John Sheppard
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John is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force, born June 14, 1970, to Valerie and Patrick Sheppard in Omaha, U.S.. He has an older brother, Dave. He is the Commanding Officer of the Military Contingent of the Atlantis Expedition.
The Atlantis marines often refer to him as simply The Major/The Colonel and (amongst themselves) The Old Man: terms which first were used in a demeaning and sarcastic way, but changed to become words of respect and loyalty as the attitude toward him and his command changed. He has proved to be a caring, loyal, and competent base commander even if at first, as a Major, John does not technically have the proper rank for the job. John has a Bond with Atlantis, due to his Ancient heritage, and is able to hear Her speak. When John is a child, he often imagines or dreams of a singing voice. The communication can be clear or vague depending on what the City is trying to convey and how far apart they are. He can access some City systems without directly using a console or the like, but not all of them, and a lot of it depends on what the City will let him do. As his Bond with the City deepens, John learns more about the City. Atlantis teaches him the Ancient language, and especially around his team he tends to slip Ancient words into his regular speech, such as potentia ("Zero Point Module"), machina ("engine") and Terra ("Earth"). John is born Dæmoness, causing his parents to worry and isolate him for a large part of his childhood. Patrick and Valerie are worried and horrified when no Dæmon Emerges, and they wait and wait for years, causing Patrick to grow angry and distanced in his fear of this "abnormal" child. He does however love John and is always concerned for his son, who quickly proves to be clever, asking (too) many questions, and reading a lot. They try to support him. At first they home-school the boy to keep him out of sight of others. No one knows of his lack of a Dæmon, not even relatives. During that time they also have a butler, Jason, helping out at in the house, who is in the dark, but is fired when John is little when he starts to figure out the truth. John is tutored at home and rarely meet people outside the family (apart from a few occasions, such as Christmas in 1985 and his eight birthday in 1987) until he is eleven years old, when his mother decides he must got to public school to learn social skills and interact with other children. Valerie also teaches him the ethics and taboos when it comes to Dæmons. At school John pretends that he has a Dæmon which is a tiny bug and is so shy that Shy becomes what he calls the "Dæmon"; a name that sticks. He pretends that Shy is hidden away in his pocket (therefore tries to always wear at least one garment with pockets, preferably a jacket). John is bright and clever as a child, with a penchant for mathematics and an interest in science, though he lacks some social skills and is bullied for a time at school because he is a bit odd and too clever for his own good. He learns to run away and run fast. He spends much time reading. He also has a few childhood friends, like Ross. John dreams of becoming a pilot, and decides that he has to be one, concerned that his Dæmon is lost somewhere in the sky; as a pilot he can go get it. He often dreams of a singing voice, convinced that this is his Dæmon trying to speak with him. At seventeen, John begins to study mathematics at Berkeley, graduating at nineteen. He takes a MENSA test around this time and passes the bar, but never joins. The same year, 1989, he is accepted to the U.S. Air Force Academy to train to become an officer. He earns a second Bachelor's there and proves to be a highly skilled pilot and fighter. After a few years John decides to aim for Special Ops, wherein he excels and becomes a very good marksman. After graduating in 1993, he climbs the ranks to Captain and then to Major. In 2003, John, Mitch, Dex, and Holland are part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. This leads to Mitch, Dex and Holland - with whom he is close friends - being killed outside of Kabul. Their chopper is shot down by an RPG and John goes after them, disobeying a direct order. There he witnesses Holland Ghosting (Leila, the Dæmon, dies before Holland), but he's not the first person John has seen die. Because of his disobedience John faces court martial, and expects a dishonourable discharge.
