CDR. JOHN SHEPARD

Commander of the SSV NORMANDY SR-2

BASICS

NAME John Shepard
D.O.B. April 11, 2154
MILITARY RANK STAFF Commander
MVC(S) N7, C7, B5, A7
class adept

mass effect 1 paragon
mass effect 2 paragade
mass effect 3 renegon

AFFILIATIONS

SERVICE BRANCH SPEC OPS, Systems alliance navy
Outside affiliations SPECTRE, CITADEL COUNCIL
Previous affiliations CERBERUS (INVOLUNTARY), 10^th WARD REDS (PRE-MILITARY, EARLY YOUTH)

COMBAT TRAINING | key: SPECIALIZED, MASTERED

2154
APRIL 11 he is born to Alicia & Thomas Blaire in the texan megapolis's houston district (UNAS). no legal name is assigned.
APRIL 11 ALICIA BLAIRE dies due to eezo-related complications that were worsened due to childbirth.
APRIL 13 unable to care for the child on his own, Thomas blaire leaves him at a fire station.
MAY 1 he is housed at one of houston's main orphanages after the authorities' attempts to find a family fall through. due to the absence of a legal name, he is called john by orphanage staff.2161
march (age 6) local adoption rates are at an all time low due to the emergence of biotic children and the subsequent public reaction.
september (age 7) john remains unadopted; potential adopters are wary of the possibility of biotics.2163
july (age 9) some of john's friends that had previously exhibited biotic inclinations are suddenly 'adopted'. john becomes wary of any future 'sudden adoptions'.2165
february (age 10) a classmate of john accidentally utilizes their biotics—which had previously been concealed—during class time. after being sent home early, they are never seen again. john's fear of biotics worsens. falsely claiming a peer to be biotic becomes a common 'prank' in his school.
december (age 11) john is one of the oldest children at the orphanage in which he lives.2168
JUNE 13 (AGE 14) in an effort to protect a friend, john gets into a physical altercation with some of his peers after school. the provocation causes his biotics to manifest; john flees the orphanage out of fear of being abducted and/or given to the government.
JUNE 15 John encounters a local gang member from the 10^th ward reds. the gang member claims to be aware of john's biotic abilities and says that he recognizes him from school. he offers john a place in the gang, stating that food and protection will be provided in exchange for assistance on 'various jobs'. john accepts.
AUGUST john is established as a 'negotiator' for the 10^th ward reds. his biotic inclination provides a useful 'scare factor' in persuading potential business partners. despite being afraid of himself, john does not refuse, feeling he owes the reds for providing him with food and protection.2169
February (AGE 14) john is recognized as a frequent partner/accessory to the 10^th ward reds' FINCH.
march john is attacked by a stray dog, resulting in a scar on his right forearm. a fear of dogs subsequently develops.
july 15 (age 15) john accidentally kills a rival gang member after losing control of his biotics.
july 16 the 10^th ward reds deny involvement in a recent violent altercation with another of houston's street gangs that resulted in the death of a rival gang member, who sustained injuries from an unnatural amount of force. authorities suspect the injuries were caused by a biotic attack, which sparks an extremely localized hysteric reaction to the possibility of 'hidden biotics'.
