Sheva Alomar was born into an impoverished family situation in a small factory town situated in Africa. This particular town being home to Umbrella Plant 57. As with most factory towns, the plant was the lifeblood of the town, bringing in much needed revenue and steady employment for its populous.
Almost 80 percent of the town's adult population was employed at the factory in some facility, including Sheva's parents. While pay was low by most nation's standards, it provided a steady income for the townspeople and a happy childhood for Sheva. This happiness was short-lived however.
While only eight years old, Sheva's peaceful life was brought to an abrupt end by the sound of sirens erupting from the factory. As the sirens pierced the air, an ominous plume of black smoke poured out of the factory. Even as a child, Sheva knew something was terribly wrong. With dread in her heart she ran toward the factory.
Arriving at the factory, she soon discovered the entrance blocked. In place of the kind old man who used to stand guard at the entrance, strange adults in protective suits were everywhere. Their faces hidden by masks. Sheva could not understand what was happening.
"I realize years later that they were wearing anti- biohazard protective gear. They were part of Umbrella's Special forces."
She may have not understood the muffled voices emanating from beneath those masks at the time, but the assault rifles they leveled at her more than made their intentions understood. The country was not a very stable place to begin with, and near her town resided members of a large anti-government guerilla army. Although only a child, Sheva knew all too well the violence that often accompanied those with guns. The adults in the village that remained were promptly executed by these gunmen. Sheva was spared this same fate thanks to the vigilance of a neighbor who was able to get her back to her parent's home unnoticed.
Thus began the longest night of Sheva's life. Crippled by fear, she could only wait and pray for her parents return. The night passed and a new day dawned, but still they did not return. As night on another day fell she sensed a presence outside her home. Unable to contain her relief and joy, she ran to the door to greet her parents.
As she swung the door open, crying aloud with joy, she was soon met with disappointment and confusion. For at the door, were not her parents rushing to embrace her, but her uncle, with a look of shock and horror painted upon his face. His words crushed any hope she had left…
"Your parents are dead. There was an accident at the factory."
Taking anything of value left in the house, her uncle then took Sheva to live with his family. Taking her away from the only home she had ever known. Her life with her uncle would be brief.
Not only was her uncle's family extremely poor, but he also had seven children of his own to care for. Even thought Sheva was a blood relative, he probably never would have come for her if he hadn't thought he would receive financial compensation from the factory. That compensation never came. Umbrella never gave out any payments. And soon, her aunt and uncle were unable to feed her.
Life was hell for Sheva, not only was she on the verge of starvation, she yearned to be with her parents again. In her grief, she became fixated on the notion that they were still alive. As the days passed, this belief grew so strong to the point where she could think of nothing else. She knew she had to find them. So one night as the moon bathed the savanna in silver, Sheva ran away from her uncle's house and headed back to her hometown and the life that was stolen from her. The thought of her parents drove her on. But the expansive savanna is a harsh environment for one so young and small. During her second night, she began to feel the effects of malnutrition. Unable to find food, Sheva soon collapsed.
A night in the savanna is not a quiet affair. The sounds of animals plodding along, beasts howling at the moon, insects chirping and buzzing about, and the dry wind soughing through the grass. Sheva considered them all with wonder. She had grown up in a town and was unaccustomed to her new surroundings. Through the cacophony of strange noises, Sheva picked up a sound that was quite familiar to her. She heard the low rumbling of an engine and the sound of tires cracking over the dirt.
A truck pulled up next to Sheva and a stranger got out of the passenger side and spoke to her. If she replied to him or not, she couldn't recall, but the man picked her up and placed her in the bed of the truck.
The man that found Sheva was an anti-government guerrilla fighter. He provided her with food, shelter, and a place to call home. Unfortunately for Sheva, this good turn was accompanied by some bad news.
She was told that the incident at the Umbrella factory was not an accident. That the factory manufactured bioweapons and Umbrella was carrying out the final test on one of its newest weapons at the dilapidated factory. The regular employees who worked there were unaware of what Umbrella was actually creating, and they paid for it with their lives, including Sheva's mother and father...
After concluding the test, Umbrella took measures to conceal the entire affair. With the assistance of the government's army they destroyed the factory along with the entire town, effectively wiping the town Sheva had called home off the map. At this news Sheva was filled with rage. She hated Umbrella and blame them for her parent's deaths, and she hated the government for just rolling over at Umbrella's behest.
