Sakura Obata
Actress: Mari Weiss
Name: Sakura Obata*Nationality:* Japanese\Affiliations:*GDI, Dead-6, then Black Hand* Occupation:*Mercenary, assassin* Specialities:*Martial arts, infiltration, acrobatics, piloting* Former partner:*Nick "Havoc" Parker* Employer:*General Gideon Raveshaw* Associate:Carlos Mendoza** Conflict:*Tiberian Dawn* Appearance: Command & Conquer: Renegade
Status: Alive after the war.Sakura Obata is a Japanese mercenary and assassin, a former member of the GDI’s Dead-6 special unit before working for the Black Hand. An extremely agile fighter and martial arts expert, she has a complex relationship with Nick "Havoc" Parker, her former teammate and lover. Her true motivations remain deliberately ambiguous, particularly regarding her loyalty to Nod.
From the Yakuza to Dead-6
Sakura’s past remains shrouded in rumour. She is said to have received a particularly strict upbringing amongst the Yakuza, where she is believed to have learnt assassination techniques before selling her services to the highest bidder. Her reputation eventually caught the attention of the CIA, and subsequently the GDI.
She then joined the Dead-6, a covert unit in which she fought alongside Havoc, amongst others. The two became very close and began a relationship.
Their time working together came to an end following an operation in Siwah, Egypt. Sakura and Havoc infiltrated a Tiberium research laboratory and destroyed it using C4. However, the unexpected presence of a senior Libyan official amongst the victims turned the operation into a major diplomatic incident. Both agents were immediately dismissed from service.
Move to Nod
A few months later, Sakura reappeared in the service of the Brotherhood of Nod, causing embarrassment for the GDI. The circumstances surrounding this defection remain unclear: she may simply have sold her services to Nod, but some rumours suggest that she had been working secretly for the Brotherhood of Nod for a long time and may have deliberately caused the Siwah disaster in order to remove Havoc.
She becomes a mercenary for General Gideon Raveshaw, alongside Carlos Mendoza, and takes part in the Black Hand’s operations.
Clashes with Havoc
Sakura takes part in the abduction of several GDI Tiberium specialists. Whilst they were being transferred to an Airbase in the Swiss Alps, she discovered Havoc hiding in a C-130 Hercules. After being thrown from the aircraft, she pursues her former partner in a RAH-66 Comanche helicopter and shoots down the plane over an island controlled by Nod.
She then pursues Havoc across the island, but her helicopter is eventually destroyed. Sakura nevertheless survives the crash and manages to escape before the wreckage is consumed by flames.
The Black Hand’s Castle
Sakura then reunites with Raveshaw in the underground laboratory of a Black Hand castle, where the captured scientists are being held.
She once again manages to take Havoc by surprise. However, he attempts to use her as a human shield when Raveshaw intervenes. Unconcerned about his mercenary’s survival, the General orders Mendoza to kill them both. Sakura manages to break free and flees.
The episode highlights the limitations of her relationship with Nod: despite her skills and the services she renders, Raveshaw remains perfectly willing to sacrifice her when it serves his interests.
After the war
Sakura survives the First Tiberium War. She then disappears from public view and resumes her mercenary activities. Her subsequent whereabouts are unknown.
A deliberately enigmatic character, she is never clearly defined by any ideological loyalty to either the GDI or Nod. Sakura seems, above all, to pursue her own interests, which casts doubt on the true nature of her defection.