Shepard

For the 2021's Mass Effect version, see Shepard (Reboot).

For the TV series adaptation, see John Shepard and Jane Shepard.

Captain Shepard is the customizable protagonist of the Mass Effect franchise, being the playable protagonist of Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. Acting as the player's avatar, Shepard's gender, first name (John being the default male name and Jane being the default female name), appearance, pre-service history, profile and class can all be altered by the player, in addition to their decisions and morality, both of which are also reflected by the player's choices.

Shepard is a captain of the Earth Systems Alliance Navy, commander of the Normandy's crew, and the first human agent in the Citadel's Special Tactics and Reconissance Division.

Profile Reconstruction
Profile Reconstruction is the character creation system of Mass Effect. The process starts with the player either selecting a pre-set character or creating a custom character. The protagonist's default male counterpart is named John Shepard, his appearance based on voice actor Mark Meer. The default female counterpart is named Jane Shepard, and her appearance is based on voice actress Jennifer Hale.

Upon selecting a gender, instead of selecting the pre-set options, the player may customize several aspects of Shepard's facial appearance, and write an alternative first name, though it has no impact on how Shepard is approached by other characters.

NOTE: The Profile Reconstruction process is repeated across all three games, even when importing an already existing character. Save for less restrictive face customization settings, there are few changes between each, and as such, this portion will here only be covered for the first game.

Pre-Service History
The player then selects Shepard's pre-service history, by choosing Spacer, Earthborn, or Colonist. This choice affects how others talk about the main character and, in combination with the psychological profile, determines how many Paragon and Renegade points Shepard has at the start of the game. Some assignments in the game are only available to those who selected a particular pre-service history, though they carry little impact on the story itself, simply present to flesh-out Shepard's backstory and personality.


 * Spacer: Both of your parents were in the Alliance military. Your childhood was spent on ships and stations as they transferred from posting to posting, never staying in one location for more than a few years. Following in your parents' footsteps, you enlisted at the age of twenty.
 * Spacer characters can have a short conversation with Hannah Shepard, Shepard's mother, through an assignment that is only available with this background. In both of the other backgrounds, Shepard's parents are deceased or otherwise absent.
 * Earthborn: You were an orphan raised on the streets of the great megatropolises covering Earth. You escaped the life of petty crime and underworld gangs by enlisting into the ESA Navy when you turned twenty.
 * Earthborn characters also have a unique assignment. A member of a gang Shepard belonged to in youth will approach Shepard outside Chora's Den in the Citadel Wards. Shepard is asked to help free a member of the gang from a turian in the bar.
 * Colonist: You were born and raised on Mindoir, a small border colony in the Attican Traverse. When you were eighteen, slavers raided Mindoir, slaughtering your family and friends. You were saved by a passing Alliance patrol, and you enlisted with the military a few years later.
 * Colonist characters also have a unique mission. When exiting the docking bay elevator, you will receive a request to help a fellow survivor of Mindoir, who was taken by slavers during the raid on Mindoir when you were younger.

Psychological Profile

 * War Hero: You started small within the ESA Navy. On very few occasions, you were given the opportunity to show your positive traits to your superiors, but what most stood out in you was not the strength, competence, resourcefulness or willpower - all extremely invaluable qualities to a soldier - but rather your willingness to give of yourself so as to uphold the mission. It all comes to a climactic display of leadership skills on Akuze, in the wake of a massive enemy uprising. You commander was killed, many friends lost, and your battallion reduced to 30% of its original capacity. As one of the higher ranks in the company's remaints, you were appointed as temporary commander. You gave a speech the likes of which will be written on history books, and gathered those who remained, encouraged and driven by your words, to reach the enemy's communications hub and call in reinforcements. You struggled, your persevered, and you went through them like a bullet through a wall. And thanks to your efforts to reestablish comm links, the ESA fleet was contacted, and two days later, your actions paid off a victory.
 * Survivor: During a tour of duty, a mission that first seemed completely predictable went terribly wrong. Your entire squad was wiped, your commanding officer murdered, and your unit disassembled across the warzone. For weeks on end, you fought to mantain your life like a rabid dog, and took decisions many wouldn't have the guts to take, but at a high personal cost. Both traumatized and enhardened by the experience, you have since gained the profile of a cockroach in the good sense, one of the toughest soldiers to kill in all of the Systems Alliance's military history. The brass noticed this trait on you, and has sent you on a plethora of sensitive missions, in all of which you succeeded. One such assignement took you to Akuze, in midset of a massive battle. Tearing through the enemy lines, the Admirals stood in awe as you fiercely and mercilessly bruised the enemy, and many now believe you might be one of the most skilled warfighters in the galaxy.
 * Ruthless: Following your enlisting into the ESA Navy, you quickly crawled through the ranks with bravery and might. You've proven time and time again that you get the job done, and prominent Admirals often seek your advice on sensitive operations. You are known for solving problems, no matter the cost, and your actions have earned you prestige as one of the most ruthless soldiers in the Alliance. Your subordinates are terrified of you, your colleagues respectful, and your superiors glad you are on their side. But your most impressive feat took place in Akuze, when you took hard decisions and eliminated an entire enemy platoon. The costs were high - civilian and military alike - but the people around you were convinced of your efficiency, and when there's a job to get done and no costs to afford, you are the one called in to solve it... by any means necessary.

