Kaidan Shepard (MR)

"Just because my mom and dad were both career soldiers, doesn’t mean that I have to follow in their footsteps as well. There’s more to me than that. I intend to find my own path, wherever the journey itself may lead me."

- A young Kaidan to his classmates

Commander Kaidan Shepard—often called "Junior" by his friends, and known by the codename Shadow—is an elite Systems Alliance Intelligence Services field agent and the eldest son of the legendary John Shepard and Ashley Williams. He is one of the main protagonists of Mass Effect: A Hero's Legacy.

Born on the Citadel in 2187, he grew up during the galaxy's reconstruction effort during the post-Reaper War era. Because of his relationship to his father, Kaidan had a life of great privilege and affluence, causing him to struggle with his father's legacy and feeling pressure that was heaped upon him by others; these expectations fueled his desire to be his own person and not simply as Shepard’s son.

In 2198, when he was eleven years old, Kaidan grew up during the early stages of the Great Galactic War between the Interstellar Republic and the Yahg Empire when the yahg launched a full-scale invasion, during which he was the target of multiple kidnapping and assassination attempts. Because of the threats against his life, Kaidan and his siblings were taken care of by their aunt and grandmother while his parents led the war effort. Later, several individuals, including Dr. Liara T'Soni, received a vision in which an older Kaidan was a prominent leading figure. As the batarians wanted to dominate the galaxy for themselves, they saw Kaidan as a threat to their plans.

While some initially expected him to continue the family tradition, Kaidan instead joined the Systems Alliance Intelligence Services and became one of Director Miranda Lawson's best agents. The batarians knew Kaidan as Shadow after he assassinated two of the Revolutionary Order of Khar'shan's best operatives, Pranim Goccakk and Ran'gelor Craphi. He was later reassigned to serve as the AIS's liaison to the Normandy SR-2. Utilizing a mixture of stealth, firearms, hand-to-hand combat and biotic abilities, Kaidan often volunteered to lead infiltration teams to gather intel deep within the hostile Nemean Abyss before being captured by the extra-galactic targariums. Kaidan spent nearly a year in captivity, during which he was tortured for weeks at a time. He later escaped and returned to warn the Alliance and Republic about the oncoming threat, finding himself fighting on the frontlines alongside his father. In the final battle of the war, Kaidan proved crucial in defeating Emperor Rudali Mashan and protecting the galaxy. For his efforts, he received an honorary promotion to Commander and was given new orders to report for N7 training.

Early life
"Hey, kiddo. Welcome to the galaxy. Skipper, what do you think we ought to call him? We've been so freaked out over having him that we didn't even think about giving our son a name." "Kaidan. I want to name him Kaidan." "I think that's perfect."

- Ashley and John after their son's birth

Kaidan was born one year after the Battle of Earth, in which his parents, Ashley Williams and John Shepard, both renowned soldiers in the Systems Alliance military and the Citadel Council’s two human Spectres served in the Citadel Allied Forces during the Reaper invasion that ended in a pyrrhic victory in favor of the coalition. Their victory resulted in the destruction of the Reapers and most synthetic life.

While he was still in his mother's womb, Ashley and Shepard yearned to give their child a happy, normal life and planned to shelter him from the outside world as much as possible. Soon thereafter, he makes his first debut as a newborn infant being held by his mother with the first name of Kaidan, a name he shared with the late Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, an old friend of his parents who fought alongside them during the Eden Prime War.

One week after his birth, he is held by his father and proclaimed that his son’s destiny was his own but that he would nevertheless be kept safe from any harm the galaxy’s horrors would try to inflict on him. He immediately became a matter of public interest, and news of the birth was spread throughout Citadel and Alliance space. In his youth, Kaidan and his younger siblings were raised mostly by Shepard, who has long since retired because of his injuries. Ashley, meanwhile, remained in the military and was promoted to the rank of captain and was unable to be at home for long, putting a strain on her relationship with her son. Several of Shepard's former squadmates from the Normandy, both past and present, played a part in Kaidan's upbringing.

