Akio Watanabe

Major Akio Watanabe was a Field Grade officer in the UNSC Marine Corps.

Early Career
Watanabe served in the ONI Prowler Corps during the Human-Covenant War. He disapproved of using torture as a means of interrogation not only because it was ineffective, but because he had personal experience with it as well: he had scars (from Insurrectionist torture) running from his wrists to his elbows, and he also had scars around his neck. The ONI Prowler Corps rescued him from torture, and thus he became very loyal to them.

Charybdis IX
In 2535, Watanabe proposed the UNSC Midsummer Night's mission: to go to Charybdis IX, track and eliminate the source of the smuggled Covenant weaponry. He was, for the most part, disliked by the Midsummer Night crew due to the fact that he was quiet and secret, spending most of the journey to Charybdis IX in his personal quarters. He had read work by Elias Carver and they shared similar beliefs: Watanabe believed that the colonies were a powder keg due to the innumerable cultures and religions, and a constant war (such as the Insurrection) was inevitable. He often compared the Insurrection to the Rain Forest Wars. .

After Jeffries was shot down over the Scyllion Warehouse District, Watanabe helped Keyes snap out of his guilt trance and back into reality. Watanabe was killed by Insurrectionist Jason Kincaide with a smuggled Plasma Rifle while defending the extraction point on Charybdis IX along with the young Jacob Keyes and ONI Agent Corinthia Hansen.

Personality
To many, Watanabe came across as cold towards individuals, and focused only on his mission. However, many who were not fond of him felt pangs of sadness when Watanabe died.