Eden Prime Incident
Under Captain Anderson's command, Lieutenant Commander Shepard, a highly-condecorated Alliance soldier who achieved the N7 status, departs on the SSV Normandy to a mission on Eden Prime, accompained by a turan Spectre named Nihlus Kryik, who was assigned to evaluate Shepard, as they are chosen as the potential first human Spectre. On the bridge, Anderson and Nihlus reveal to Shepard, that contrary to the crew's knowledge, the Normandy was not there to simply test its new stealthy drive, but rather on a mission to recover a newfound prothean beacon on Eden Prime, which could be a massive opportunity for humanity to raise its profile in Citadel space. However, they soon receive a distress call from Eden Prime's ground forces reporting a geth attack on the colony. Shepard, Richard Jenkins and Kaiden Alenko arrive on the planet in search of the beacon. After spotting a geth, Jenkins advances unprepared and is fatally shot by it. After fighting through geth forces, Shepard and Alenko rescue Chief Ashley Williams, the sole survivor of her unit, which was taken out by the geth and transformed into husks. Williams joins the squad, and the three of them reach the excavation site only to find out that the beacon had been moved, and in its place was Nihlus' dead body. A bystander reveals he watched the Spectre's murder at the hands of another turian named Saren, who worked alongside the geth. Shortly after, Shepard witnesses Saren's flagship ascending as it emmits a terrifying sound. The squad then heads to the hangar, where they manage to prevent the geth from exploding the station and reach the prothean beacon. Williams approaches it and is exposed to a strange energy field, but Shepard pushes her out of it, getting caught by it instead. The beacon unloads massive amounts of information into Shepard's mind, presented in the form of flashing images of an apocalypse. The beacon then explodes, knocking Shepard unconscious, who is taken back to the Normandy for medical treatment.

Investigating Saren Arterius
After waking up, Shepard and the crew discuss the identity of the geth's commander, who Anderson identifies as yet another turian Spectre called Saren Arterius. Heading towards the Citadel, Shepard plans to expose Saren to the Council alongside Anderson and Ambassador Udina, but given the lack of proper evidence, they are unable to convince the representatives.

Following the audience, Shepard is asked by Anderson and Udina to investigate Saren's affairs in search of proof. Shepard then has three forms of obtaining proof of Saren's actions.


 * Shepard may speak to Citadel Security officer Garrus Vakarian, who had been conducting investigation on Saren for a long time, though with few results. If inquired about Garrus, Executor Pallin reveals he has been investigating criminal activity in the Wards, which leads them to Chora's Den, whose manager Fist is believed by Garrus to be involved in Saren's concealed business. Garrus also informs Shepard of the krogan mercenary Urdnot Wrex at the 11th CSD, from who he had learned of Fist's involvement, and Shepard may or may not enlist his help in going after Fist.
 * Shepard may instead go talk to Barla Von, who is revealed to be one of the Shadow Broker's agents. Von leads Shepard to Urdnot Wrex at the 11th CSD, who the organization had hired to kill Fist after the mobster jeopardized a potential information trader's safety, this one purportedly having proof of Saren's treason. This ultimately also leads Shepard to Chora's Den. However, before going on to take Fist out, Wrex reveals he had previously been interrogated by Garrus off the record. After this, Shepard can still recruit Garrus at the doorway to Chora's Den.

