Sadono began fighting for an Indonesian "terrorist" street gang when he was 14 years old. He worked his way quickly up the ranks and became the leader of Darah Dan Doa (the new name for the street gang), which had many activities backed by the CIA. He was trained by the CIA to help fight Communist influences in the region, but felt betrayed when the Americans stopped backing Indonesia and put their support behind East Timor instead, even establishing permanent military bases in East Timor to widen their influence over the region. Resentful of the American interference in his country's autonomy, Sadono eventually decided to declare war on America.
Resentment towards America came to a head when Sadono decided it was time to make a move. However, simply fighting the U.S. in a normal insurgency would have been suicide as he would be targeted and killed. To prevent this from happening, he created his 'insurance policy'. This involved of getting Norman Soth to procure a modified strain of smallpox virus from Syrians, as well as the ND133 storage devices to transport it. The ND133 were then scattered across the U.S., guarded by mercenaries from a private military company named ARGUS (Armed Guardian Services). The virus was briefly released into the city of Springfield, Texas, in the 'Springfield Demonstration'. It was then revealed to the U.S. government that Sadono called each of the ND133 caretakers on an encrypted phone with the code word "Pandora Tomorrow' daily. If Sadono was captured, killed or failed to make the call, the virus is released within 24 hours. Because of this, Sadono became virtually untouchable. He participated in front line battles while the U.S. military was completely powerless to stop him, in which elevated his reputation to a legendary, invincible figure, gaining popular support for him and Darah Dan Doa.
After Splinter Cell operative Sam Fisher infiltrated the submarine in Komodo, Indonesia, Third Echelon was able to determine the location of the last five ND133 devices. Dozens of Shadownet agents were dispatched to storm the locations containing the ND133, neutralizing the ARGUS mercenaries, and destroyed the smallpox boxes, effectively canceling Sadono's insurance policy. Fisher then quickly abducted Sadono at a television station located in Jakarta, Indonesia. After capturing him, Fisher handed Sadono over to the U.S. in order to face trial of his crimes.
Trivia[]
Sadono t-shirt in Paris, France.
If the player is not careful in the final showdown with Sadono, one shot from Sadono's gun will always kill Sam Fisher, regardless of how much health he has remaining. (only in Pandora Tomorrow and not in Essentials)
Before the Jakarta mission, being detected by him at any point of the game will cause a game over; this also applies to shooting/grabbing him.
According to emails, Sadono has a 'secretary' due to the fact that "[Sadono] types like a trained chicken."
The in-story presence of T-shirts and other articles of clothing featuring Sadono's face is a direct reference to the real life "Che chic" fashion trend featuring MarxistrevolutionaryChe Guevara.
It is noted that Sadono bears a similar resemblance to Che Guevara (although Sadono lacks of facial hair).
