Bero 'Kusovai

Special Operations Sub-Commander Kusovai is an Elite character first introduced in the Halo Graphic Novel. He was known for his great skill with the Energy Sword.

In Context
Kusovai is first seen in a practice duel with Rtas 'Vadumee. Later, he is with the group that boards the Infinite Succor and realizes that something is amiss. When they head into a hunting preserve, Flood-infected animals then begin attacking the group. The group fights its way through to the ship's bridge, where they find the controls have been disabled.

Kusovai is eventually infected by the Flood and fights the uninfected Rtas 'Vadumee. The Flood are almost able to Slipspace jump out of the system, but not before Rtas 'Vadumee changes the course to the sun. It was here that Rtas 'Vadumee, while fighting an infected Kusovai, is injured as an Energy Sword cuts off his left mandibles. Rtas 'Vadumee defeats Kusovai and manages to escape two minutes before the Slipspace Jump occurred. Rtas 'Vadumee is believed to be the only survivor of the Infinite Succor mission.



Rank
His true rank is unknown, although in the comic, his armor color is shown in blueish-green, alongside Rtas 'Vadum. It is possible that he must have been lower ranked than Rtas 'Vadumee, but higher than normal Special Operations Elites. Most believable is that he was Special Operations Officer (also called Spec Ops Major), as Zuka 'Zamamee, but he could even be an Ultra Elite with the role as Sub-Commander.

Name
Kusovai's naming structure is odd, as he has neither the apostrophe before the last name nor the "-ee" suffix common to military Elites. However, given his mastery of the energy sword, it seems foolish to conclude that he is a civilian. More likely, it is an oversight, error, or piece of artistic license on the author's part.

However, the suffix "-ee" has never been featured being added to the first name. Kusovai's last name was never mentioned, but it is possible that Kusovai was his first name, or a nickname, thus explaining the lack of an "-ee" suffix in his name.

Another explanation is that Elites never put "-ee" after a vowel, only after consonants. Many Elites whose last name finishes in vowel don't have "-ee"(Toha 'Sumai). The reason for this is probably for the purposes of pronunciation and aesthetics, since "Kusovaiee" neither looks good nor sounds good. Three Elites, however, featured in Ghosts of Onyx, do have the suffix after a vowel. These are Zasses 'Jeqkogoee, Uruo 'Losonaee and Y'gar 'Pewtrunoee.

It is also possible that the -ai at the end of his name is in fact his suffix, perhaps to designate his swordsmanship skill. If this is true, it is a title apparently shared by Toha 'Sumai, another Elite master swordsman.

It is also possible that like the Brutes, an Elite must wait until they are old enough to gain the "-ee" suffix. However this is probably not true, since Kusovai was undoubtedly a veteran, and is more than likely that it's for one of the reasons above. Other Elites with odd-naming are Zhar and Veer.