Shepard's party then arrives at Chora's Den and battles Fist's goons. When getting to the depot, they are approached by two employers holding them at gunpoint. If Shepard has enough Charm or Intimidate points, the employers can be persuaded to stand down and leave with their lives. Otherwise, they instantly fire at the squad, forcing Shepard to kill them. Hidden in his office with two sentry turrets, Fist is taken out by Shepard's crew and, when inquired about his involvement with Saren, reveals that a quarian had him arrange a meeting with the Shadow Broker so that she could sell evidence of Saren's corruption, but he instead called Saren's henchmen to take her out and retrieve the evidence. At this point, if Shepard took Wrex on the team, he immediately kills Fist. If not, Shepard can chose to spare and arrest him at Garrus' request, or execute Fist in cold blood. The squad then heads to the access tunnel outside Chora's Den, and eliminate Saren's henchmen. They then talk to the quarian, named Tali'Zorah, who agrees to share data on Saren with them in return for saving her life. Shepard takes Tali to Anderson and Udina, and she reveals she managed to retrieve a data core from a dying geth unit, which contained audio logs of Saren and Matriarch Benezia discussing the victory on Eden Prime.

Taking the recording to the Council's room, Shepard exposes Saren, pleeding with them to revoke his Spectre status. The asari councilor recognizes Matriarch Benezia's voice in the recording with Saren, and recognizes the urge to apprehend the two of them. The Council reaches a consensus and decides to make Shepard the first human Spectre, giving Shepard nigh-unlimited authority to apprehend Saren by any means judged necessary. After speaking to Udina and Anderson once more, Shepard learns that Anderson knew Saren, and decided to step down from the mission, asking Shepard to command the Normandy. To aid Shepard's efforts, Udina reveals that Matriarch Benezia was spotted coming across Noveria's Port Hanshan, and her daughter, Liara T'Soni, who studied prothean artifacts her whole career and thus could help Shepard interpret his visions, could be an useful asset. Now in command of the Normandy's crew, Shepard may chose to first go to either Feros or Noveria.

Noveria Incident
Shotly after docking in Port Hanshan, Shepard's squad is greeted by ERCS guards commanded by Maeko Matsuo, who urge them to hand their weapons before entering the installation. A confrontation sparks between the two parties, until Gianna Parasini validates the captain's entrance so that they could speak to Administrator Anoleis. Upon speaking to Anoleis, Shepard learns that Matriarch Benezia headed to Peak 15 before communications with the facility were taken down by a technical incident, presumably from the snowstorm. However, Anoleis refuses to hand Shepard a pass to access the garage and head towards Peak 15, justifying it with safety concerns and the need to protect his clients' corporate interests. There are a variety of ways though which Shepard may obtain the garage pass from this point on.


 * Entering the lobby, Shepard can speak to a hanar shopkeeper named Opold, who reveals to have been smuggling an illegal item for Inamorda. He asks Shepard to take the package through the weapons detector in the docking bay, which Parasini had authorized before, and deliver it to his client. However, if Shepard accepts this assignement and then denounces Opold and Inamorda's deal to Anoleis, the administrator secures the package and compensates Shepard with a garage pass. Furthermore, if Shepard has a high Paragon score at the time, the captain can ask for Anoleis to give them the upgrade contained in the package.
 * Upon leaving Anoleis' office, should they be unsuccessful in obtaining the pass, the captain is approached by Anoleis' secretary Ginna, urging them to head to cantina where they may speak to Lorik Qui'in. Qui'in, manager of the Synthetic Insights office at Port Hanshan, reveals he stumbled upon proof that Anoleis has been committing fraud and hoarding millions of credits from illegal businesses, some possibly linked to Matriarch Benezia. He gives Shepard the keycard to his office, and asks him to retrieve the evidence on his computer. There, Shepard comes across a fireteam on their way in, and can either bribe them with credits, earning Paragon score, use harnessed Renegade score to intimidate them, or simply kill them. After downloading the data from Qui'in's computer, Shepard is approached by Sergeant Kara Stirling, who opens fire, forcing the squad to kill her and her fireteam. After this, Shepard may give the data to Qui'in in exchange of his garage pass.
 * Alternatively, Shepard may give the evidence to Parasini, who reveals to be an infiltrated agent investigating Anoleis and asks Shepard to convince Qui'in to testify against the administrator. Shepard can only persuade Lorik Qui'in with enough Charm or Intimidate points. If they succeed, Parasini will arrest Anoleis and give Shepard a garage pass.
 * Finally, Shepard can give the evidence straight to Anoleis, in which case they will be given the garage pass in addition to the credits Anoleis would have bribed his goons with. Anoleis then executes Parasini for her betrayal, and arranges for Lorik Qui'in to be sent away from Noveria.

