Zuka 'Zamamee

Zuka 'Zamamee was a Special Operations Elite in Halo: The Flood. He is said to be Prophet-blessed as holds the position of Special Operations Officer, wearing the black armor of a SpecOps Elite. He was from Sanghelios.

He leads a group of Grunts onto the Pillar of Autumn where he encounters the Master Chief and Cortana escaping. He tries to stop them but the Master Chief shoots him in the head with a Pistol, injuring but not killing him. However his assistant was killed. As he lay wounded, another unit of Grunts, led by Yayap and Gagaw, pick him up and carry him off the ship for medical attention so they could avoid having to fight. He then takes Yayap as his new assistant(much to the grunt's immediate dismay though later, some friendship grows between him and Zuka as seen in Halo: The Flood) and appeals to the High Council of Masters members aboard the Truth and Reconciliation. Soha 'Rolamee, a Councilor Elite, turns his idea down at first but it is approved after the Master Chief raids the vessel, killing hundreds of soldiers and rescuing the valuable POW, Captain Jacob Keyes.

He sets his first trap inside the security center of the Silent Cartographer, utilizing a pair of Hunters and a squad of Grunts under Yayap's command. However, one of the Grunts, Linglin, accidentally kills one of the Hunters, allowing the Master Chief to overwhelm them all. 'Zamamee and Yayap survive only by hiding in a cargo pod. Master Chief kills the other hunter and escapes on page 146 of Halo: The Flood

The Prophet aboard the Truth and Reconciliation then warns him by way of 'Rolamee's disembodied head that the price of another failure is death. This discourages 'Zammamee in terms of glory-hunger, but he works harder to save his life.

He later arranges 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 lead a group of some 30 SpecOps Elites aboard Pelican Charlie 217 and infiltrates the base. He also coordinates for a contingent of ground forces led by field master Noga 'Putumee to lead a simultaneous assault on the base. Though he frees Yayap, the two barely manage to escape in a Banshee as the assault fails miserably.

He finally travels to the Pillar of Autumn crash site where he takes on the alias of Huki 'Umamee to avoid punishment. He stays there doing the tasks asked of him until the Master Chief arrives aboard the ship one last time. Using information fed to him by Yayap, his final act is to attempt to ambush the Master Chief on an elevator. Armed with a Shade and surrounded by Grunts, he nearly killed the Master Chief using the plasma cannon. However, the Master Chief then retreated and Cortana disabled the elevator, causing it to hurtle towards the bottom of the shaft. The Master Chief tosses two Fragmentation Grenades down into the falling elevator and the explosion kills 'Zamamee's Grunts and tosses him out of his Shade, stunning him. The elevator then impacts the floor, killing him instantly. The last thing he saw before impact was the Master Chief. As he died, he waited for the after life or the "first signs of paradise."

Rank
He is legitimately called a "Special Operations Officer". This title and the fact that he wears jet black armor confirms, that he is indeed a SpecOps 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 SpecOps Commander, just like Rtas 'Vadum.

However, he is stated to be outranked by Soha 'Rolamee (a Councilor) by "two full levels". Two levels below Councilor in the Covenant Hierarchy, is the Ultra rank.

On the other hand, it is unlikely that 'Zamamee is an Ultra, since his armor is stated to be black. It seems likely that he is between Special Ops Commander and Special Operative in rank, perhaps at the same rank of "Subcommander" as was Rtas 'Vadum's aide, Kusovai. It is also possible, that this is a continuity error on the author's part.

Trivia

 * Though it is said he was in black armor you find no Elites on the Pillar of Autumn wearing black armor. Also some claim you can find him towards the end of the level The Maw when the elevator opens and some Grunts and an Elite come out. This may not be him as it was said in Halo: The Flood that he was seated on a Shade and was killed by two grenades thrown down the elevator shaft by the Master Chief. It must be considered however that the book canonized the events of Halo, so if the player sees or does something slightly different there is no possible way to account for that in a novel. There is a strong possibility the elite is him.


 * Zuka 'Zamamee is the only known Elite to be threatened and subjugated by a Grunt i.e.,Yayap.
 * His skull could be the the one from The Legendary icon as he was shot in the left side of his skull by a pistol.