On one snowy morning, Kaidan and his siblings rushed to greet their mother who came home for shore leave, excitedly asking her to play with them.

The Scarlet Festival
Several years later, when classes at school were dismissed for the holiday, Kaidan (now age 11) along with his brothers David and Ethan were seen taking a shuttle ride home with their friends from the Tayseri Ward. David complains about getting detention again while Ethan passes the time by trying to tell jokes, though Kaidan seemed to be preoccupied with preparing for the upcoming entrance exams for junior high school and wonders what tomorrow will bring. Soon, they are warmly greeted by their maternal grandmother. When the household receives a holo-vid from their mother, the boys were ecstatic to learn she was coming home for shore leave.

Great Galactic War
In 2198 CE, Shepard had a vision of his son Kaidan as a tall young man standing in the middle of a large crowd of mixed species, looking to him for guidance and peace, unifying the galaxy as his father once did. Javik had a similar vision, only this time Kaidan was surrounded by what looked to be his comrades-in-arms. When Liara saw this, she saw that he was among the friends who surrounded him and supported his goals.

However, when Ka’hairal Balak investigated, he was very displeased to see Shepard’s son, whom he believed that if any of his offspring rose to power, the batarians could never become the dominant power of the galaxy. After the yahg were defeated, Liara revealed that the envisioned Kaidan rising to power was the reason for the Great Galactic War.

Intelligence Operative
"So you're the big hotshot around here, eh? Your family name's still on a lot of people's tongues these days. But you know something? I bet you just rode on daddy's tailcoat to get here rather than earning it like the rest of us do. Some special treatment of sorts." "Don't believe everything you hear, kid."

- Serviceman Raleigh Thorndyke and an adult Kaidan Shepard

Kaidan soon graduated from high school and attended University of Oxford. Upon seeing his aptitude scores, the Alliance offered him a full scholarship. He graduated early with high honors along with a dual bachelor's degree in psychology and master's in statistics.

Still wanting to follow his own path, Kaidan was recruited into Alliance Intelligence and would carry out several covert operations as a field agent. During his career, his superiors assigned him to assassinate two of the Revolutionary Order of Khar'shan's best operatives, Pranim Goccakk and Ran'gelor Craphi. He interrupted a meeting involving the ROK and captured a female batarian slave trader named Fasin Dad'roba in order to gain more insight into Balak's activities in the Terminus Systems.

He would eventually be reassigned as Alliance Intelligence's liaison to the SSV Normandy SR-2, advising longtime family friend Major James Vega as the Normandy ' s Strategic Intelligence Officer. Evidently, Kaidan is only one of the very few AIS agents to have advanced far enough to circumvent the chain of command and reports directly to Director Miranda Lawson, who appreciates his abilities.

A new threat
"They are a brutal, merciless, and seemingly unstoppable race―interested in only one thing: the complete annihilation of life. They kill just for the pleasure of it. Our reports have so far suggested that the Forgotten Ones could be the worst threat to all life throughout the known galaxy since the Reaper invasion. For the first time in twenty-five years, we are all in grave danger."

- Kaidan Shepard, detailing his report to Alliance Intelligence

During a deep cover mission on the border of the Attican Traverse and Terminus Systems, Kaidan's omni-tool detected an anonymous signal from an unidentified source. Despite his superiors' orders to return to headquarters, he opted to investigate. However, it was later revealed to be a trap. The targariums, an extragalactic alien race bent on conquest, attacked Kaidan's shuttle and disabled its engines. Now stranded in space, motionless and communications cut off, a small strike team of targarium warriors boarded the shuttle. After a long and hard-fought battle, Kaidan was eventually overpowered and unable to resist when the group's leader, Grand General Milkath D'uruu, took him captive.