JULY 17 john's involvement in the aforementioned altercation earns him the street name shepherd. the gang attributes the name to his previous encounter with a dog paired with his viciousness; his use of force is compared to the way a dog will latch onto its prey.
july 30 local hysteria relating to biotics eases after no new violent cases involving biotics emerge in a two week period.
september john's real name becomes uncommon knowledge as the name shepherd gains more traction.2170
january 21 shepherd and finch get into a verbal altercation after shepherd attempts to refuse using his biotics. shepherd eventually relents, as the consequences of refusal would've left him to fend for himself.
january 22 shepherd's reputation—composed mostly of his biotics and his common fights with members of his own gang—causes most to avoid socializing with him.
february shepherd and finch remain some of the reds' most notable members.
MARCH the robbery of a small convenience store takes place. the cashier, who was the only employee present at the time, claims that he was threatened by an 'unstable biotic male who couldn't have been more than sixteen' alongside a 'slightly older man with a gun'. authorities attempt to omit the first part of the story to prevent another wave of hysteria, but word spreads through the city.
march another localized wave of hysteria related to violent biotics begins.
july (age 16) local hysteria once again eases.
september tensions between shepherd and other gang members come to a head as shepherd continues to refuse using his biotics. a physical altercation ensues, with shepherd quickly being subdued due to his physical weakness as a result of improper nutrition. he surrenders after nearly being stabbed in the head; the blade instead grazes him, resulting in his forehead scar.2171
april (age 17) the 10^th ward reds begin targetting aliens, especially turians. shepherd begins seeking opportunities to escape the gang.
may shepherd's refusal to continue supporting the reds due to their xenophobia causes other gang members to question his loyalty.
july shepherd and finch no longer work in unison.
september shepherd begins to consider enlisting in the systems alliance navy in the next year, once he reaches adulthood. he does not reveal this to the gang.
november 15 due to a loss of control, shepherd injures a civilian with his biotics during a robbery. the event does not trigger hysteria, instead contributing to the negative and often violent stigma around biotics. shepherd manages to evade any involvement with the law.
november 16 the reds threaten to expose shepherd as a biotic to the authorities in order to blackmail him into continued cooperation.2172
february (age 17) shepherd begins noticing recruitment adverts encouraging biotics to enlist in the systems alliance.
april 11 (age 18) shepherd reaches adulthood.
april 12 shepherd visits a local enlistment center for the systems alliance. one of the reds, having learned of his plans to abandon the gang, gets into a public argument with shepherd. they begin threatening to expose his violent history with the gang as retaliation. captain david anderson breaks the two apart. he introduces himself to shepherd, asking his name and whether or not he needs help. shepherd says that his name is john shepard, explaining that he intends to enlist to get away from the prejudice against biotics. anderson decides to help him with the enlistment process.