Accessing the garage, Shepard's team is attacked by geth infiltrators sprung out of the caches left there by Benezia, much to Captain Matsuo's shock. They then take the Mako and rolls through the Aleutsk Valley towards Peak 15, encountering heavy geth presence in the facility's entrance.

As Shepard's team enters the genetic lab, they encounter Matriarch Benezia and are forced to fight her, her asari guard and more geth enforcers. After all resistance is taken care of, Benezia comes to her senses. Benezia reveals she had been somehow brainwashed by Arterius while aboard his ship, and that Arterius' geth have established a base in Virmire, where they believe another prothean beacon is located. Before being able to further help them, Benezia passes out from her wounds, much to Liara's sorrow. If Liara is present at the time, the two of them have an emotional conversation beforehand.

Event Horizon
Upon going through the Omega 4 Relay, the Normandy arrives in a debris field near a black hole, close to the galactic core. Not much further, Joker identified the Collector Base, heading its way. An Oculus identifies and approaches the ship, piercing through the shuttle bay, which forces Shepard to drop down with a squad and manually take it out. The only squadmates available to take on this section are ???, ???, ???, ???. The amount of damage sustained by the Normandy in this part of the mission varies depending on which upgrades Shepard did or did not acquire for the ship prior to the mission, presented across three sections.


 * In the first section, the ???, acquired from ???, will be necessary to prevent the Oculus from breaching the ship's hull, which causes an explosion in the Life Support room, killing Thane.
 * In the second section, Joker has to maneuver inside an asteroid field, which causes extensive damage to the Normandy's hull if the ??? upgrade is not acquired from Tali. This will cause an explosion in the engineering room's mass effect core, killing Tali, who is performing emergency mantainance there at the moment.
 * In the third section, the Collector Base will dispatch the vessel that destroyed the original SSV Normandy. If the Thanix Cannons upgrade is not acquired from Garrus and the ??? upgrade is not acquired from ???, the Normandy's firepower and navigation systems will be insufficient to circumvent the Collector vessel's solar beam. Jack and Samara will be attempting to mantain the ???'s pressure, and will end-up hit by the beam, killing them instantly as they are vented outside.

Regardless of the damage caused to the Normandy, it crashes into the Collector Base's rough surface, prompting the mission's beggining.

A Way In
In preparation for the assault on the Collector Base, Shepard picks two specialists to assist in critical roles.


 * A Tech Expert will make its way through the vent accompanied by Shepard's team. Jacob, Mordin, Garrus, Kasumi, Tali, and Legion are available for the assignement, but only Kasumi, Tali, and Legion, if loyal, can successfully hack the door by this section's ending without compromising the Fireteam Leader's safety, with Legion being the best option as he can survive the pressure longer, giving more time for Shepard to reach each of the 8 valves before time runs out, failing the mission. If a disloyal or wrongly chosen Tech Expert is picked, the Fireteam Leader will die. If the chosen Tech Expert is both disloyal and ill-equipped to handle the task, then it will die as well.
 * A Fireteam Leader must be chosen to lead the secondary team. Jacob, Miranda, Mordin, Garrus, Zaid and Grunt will volunteer for this task, with only Jacob and Miranda being viable options, assuming they are loyal, and Garrus can be chosen for this task even if disloyal. If the wrong Fireteam Leader is chosen, or if any chosen specialist other than Garrus is disloyal, one member of the secondary team will die before reaching the door. If both, two members of the secondary team will die in this section.

Shepard's squad, the Tech Expert and the secondary team all then make their separate ways through the compound's exterior, fighting several waves of Collector troops before eventually reaching the entrance door, where they can rendezvous.

The Long Walk
After passing through the entrance, the crew comes across a massive chasm chamber where the Collectors store several life pods. In this chamber, they find captured colonists being molten by an acid into a gray substance, and pumped through the facility's tubes into what is assumed to be the central chamber. Assuming the mission was launched immediately after the Normandy's crew is captured, Shepard is able to rescue all members of the crew, including Dr. Chakwas, Kelly Chambers, ???, ??? and ???. If the Normandy heads to any one other location before launching the mission, only Dr. Chakwas is alive when Shepard's team arrives, and if launched later, no members of the Normandy SR-2's crew survive. Shepard is then informed that the chasms ahead, leading to the central chamber from which they can destroy the space station, are filled with so many Seeker Swarms that Mordin's countermeasures will be insufficient. As such, Shepard is prompted to take a Biotics Expert to assist them.