Some strings might have been pulled, however, and he finds himself sent to McMurdo, Antarctica, to ferry scientists and others to a secret outpost he doesn't have clearance to enter. He finds this place peaceful. Here he meets General O'Neill (unknowing of exactly who the man is or his significance), and Dr Beckett, Dr Weir, Dr Jackson and Dr McKay after accidentally on purpose sitting in the Ancient Weapons Platform Chair and finding out he possesses a strong expression of the ATA-gene. These events lead to him joining the SGC and the Atlantis Expedition in the last minute, under the pressure of Dr Weir and General O'Neill (who threatens to dishonorably discharge him) - in the end, he flips his service coin about going or not. Colonel Sumner is less than pleased. John joins the security team led by Sumner to Athos, making First Contact with Teyla Emmagan and her people. After Sumner's death at the hands of the Keeper Queen and the awakening of the Wraith, John takes the place as the base's CO reluctantly since he is the highest ranking officer. Dr Weir thankfully seems to accept this and they get along fine. He establishes his own off-world team, AR-1, with Rodney McKay, Lieutenant Ford (his XO) and Teyla Emmagan. John still has not discovered his Dæmon at this time. He finds he has a mental link with the City of Atlantis, which is both a Cityship and a powerful AI; but no one else can hear Her (as he refers to the City) and it remains a secret the first year of the Expedition. When the Great Storm hits Atlantis in March, 2005, John defends Atlantis against the Genii Strike lead by Acastus Kolya, who hold McKay and Weir hostage. Kolya violates Rodney by taking direct hold of his Dæmon, Meredith, which is one of the worst things a person can do, and John is so angry he wipes out almost the whole Genii Strike Force in retaliation. He kills Kolya, but several Genii, including Ladon Radim and Sora, escape. John is pulled back from his fury by the City, which gives him access to many systems, such as the ability to detect biosignatures and visualize the City's plans, without having to use a lifesigns detector or map. After the Storm, Dr Gaul discovers an Ancient defensive satellite orbiting the second planet in Lantea's solar system. John, Rodney, Dr Gaul and Dr Abrams go there, discovering a downed Wraith ship on the planet. The Wraith kills Abrams and Gaul, and Rodney saves John's life when his Dæmon attacks and kills the Wraith (shocking them both). In October 2005, John's Dæmon Emerges, retaining the affectionate name Shy; they are not of a determined gender, which is a bit unusual, since most Dæmons are of the opposite opposite gender of its humans. His Dæmon quickly Settles in the Shape of a raven; so they are often referred to as the Raven as well as Shy. During his childhood John feared he was a so-called Strangeling, reading about the word and its connotations in books in the library of the Sheppard estate. As he grows he comes to term with it and instead begins to use it as part of his own identity, as a sort of shield instead. At first, Shy is rather small, and John tries to hide them. During the Siege of Atlantis, John defends the City from the Chair. They run out of drones so he begins to remotely control several Puddlejumeprs at once. This overloads his mind, and John ruptures a blood vessel in the brain and nearly dies, resulting in the near-Merging with Shy and Ascension, but John fights it. The Raven is revealed, and most people in the City are stunned or disbelieving, but McKay is supportive. He stays by John's side for most of the time when he recovers in the infirmary for the next couple of days, as they wait for Weir to return to Atlantis with the Daedalus. While John is recuperating, Rodney hatches a plan to fly the City away from Lantea altogether to hide from the Wraith, and John comes up with the idea of faking a self-destruct. When Atlantis leaves Lantea for a new world in 2005, John flies the City from the Control Chair. In the aftermath of the Siege, John is accused by Colonel Everett of being a Strangeling, a grave insult, and several other people take deep offense to this but John barely reacts to it anymore, claiming that "it's just a word". Rodney especially vehemently disagrees. The Uprising happens, and John's command is rescinded, as is Weir's, and John is taken to the Brig. But Weir and the others take the City back, while in hyperspace toward New Lantea. In the fight that ensues, a marine is killed by Everett's forces. This is the last drop for John, and he confronts Everett. Everett's wolf Dæmon injures Shy, but Everett and his men are subdued, and John is supported by Rodney, Teyla and Ford to the Chair just in time to land the City. Rodney and John have their first kiss when the City lands, and they tentatively begin a romantic relationship. After hours of debate with Weir and Caldwell and the SGC, and fruitlessly trying to interrogate Everett, John goes to Rodney's lab. They end up having quick, half-dressed sex on the floor of the lab. Because of his Bond with the City, similar to a Dæmon Bond, it is uncertain whether he can leave the City without repercussions; rather than to risk this he, McKay and Weir manage to convince the SGC and IOA that he better remain in the Pegasus galaxy after the Uprising. Lt Ford and Sgt Bates go to report in his stead, along with McKay, Weir and Beckett (i.e. all senior staff) meaning John is temporarily left in charge of the whole base, not just the military side of it. With other senior personnel on Earth for evaluation of the Expedition, John is left in charge of the City. He does not really like this - "flying desk" is not his thing - and longs for the return of Weir and the others so that normality can return and AR-1 go on missions again. John exchanges a lot of emails with Rodney, and their relationship grows.
