"Jack, Salem, Ghost, Martinez and I were all pinned down in a ditch. They were the only true friends I have ever had. It was the five of us against what seemed like a million. We were holding them back ok, but then they called in some heavy artillery. I was the leader, they took their orders from me. Salem kept telling me we should move, but I wouldn't listen. I said that we would hold our ground until reinforcements arrived. Then a mortar hit right next to us. I was thrown ninety feet from the ditch. I laid on the ground, not able to hear anything but my own breathing. I looked around and saw my men...my friends...strewn all over the ground in pieces. I couldn't feel my right arm, but the rest of my body hurt. Once I regained my hearing all I could hear was loud ringing. It wouldn't stop. My ears just rang and rang and rang. I finally looked at my right arm and realized why it didn't hurt. It wasn't there."
Sheppard lifted his right hand and balled it into a fist a couple of times.
"I passed out shortly after. When doctors found me, I was too far gone to save. They pumped oxygen in me until they got me to some lab. They managed to rebuild me using prosthetics and nanotechnology. I also recieved several other alterations while I was there. What was left of my bone structure is reinforced, my heart can reach a rate in excess of four hundred beats per minute, and my muscle fibers are about ten times stronger than that of a normal man. I died that day, just like the rest of my squad. I was also the only one important enough to bring back."