 * Jacob, Miranda, Jack, Thane and Samara will be available as Biotic Experts, however, only Miranda, Jack and Samara - if loyal - can see it through the casms without endangering the life of one of Shepard's selected squadmates during this part. If a disloyal and wrongly-selected specialist is chosen for this section, both of Shepard's chosen squadmates will die, and the specialist will tire out, being unavailable in future roles.
 * Yet another Fireteam Leader must be chosen for this section to lead the secondary team, and another Biotics Expert to accompany them. The Fireteam Leader's selection conditions are the same as for the previous section, and the Biotics Expert's conditions are the same as the one chosen for Shepard's squad, being so that instead of risking squadmates, the lives of up to two members of the other team are at stake.
 * Finally, if any crew members are rescued during this part, the Normandy will not be able to pick them up at the time, forcing them to go back on foot. Shepard must chose between leaving them to return to the ship themselves, or name an escort to them, which will only be available if at least 8 squadmates remain available in the squad selection. By returning to the ship alone, the crew will not make it. If a disloyal squadmate is chosen to escort them, the crew will survive, but the chosen squadmate will die protecting them, while a loyal squadmate will reach the ship as well. Notably, the best options to take in this case are Mordin, Kasumi or Thane, as they will not fulfill roles of great purpose in the following sections, and will be the least contributive to the final selection process by the end of the mission.

Hold the Line
After fighting through the Seeker Swarms, the survivors will gather before an elevator shaft that leads into the station's core. At this point, Shepard may deliver a final speech to keep the squad's morale. The Collectors begin to muster their forces by the doorway, prompting EDI to suggest that Shepard takes a small squad with him to sabotage the core, while leaving the others ther to hold the line.

The determination of which squadmates survive this section is based on a "Hold the Line" meter. If the total Hold the Line Score exceeds 16 points, the entire fireteam survives. If lower, one random fighter will die for each reduced point. The table below lists each squadmate's Hold the Line Score.

Endgame
For the survival of squadmates chosen to follow Shepard in this section, all of them must be loyal. Any disloyal squadmates will die.

Shepard's team uses the elevator pads to travel to the facility's core, facing hordes of Collectors and being tauned by the Collector General along their way. Upon reaching the core, EDI informs Shepard of a massive energy signature detected near his position, and from visual contact, Shepard confirms that the signal is, in fact, a massive human-shaped Reaper, which they soon realize was built by the Collectors from the harvested colonists. THe Commander is then confronted by the Collector General, who reveals himself to be in reality a massive ancient Reaper called Harbinger, who could remotely or directly control the Collectors while its body remained dormant in dark space. After defeating Harbinger's forces and taking the Reaper embryo down, Shepard is contacted by the Illusive Man, who requests the Commander not to destroy the Collector Base, but instead use a localized radiation pulse to eliminate all Collector life, while keeping the facility for research. Shepard is then faced with the decision to keep the Collector base and trust Cerberus with researching it, or destroy everything in name of morality, much to the Illusive Man's dismay. After making their decision and preparing for detonation, the Human Reaper, revealed to have survived, forcing Shepard to take it down in battle. The abomination destroyed, Shepard is chastised by Harbinger, who claims they have changed nothing and the Reapers will come for them anyway.

Assuming any of Shepard's squadmates survive the ordeal, Shepard makes it out of the compound with haste, reaching the Normandy moments before the Collector Base's explosion, or the radiation pulse planted at the Illusive Man's request. Moments later, Shepard is seen recovering from the mission, brought a datapad by Joker containing information on Harbinger, and knowing that the Reapers are headed towards the Milky Way.

Leaving Earth
By 2286, grounded on Earth for his association with Cerberus and the destruction of the Alpha Relay, Shepard lives in a small apartment in Vancouver under James Vega's constant watch, until being called by Anderson. Even if previously selected to participate in the Council, Anderson, upon being offered admiralty, stepped down from his position and left Udina there. As they walk towards the defense commitee's chamber to discuss sightings of unidentified spacecrafts approaching Earth and its colonies, Shepard realizes that the Reapers have arrived. In their way to the chamber, Shepard meets the Virmire Survivor, who Anderson reveals has been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Immediately after arriving at the chamber, Shepard confronts the commitee, chastising them and warning that conventional tactics will be insufficient to stop the Reapers, when the hearing is interrupted by the Reapers themselves. The chamber in ruins from the Reapers' attacks, Shepard and Anderson make their way out to see the devastation that is being inflicted upon Vancouver, and decide they must reach the Normandy. After contacting Joker by using a dead soldier's communicator, the two have to hold off against overwhelming waves of husks. When the Normandy arrives to pick Shepard up, they ask Anderson to join them, but the Admiral opts to stay and help on Earth while Shepard seeks help from the Council. Shepard then sees a child which they had saved from a husk before reaching an Alliance evacuation transport, only for it to be taken down by a Destroyer, to Shepard's dismay. They then leave Earth's atmosphere aboard the Normandy, alongside the Virmire Survivor and James Vega.