Prisoner of war
Under D'uruu's control, Kaidan was to be taken directly to the targarium's military leader Warlord Kalim'gorah Trekal. Placed within the Embrace of Eternal Suffering, a targarium torture device, he underwent continuous torture by Trekel ― who interrogated the young Shepard to tell him his family's secrets. During the interrogation, the targariums noted they had observed the Reaper invasion of 2186 from their respective home galaxy and felt the Milky Way denizens were suitable candidates for sacrifice, with the Shepards considered "prey". When Kaidan stubbornly refused the extragalactic invader's demands and remained adamant that the Systems Alliance and Interstellar Republic will emerge victorious, Trekel chuckles and shrugs him off, confident that all lesser beings shall serve the targarium or be exterminated before leaving Kaidan to undergo more intense torture.

Although listed as missing in action, Kaidan's mother Ashley and father John as well as his siblings David, Ethan and Carolyn maintained a conviction that Kaidan was still alive. Alliance Intelligence Director Miranda Lawson later issued a "primary directive" to her agents to rescue Kaidan and bring him home safely.

Return to the Alliance
Left once more in torture for over a year that ceased only when the Embrace of Eternal Suffering had pushed him to his absolute limits and had to allow him to recover, Kaidan resisted being subjected to mind-breaking chemicals and continual agonizing pain using nothing but his own inner reserves of willpower, becoming impervious to pain rather than allowing it to break him mentally. The targarium interrogators, furious, resolved to have Kaidan killed instead. However, before they could enact their ritualistic sacrifice, a joint Alliance-Republic expeditionary force engaged the targarium fleet in battle. Taking advantage of the distraction, Kaidan ensnared Trekal from behind and strangles him with his chains. After killing the targarium warlord, Kaidan frees himself and manages to escape to warn both the Alliance and Republic of the imminent danger.

Childhood
"Kaidan’s not just any normal kid. He’s a good boy, but he has too much of his father in him. That worries me sometimes, you know?"

- Ashley Williams, about her son

Kaidan’s personality is derived from both his parents, although Liara T’Soni noted that he takes more after his father than his mother. Being generally well-spoken, friendly and polite, he shows a great maturity for his age. Kaidan is also strong willed and determined like his mother; he even has a fascination of poetry.

At the same time, however, Kaidan has a fierce temper similar to his mother and is quite stubborn, often causing him to not back down from an argument unless proven otherwise. Kaidan apparently doesn’t like being teased, as he finds it irritating when he’s called "junior" instead of his given name. Despite their similarities, Shepard and Kaidan differ in a number of ways: whereas Shepard grew up as an orphan, Kaidan’s family is always there for him; whereas Shepard had no friends as a child, Kaidan has many friends; whereas Shepard had to work hard to get to where he was at, Kaidan's talents come to him naturally. Kaidan has a close attachment with his parents, having great respect for his father and was even pleased to hear from Liara, Tali’Zorah and Garrus Vakarian about how he physically resembled Shepard.

However, it is also shown that Kaidan has a close yet distant relationship with his mother ever since Ashley’s career as a soldier changed with her captaincy. He loves his mother and is overjoyed whenever they spend time together, but life in the military sometimes prevent Ashley from being around all the time. Although Kaidan is understanding of his often absent-mother, deep down he resents the idea of carrying on the Williams family tradition and opted to follow a different path than hers. Because of all this, Kaidan initially questioned the meaning of being a soldier due to the fact his mother’s duties kept her away from home for extended periods of time. Eventually, when Kaidan is finally exposed to the horrors of the Great Galactic War during the Scarlet Festival and realizes the sacrifices soldiers had to make, his relationship with his mother improves significantly.

Despite having let go of his disdain, he openly states that he has no intention of becoming a soldier, noting that it would just be another continuation of the Williams family tradition that his mother, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother have followed. He opts instead to walk his own path, carrying on his father’s resolve of protecting the galaxy’s newfound era of peace he helped establish.

Adulthood
As a young adult, Kaidan displays a calm and composed demeanor even under pressure whilst maintaining a strong sense of morality. Although his exceptional intellect and extensive experience make him wise, they also make Kaidan slightly vain (depending on the situation), as he notably condescendingly calls the young, hot-headed Alliance recruit Raleigh Thorndyke "kid" upon first meeting the latter. As a field agent, Kaidan is a natural leader much like his father, using his skills to analyze a situation, plan his next move, and follow his better judgment to allow him to escape dangerous situations both before and after they occur.