SERVICE TIMELINE

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2172
APRIL 13 (age 18) john shepard is cleared to begin training in the systems alliance's naval division once he receives an implant.

APRIL 14 he undergoes a surgical procedure to be fitted with an l3 implant.
april 30 the mandatory recovery period following the surgery comes to an end. john is cleared to begin recruit training with the rank of serviceman 3^rd class.
july 23 john finishes recruit training and is promoted to serviceman 2^nd class. anderson continues to keep an eye on his performance.2173
january 4 he is promoted to serviceman 1^st class after exhibiting exemplary combat discipline.
march he transfers to arcturus station to begin training his biotics under a drell instructor named SALIK riil.2174
february 3 (age 19) due to his continued performance beyond alliance standards, anderson recommends him for officer training.
april 28 (age 20) john finishes officer training and is awarded the rank of 2^nd lieutenant. at age 20, he is one of the alliance's youngest commissioned officers.
may he returns to arcturus station to continue training with salik.2175
february 19 he is invited to begin n-class training due to a combination of exceptional performance and a recommendation from captain anderson. anderson is one of the alliance's most decorated n7s, so his word carries weight.
february 22 after accepting the invitation, john begins n1 training at the vila militar in rio de janeiro on earth.
june 7 (age 21) he completes n1 training after 15 weeks.
june 21 he transfers to arcturus station to begin n2 training. n2 training covers close-quarters combat instruction and zero-g combat.
october 4 john completes n2 training after 15 weeks.
october 18 he transfers to europa to begin n3 training. n3 training covers parachuting, specialized armor usage, and jetpack/jetboot usage.2176
january 31 john completes n3 training after 15 weeks. he is promoted to 1^st lieutenant.
february 14 he transfers to an alliance station in the southern parts of the nusa to begin n4 training. n4 training covers combat diving.
may 29 (age 22) john completes n4 training after 15 weeks.
june 12 he transfers to arcturus station to begin n5 training. n5 training covers frontline trauma care for both human and xenobiologies as well as linguistics.
september 28 john completes n5 training after 15 weeks.
october 12 he transfers to elysium to begin n6 training. n6 training is the last level of training and provides live combat experience.
december 1^st lt. shepard is part of the ground forces that repels the attacking pirates during the skyllian blitz. he is promoted to staff lieutenant.2177
march 1 john completes n6 training after 20 weeks.
march 5 john graduates from the interplanetary combatives academy, with the ceremony held on arcturus station. he is then awarded the designation of n7.
april 11 (age 23) john is part of the alliance marine unit deployed to the colony on akuze after the pioneer team goes dark.
april 12 he is the only survivor of what is later referred to as the akuze massacre. after witnessing the death of fifty other marines, john dragged himself to the landing zone for extraction.
may 2 john is released from the hospital after being treated for severe acid burns.
may 15 john is promoted to lieutenant-commander for his bravery on akuze.2183
june (age 29) captain anderson chooses lieutenant-commander shepard as his XO aboard the SSV Normandy.
june john becomes the first human spectre.
september the battle of the citadel takes place.
october 21 the ssv normandy sr-1 is destroyed in a collector attack. Lt. CDR. shepard is spaced after evacuating his crew. his body is never recovered.
october 30 lt. cdr. shepard is declared killed in action after alliance efforts to find his body are inconclusive. the normandy's team is disbanded.
november lt. cdr. shepard's body is given to the shadow broker.
november liara t'soni steals shepard's body from the shadow broker and gives it to cerberus.2184
??? john wakes up in an unfamiliar place panicked and confused. he is quickly sedated.
??? his sedative dose is increased after he is upgraded to l5x implants.2185
october (Age 31) lt. cdr. shepard's revival is deemed a success. he is involuntarily 'employed' by cerberus and given command of the normandy sr-2.
november the collector base is destroyed.
december john cuts ties with the illusive man.2186
january john destroys the alpha relay, resulting in the destruction of the bahak system and the deaths of 300,000 batarians.
january he turns himself into alliance custody.
january captain anderson defends lt. cdr. shepard's actions. shepard is placed on house arrest.
july (age 32) lt. cdr. shepard is reinstated into active service due to the reaper invasion.
december john is promoted to staff-commander following the reaper war.

MAIN STORYLINE
tuchanka: turian platoon
• stops cerberus from detonating the bomb; witnesses victus's death
attican traverse: krogan team
• helps the rachni queen a second time
• grunt survives
priority: tuchanka
• tells wrex and eve about the sabotage
• mordin sacrifices himself to cure the genophage
• eve survives
priority: citadel (ii)
• kills udina himself
• automatically gains kaidan's trust; kaidan joins him on the normandy
priority: rannoch
• establishes peace between the geth and the quarians by forcing the quarians to stand down
priority: horizon
• miranda survives and leaves with oriana
priority: cerberus hq
• kills kai leng without remorse
priority: earth
• brings garrus and kaidan with him through the final battles
• shoots the illusive man after the illusive man attempts to attack him
• watches earth from space with anderson during anderson's final moments
• chooses to activate the crucible and destroy synthetic life throughout the galaxy
• survives the wardlc storylines
omega
• adopts a renegade attitude throughout the dlc
• watches aria strangle petrovsky
leviathan
• forces the leviathans to aid them in the reaper war
citadel
• kills his own clone
• kills brooks
• holds a memorial service for thane
• invites everyone to his party at the endSIDE QUESTS/ENCOUNTERS
aria
• unites all 3 mercenary forces under her control
grissom academy
• rescues the students
• suggests the students be put on the front lines
kallini: ardat-yakshi monastery
• stops samara from committing suicide
arrae: ex-cerberus scientists
• rescues the scientists
• lies to gavin archer and says he knows nothing about what happened to david; gavin commits suicide