In orbit, Shepard discovers the ship is still under reformation and operating on a skeleton crew, only recognizing Joker, EDI, and Greg Adams, who returns to oversee the ship's engineering room after serving in the original SSV Normandy. In the war room, Shepard receives an emergency transmission from Admiral Hackett, who reveals he has arranged for Shepard to be pardoned, promoted to the rank of Captain, and given authorization to command an independent taskforce aboard the Normandy. Hackett also reveals Liara has shared information with him on a potential answer to the Reaper problem on Mars, and requests that they get there immediately before leaving the Sol System.

Fate

 * 1) The Cycle Continues: This ending occurs if the player fails to gather enough Effective Military Strength Score to protect the Crucible during the final push, dooming any chance to deactivate the Reapers. Alternatively, if Shepard succeeds in finishing the Crucible but fails to make a decision, the Architect acknowledges it and leaves, affirming that the cycle must continue as an alternative solution could not be achieved. In either scenario, the Reapers finish harvesting all developed organic life and return to dark space, awaiting for the next cycle to come. Using the data past down to them by Liara, the next cycle's species supposedly solve the Reaper issue, and Shepard, then known as "the Shepard", is acknowledged as the hero whose sacrifice earned them the information with which to build their own Crucible.
 * 2) Destruction: In this ending, Shepard shoots the power tube, causing a massive explosion. Using the mass relays, the energy released by the Crucible spreads throughout the galaxy. If Project Crucible's War Asset Score is inferior to ???, the Crucible is incomplete, and its blast destroys all synthetics across the galaxy, including the Reapers, EDI, and the geth. The mass relays and the Citadel are severely damaged, but eventually repaired by the survivors. Assuming the Crucible is complete, if the player's Effective Military Strength is ??? or higher, a brief scene shows Shepard taking a deep breath amidst a pile of rubble, having survived despite being in critical condition due to the destruction of their cybernetic components. Shepard is then seen a final time aboard the Normandy, placing the last nameplate in the ship's memorial wall.
 * 3) Control: In this ending, Shepard's physical body is vaporized and his mind preserved as an artificial intelligence. Using the mass relays, the energy fired by the Crucible uploads Shepard's digital mind as the Reapers' new master consciousness, replacing the Overlord. The Reapers depart from Earth, and the Citadel remains intact. The Reapers rebuild the galaxy, the new Shepard AI vowing to protect it – though its manner of carrying out this duty is affected by whether Shepard's Reputation hangs more towards Paragon or Renegade by the ending.
 * 4) Synthesis: This ending is only available if the player has enough War Assets into Project Crucible to complete the machine, at least ??? total War Assets, and 100% Reputation profficiency with which to argue with the Architect, proving to it that the Milky Way is prepared for organics and synthetics to coexist without threatening each other. In this ending, Shepard activates the synthesis mechanism, which makes all synthetic lifeforms across the galaxy partially organic, allowing for them to coexist in harmony with their makers, including the Reapers. After this, Shepard is found in the Crucible's ruins.

Cybernetic Scars
By the beggining of Mass Effect 2, Shepard's face is scarred from surgery conducted by Cerberus on them. Over the course of the game, Shepard may chose to remove them by speaking to Dr. Karin Chakwas (alternatively, to Dr. Chloe Michel in Mass Effect 3) at the Medical Bay and spending ??? Credits to remove the scars. If Shepard does not remove them, they will glow red along with the Captain's eyes when an exceptionally high Renegade score is mantained, giving the Captain a more threatening appearance.

Trivia

 * Many of Shepard's non-customizable traits are inspired on the United States' space exploration history.
 * Shepard is named after Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr., the second person and the first American in space (May 5, 1961). He later commanded the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 and became the fifth person to walk on the Moon.
 * Shepard's birthday (April 11th) is the same day that Apollo 13 (an American attempted manned moon landing mission that almost ended in disaster) was launched (April 11th, 1970).