In October 2005, AR-2 find an Ancient Outpost on the planet Deserum. John goes with them to check it out and is ambushed by Wraith Runner Ronon Dex. They fight the Wraith together, and go the Waterfall Moon to remove Dex' tracking device. Ronon comes with John to Atlantis and is allowed to stay there, permanently if he wishes to. Later, John and a team of marines and scientists (Grodin, Radek, Kusanagi) discover the Warship Aurora and the crew, led by Captain Ephesia, in stasis. John makes First Contact, but the Ancients have forgotten putting themselves in stasis. Ephesia seems to recognize John and realizes the truth, and gives John some clues about his Bond with Atlantis. They barely escape from an exploding nova with the Warship, and the crew Ascends. Later that year, in early December, the Genii make contact with the Lanteans. John and Teyla meet Cowen and Ladon Radim on the Alpha Site to negotiate a Lantean-Genii Peace Treaty, which is signed on the fifth of December. On the turn of the New (Earth) Year, John encounters an Ancient named Icarus, a meeting which turns out to be significant. Icarus takes control of John's body in order to defend Atlantis against a Goa'uld possessing Caldwell, without the Others being able to stop him. The event leaves a mental scar. Icarus deliberately imprints a shadow of his own memories and knowledge in John's mind, but it takes some time for this knowledge to be available to him. Icarus addresses him by the Ancient version of his name, Iohannes (or Iohn for short). It turns out that John is related to Icarus, who is a bloodline of one of the Merged, Aeliana. His father isn't Patrick Sheppard at all, and John wonders if Patrick always knew and that was a reason for his dissent. John decides he should write a letter to Patrick, tell him what he can, and see if they could start over. In 2006 Ronon Dex officially becomes part of AR-1 and goes on several missions with them, for example to P19-751.
In early 2006, a few weeks after the events with Icarus, John begins to remember things Icarus left behind: Ancient equations, knowledge about ZPMs and wormholes, and the like. He can't really make sense of it all, but wakes up one night and writes down as much as he can. Rodney finds him in the morning, bewildered and a little jealous, and also frustrated that the knowledge seems so disorderly and random. The Aurora is repaired and brought to New Lantea, in a wide orbit, so that work can continue. In February, John commands the ship on its first official mission, to Deserum. They can't dial the planet so they assume the Gate has been buried, destroyed or removed. AR-1, AR-4 and AR-9 go down to the surface in two Jumpers to investigate the ruins of the Ancient Outpost there. An earthquake causes the building to collapse, and John and Rodney are trapped several meters down under debris. John is injured, breaking his leg. Rodney, thinking they're about to die, asks him to marry him, and John says yes. In February, several things happen that forces John to return to Earth. Lance Corporal Snow goes missing, is presumed dead, and Patrick Sheppard is stabbed in New York. Using the Ancient Communication Stones they found on Deserum, John and Rodney switch places, and Rodney walks through the Gate, marking their second long separation from each other. The investigation brings NCIS into the fold, and John reunites with his cousin Jenny, whom he hasn't met since they were young. They are taken prisoner by the Goa'uld Athena, Ba'al and a Goa'uld possessing Everett. Ba'al intends to go to Atlantis. He is stopped, however, and John/Rodney and Jenny return to Earth after being rescued by the Hebdrian ship Explorer. John has to wait for over a month to be reunited with Rodney and the team once more together. His leg heals and he returns to his duties, apart from going offworld with AR-1, which remains grounded. The Daedalus returns with AR-4, AR-9, and Rodney in early April. John, Rodney, Ford, Teyla and Ronon visit New Athos on April 15, officially to deliver supplies to the Athosian's new settlement there. Once that is done, they fly to a remote location on the planet, and John and Rodney get married in an Athosian-style inspired Handfasting ceremony. The rest of the team insist to be there to support them and perform the ceremony with them. In late August 2006, when AR-4 (MacGrimmon, Gladys, DeSalle, Kemp) crash on P75-081 and miss their check-in with Atlantis, Dr Weir sends John and his team to rescue them. They find the marines alive but Jumper Four buried in a sand dune, no systems working. After returning to the City, they mark P57-081 as 'potentially hostile' in the database. A few weeks later, John arranges a promotion ceremony for several marines: Gladys, Gamble, Olsen, Oakley and Herschel. The marines throw a party afterward to celebrate, and John drops in unannounced to see how his marines are behaving.
On January 29, 2007, AR-1 go on a fateful, disastrous mission to P70-800 which leads to an altered timeline. In early 2007, John joins AR-4 on a mission to M18-098. This mission also plays out in different ways in different timelines. After their Handfasting (April 15, 2006), John and Rodney return to New Lantea with their team. Weir recalls them ahead of schedule because AR-6 has made contact with a fairly technologically advanced people on M11-730, Tholus, and she wants AR-1 to go there to establish trade relations immediately. The mission goes sideways and one marine is killed and John is injured. The team gets rescued by the Daedalus and any potential alliance with Tholus is shelved.