It was at this moment she decided to join the guerrillas in their fight against the government. Sheva started out by doing laundry, cooking meals, and taking care of other chores. After only a few years with the guerrillas, she was given her first gun. She doesn't like to talk about her time with the guerrillas. Perhaps the memories are too painful, or maybe she's too ashamed of what she did there. One of her main duties with the guerrillas was to go into town and purchase supplies for the group.
For seven long years Sheva stayed with the guerrillas. By this time she was a teenager, and had spend most of her known life with the guerrillas. Perhaps due to her age, when she went into town, the townspeople never suspected her of being a guerrilla fighter. It could be for this very reason that she was the one they sent.
It was on one of these occasions while she was in town that a man approached her. He looked like a local, but spoke with a strange foreign accent. Handing her a piece of paper and speaking in a hurried voice, he stated:
"Read this. If you believe what it says, come to the church in the back alley in two hours."
After speaking these words he disappeared into the crowd as quickly as he appeared. Sheva turned the paper over in her hand, and her eyes were drawn to one word - Umbrella. It was the same pharmaceutical company whose selfish aims took her parents from her. If that incident had never happened, perhaps her life would have been different.
The message on the paper said that the guerrillas were planning on using bioweapons to conduct a large- scale terrorist attack that would overthrow the government. Umbrella was going to make a deal with the guerrillas to provide them with the bioweapons. The man wanted Sheva's help in stopping the deal from going through.
At first Sheva thought it was a government trap, but deep down she knew the note spoke the truth. When asked how she knew, she had this to say:
"My country was strongly influenced by France, and many government officials spoke in French patois. But this man was different. I couldn't place his accent at the time, but somehow I knew I could trust him."
Sheva followed her instincts. She went to the church and met two men there. One of them had given her the note earlier. The other wore a suit with no tie and said that we was from the U.S. government.
What the man in the suit wanted seemed straightforward enough - the apprehension of the representative from Umbrella. From what he said, this particular person held the key to causing an irreparable blow to Umbrella. But in order to arrest him, they needed Sheva's help. As long as they got their man, they wouldn't do anything to her or her fellow guerrillas.
Even if they did not succeed in arresting the man in question, they promised not to turn her or her companions over to the authorities. The man in the suit's offer seemed credible. But could she betray those who had been like a family to her? The man seemed to understand Sheva's apprehension, so he asked her one simple question:
"Don't you want to see Umbrella punished for what they've done?"
Sheva quickly nodded her head.
"That's why we selected you. But if you want to help us fight Umbrella, then you are going to have to leave your so-called friends."
"And then what? What's in it for me?"
"Look around! You know these guerrillas you are with aren't doing this for some greater good. They'll do anything to topple the government, including things you know are wrong. Help us, and you can finally do some good for the people of your country."
"And what makes you think a 15-year-old girl can help?"
"Some day you'll learn that age matters very little. A person's life is not defined by age, but by the choices they make. You have the chance to fight for something here that goes beyond just you, something that affects the entire world. Can you really walk away when so much is at stake?"
Sheva would never forget these words...
Three days later the special forces team arrived at the location where the deal was taking place. Sheva had left the door to the building unlocked, and she wore a wire so the team on standby could hear what was taking place.
The operation was a success. The target from Umbrella was quickly apprehended and taken away. Sheva and the guerrillas were taken to the American Consulate, there to be release two days later with no charges pressed, just as promise. Recognizing Sheva's abilities, or perhaps moved by pity, the man in the suit offered Sheva the chance to start life anew in America. With nothing left in Africa for her, Sheva decided to take him up on his offer.
Shortly after arriving in America, Sheva's high intelligence and drive quickly became apparent. She surpassed any and all expectations, even learning English to a native level in a mere six months. Within two years of arriving in the U.S. she enrolled at a university.
After graduating with high honors from her university, her legal guardian (the man in the suit) suggested that she join the newly formed BSAA to help others as she had been helped. Umbrella had already been dismantled many years prior, but Sheva had not let go of her hatred toward them and all others like them.
After completing basic training, she was assigned to the unit led by Josh Stone. There she trained with his unit for eight months, learning everything she would need to know to survive in the field. After the completion of her training, she was hand picked to become a BSAA agent. She is currently involved in operations throughout the world.
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