Jonathan Shepard

Faction & Division: UNSC Navy Rank: Lieutenant-Commander Name: Jonathan Alaric Shepard Race: Human Age: 29 Height: 5’8 Weight: 174 lb. Appearance:

Strengths: Training - John has received four years of training in the Naval Academy, where he learnt everything that is required of an officer in the UNSC Navy.

Well-liked - As a result of being very involved with his people, John is well liked

by his crew, even though they haven't been together for a long time.

Weaknesses: Care - John is a man who gets easily attached to people. Especially to those

under his command. While this is not necessarily a bad trait, it is when he and those persons are constantly in combat, and everyone risks dying every day.

Jokester - John likes to pull (practical) jokes on his friends. As a result, they don't always take him serious anymore, even when he is serious.

Biography:

John was born in a military hospital on Earth. His father was an officer in the Navy and did not even know he existed. Growing up was difficult without his father. Especially so because his mother worked a lot, too. Luckily, young Johnnie’s grandmother was there to take care of him when his parents weren't there.

Early on, it became apparent that the boy was a natural sportsman. He was signed on to a local soccer club, where he was trained as a goalie. He proved to have a lot of talent, and was scouted for the youth team of the English football club Manchester United, at the age of 14.

So he and his grandmother moved to Manchester. He trained diligently, but his school results suffered for it. After a private tutor was hired by the club, they began to rise again. Eventually, John passed his exams. Not a month later, John was to make his debut in the first team when suddenly he received an injury that would prevent him from ever playing football on that level again. This is what brought him to apply to the UNSC Naval Academy. A copy of his application was also sent to his father, who may or may not have had a hand in the approval.

John would be trained to become a navigator aboard cruisers, just like his old man. He was also part of the soccer team. He didn't play, though. He acted as the assistant coach because of the simple fact that he was the  only one that had come close to playing at a top club. During his time in the academy, he also met the woman that would later be the mother of his children.

After four years he finally graduated, and with that, he received an Ensign’s commission. John was posted aboard the UNSC Indomitable, a Halcyon class cruiser. She was beautiful, but visibly ageing. He was proud of his assignment, though. John was assigned as the ship’s third navigator. He performed admirably and survived many a battle. Something that couldn't be said about many of his comrades. They were at war, though, and in wars, people died. That was the sad truth.

After three years of fighting, morale aboard the Indomitable had dipped so low, that she was separated from her battlegroup, and was sent home for R&R. Even John, who had by now been promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) was down. He was losing friends left and right, and no matter how much he tried to convince himself that they died to bring victory to the Human race, he could not help but think that the war wasn't going anywhere. The UNSC was losing colony after colony, and there wasn't a damn thing they could do.

John met his father, after months without contact, when the young officer was on shore leave. A shore leave he had earned. Admiral Klix talked some sense into his son, who returned to the Indomitable with renewed zeal. Not much later, an unexpected promotion came through. John was promoted to full Lieutenant. With this promotion also came a new job. He became the Indomitable First Navigator, and the Second Officer.

Three years later, John was still serving in this position. Once again, the Indomitable, along with the battlegroup she belonged to, was sent to help evacuate a colony. Indomitable was to join the vanguard when the fleet took up positions. While the fleet closed with the Covenant fleet, the internal messaging system malfunctioned. John was to run down to Engineering to check whether they were ready, which he did. The Chief reported all good, so John went back to the bridge.

On his way back, the ship rocked. They had fired their MAC. Alarms were beeping, though. Alarms that weren't supposed to be beeping. When he got there, he could not enter the bridge. He was told that the bridge had been destroyed by a Covenant fighter that had managed to break through. The Captain and the XO were dead. As Second Officer, this meant that he was now in command.

John took command, and led the ship into combat. She was soon boarded, though. Her Marines set up defensive positions around the vital areas, while they waited for reinforcements from other ships. They had to wait awfully long, though. The Covenant tried to breach his position, and by god they nearly did. Not before the relief arrived. There were only a few dozen men left, but they had held their positions. The ship was cleared. She had suffered, though.

John brought her back home, and he was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander for his actions to date. He was also given command of the UNSC Dauntless, a Paris-Class frigate that had just rolled off the assembly line. After her shakedown cruise, his orders were to join the 22nd fleet. He would be under his Admiral Klix' command. This man had been his mentor and role model for many years, ever since his first assignment was part of the man's command.