May 3, 2006: After the mission to Tholus, AR-1 stay aboard the Aurora for a while to aid in repairs and to bring the ship closer to Atlantis. Shortly afterward, the planet Doranda is discovered. The planet is dead, the civilization there long gone save for ruins and a strangely intact Ancient lab with a potential new power source that can rival a ZPM. John goes there with Rodney to assist in one final attempt to use the energy device there, resulting in a destroyed solar system and a fractured relationship. May 30, 2006: Still reeling and recovering from Doranda, AR-1 discover a mysterious shielded crater on the planet P10-38X. John is trapped in a time-dilation field for over two months, relative time; on the outside it is only a matter of hours. He finds a village and meets the people living there (including Teer), who offer shelter and explain that leaving is impossible save through Ascension. John refuses to Ascend or even try. Rodney quickly realizes the danger and arranges a rescue. They spend a couple of days together in the field, mending their hearts as well as discovering a cache of ZPMs powering the field. John promised the people at the Sanctuary to leave the valley intact so that others can Ascend or live in peace there, and they decide to only take an empty ZPM with them to Atlantis. After P10-38X, the team experience a series of unusually quiet, calm missions. John re-acclimates to life in Atlantis. By now, his leg injury has fully healed and he's back in the shape he was in before seeking antebellum. John and Rodney go on a date playing video games. AR-1 assists AR-7 on a mission to a planet where, years ago, a Wraith Dart crashed. The planet has a Gate in orbit and are unfamiliar with Wraith beyond legends and old fears. The locals hunted down and killed most of the Wraith survivors but two managed to get away: an adult and a child. The child was taken in and hidden by a local apothecary who went so far as to fake his own death to raise his adoptive daughter, Ellia. John is conflicted about the whole thing but decides they can help by hunting down the adult Wraith with Ellia's (now a teenager) assistance, and then they can bring her back to her people, to a Wraith world. The decision is made and it's a close call, but both teams return to the City in one piece and Ellia is delivered in a cloaked Jumper to a Wraith-infested world. The only injury is Teyla, who spends the night in the infirmary. When John visits her in the infirmary, bringing a book which "a friend" of Teyla's recommended that she read, Teyla confesses that she has a love interest but is unsure how or if to proceed, asking John for advice to which he awkwardly says he might not be the best person to ask. After Teyla asks how he and Rodney "began", John confesses he's not sure, that it "just kind of ... happened?". He also tells her about a previous relationship with Nancy Dyer which ended years ago. A couple of weeks after finding the Sanctuary and some days after their last mission, Atlantis is contacted by Mr Woolsey and Mr LaPierre of the IOA who have a video conference with John and Weir concerning the ZPMs and technology found on P10-38X. The meeting is interrupted by an emergency: Jumper 21 has crashed into the ocean, with Dr McKay and Sgt Markham inside. The next few hours are very stressful for John has he helps plan and execute a rescue mission with a second Jumper and a modified shield/cloaking generator to help them descend several thousand feet. He uses his mental link and Bond with Rodney to locate the survivors, who are battered but alive. June 21, 2006: AR-1 travel to M38-711 to make First Contact with a potential ally. There they discover the ruins of an Ancient City, a sister to Atlantis, Ioturna. All that remains on the surface is a single tower, the central spire, although a greater structure is buried beneath centuries' worth of sediment, soil, and plant life. (to be cont.) (to be cont.)
we are the raven and the ghost chapter 9 | nou ani atlantus chapter 1 & 24In an alternate timeline, John (a Major) joins the SGC and the Atlantis Expedition in 2004. They arrive in a dying Atlantis, with power running out and the City about to flood. John, Dr Zelenka and Dr Weir end up in a time machine-Puddlejumper, built by Ianus, when the City first is found in 2004. They land ten thousand years in the past, right before the Ancients' Evacuation to Earth, and the Jumper is shot down by the Wraith; Weir is the only survivor, and with Ianus' help she alters the timeline so that the City survives long enough to be found and the Expedition survive. The wreckage in the sea is examined by Icarus, who takes a DNA sample from Major Sheppard's body, leading Icarus to the realization he will one day have a son.
the law of gravity "once upon a time" arcIn the First Timeline (which diverges on January 29, 2007) AR-1's mission to P70-800 ends in disaster, and a long series of events play out with seemingly their origin in what happened that day. The events are righted by future actions of AR-4 (MacGrimmon's team), thanks to time travel which resets the timeline at the point of divergence.
In the Second Timeline, some events play out similarly to the First Timeline, but most things are better and lives are saved. Because of Ascension [spoiler: Recon Four from the First Timeline, stranded in the past, are saved by two Ascended beings and they pass on knowledge to save AR-4 and AR-1 from being ton apart on M18-098 and P70-800 respectively] the two timelines converge, and the story eventually returns to a point in time before the point of divergence. In effect this creates a new timeline influenced by the two others. This makes the current storyline – everything after the law of gravity, plus chapter 10 of the law of gravity –actually take place in this new, unwritten, third timeline. |
PAGE UPDATED 2023-07-24