escape in a Banshee as the assault failed miserably and only doing so after Yayap had threatened him with a plasma pistol.

'Zamamee, as advised by Yayap, finally traveled to the Pillar of Autumn crash site where he took on the alias of Huki 'Umamee, another Elite who died, to avoid punishment. He stayed there doing the tasks asked of him until the Master Chief arrived aboard the ship in order to destroy the reactor core. During a tense meeting, 'Zamamee offered to track down and kill the Master Chief, much to the relief of 'Ontomee.

Using information fed to him by Yayap, 'Zamamee's final attempt to kill the Spartan is a plan to ambush the Chief on an elevator. Armed with a Shade and surrounded by Grunts, he nearly killed the Master Chief using the Shade. However, the Master Chief then retreated and Cortana disabled the elevator, causing it to hurtle towards the bottom of the shaft. The Master Chief tossed two Fragmentation Grenades down into the elevator shaft. The explosion killed 'Zamamee's Grunts and tossed him out of the Shade, stunning him. 'Zamamee and the elevator then impacted upon the bottom of the shaft, killing him instantly. The last thing 'Zamamee saw before his death was the Master Chief.

Rank

He is legitimately called a "Special Operations Officer". This title and the fact that he wears jet black armor confirm that he is indeed a Special Operations Elite. The fact that he is put in charge of a group of Elites, lead some to speculate that he is either equivalent or subordinate to a Special Operations Commander, just like Rtas 'Vadum. However, 'Zamamee is stated to be outranked by Soha 'Rolamee, a Councilor, by "two full levels".

Since his armor is stated to be black, it seems likely that he is between Special Operations Commander and Special Operative in rank, perhaps at the same rank of "Subcommander", as was Rtas 'Vadum's aide, Bero 'Kusovai. It is also possible that this is a continuity error on the author's part.

Trivia

• Zuka 'Zamamee is the only known Elite to be threatened and subjugated by a Grunt.
• 'Zamamee does not seem to be bound to the honor that controls the lives and actions of the Elites in Halo: The Flood as he not only flees from battles, but also takes the identity of a dead comrade, and allows a Grunt to control and manipulate him. This would be considered a grave dishonor by any other Elite.
• In Halo: Combat Evolved, many events that happen are inconspicuously caused by Zuka 'Zamamee.
• Zuka shares his name with one of the Mandalorians of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II.
• In Halo: Combat Evolved, level The Maw, the Elite you battle on the elevator after destroying the fusion reactors is Zuka 'Zamamee but he doesn´t operate a shade turret. .
• Zuka 'Zamamee is last in alphabetical order of all known Elite first names, and he probably always will be.