Thirteen years after the Great Galactic War, Kaidan still feels grateful for the presence of his surrogate aunts and uncles in his life, not just for their training, but also their love, protection and guidance. Though often contemplative, Kaidan lets such emotions smolder in his heart, reminding himself that he now has his own life to live and an important role to fulfill.

While usually serious and prim, Kaidan occasionally demonstrates a dry, sarcastic sense of humor.

Appearance
Kaidan has a light skin complexion and dark brown hair, both of which he inherited from his mother; in addition, he has the shape of his father’s face and blue eyes. He has straight hair with one side parted on the left side of his face while the other part is banged on the right side of his forehead. As noted by Liara T'Soni, he bears a striking resemblance to his father.

As an adult, Kaidan stood at an impressive 6 feet and 1-and-a-quarter inches tall and is normally seen dressed in the most expensive and impressive outfits tailored from the most rated names in fashion.

Summary of service
Vocational Code: S7, E4, B6, N7

Dates of rank

 * 2205: Agent
 * 2207: Field Agent
 * 2210: Supervising Field Agent
 * 2211: Commander

Assignments

 * 2205: Systems Alliance Intelligence Services employment
 * 2205: Student, Alliance Intelligence Training Center, Camp Peary, Williamsburg, Virginia, Earth
 * 2209: Participant, Revolutionary Order of Khar'shan infiltration and assassination
 * 2211: Missing in action
 * 2211: Re-assigned, Alliance Intelligence liaison to SSV Normandy SR-2
 * 2212: Student, Interplanetary Combatives Academy, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Earth
 * 2212: N6 designation
 * 2213: N7 designation

Skills and abilities
"There is much potential in this one. Like his father. No… maybe more than him."

- Javik

Powers=
 * Biotics: Having been designated as a biotic at a young age and personally trained by Jack, Kaidan can manipulate dark energy and create mass effect fields through the use of electrical impulses from the brain.
 * -|Abilities=
 * Acrobatic: Kaidan is very athletic and acrobatic, able flip to evade incoming attacks and cross obstacles, making him a slippery combatant if confronted.
 * Computer technician: Kaidan has shown to be more than capable of easily gaining access to almost any computer or program he wants in a matter of seconds. Even at age eight he could hack into omni-tools and unfamiliar tech with little to no effort on his part.
 * Genius-level intelligence: From a young age, Kaidan demonstrated hints of exceptional intelligence, observance and perception, showing both a keen and analytical mind on par with a salarian which aids him in biological and other scientific-related knowledge as well as solving advanced mathematical equations and outsmart Samantha Traynor when playing chess (his childhood friend Andrea Taylor even noted he could easily pass advanced placement tests without cheating).
 * Expert detective: If suspecting something's wrong or if someone is lying to him, Kaidan utilizes his intuition to make him a highly skilled detective, capable of observation, forensic investigation, and psychological assessments, as well as both inductive and deductive reasoning of the highest caliber.
 * Expert leader: Kaidan is a capable and charismatic leader like his father, easily calming down his teammates and sticking to the objective.
 * Expert marksman: Kaidan is a superb marksman and rarely misses his targets; his preferred choice of sidearms include either a pistol or sniper rifle.
 * Expert mechanic: As a child, he was tutored by Tali'Zorah and thus grew up highly skilled in vehicles' operations and general engineering.
 * Eidetic memory: Kaidan has a photographic memory and perfect recall, which greatly aided him in mastering a vast array of eclectic fields to the highest level as a polymath, while also allowing him to make numerous layered references (to pop-culture, to biblical and pagan theology, to mathematics, to computer science, to famous books, and etc.), and to know seemingly random facts.
 * Indomitable will: Kaidan, much like his father, has tremendous determination and sheer willpower, since he absolutely refuses to ever hunker down and give up, even when placed against seemingly insurmountable odds. He refuses to back down from a challenge, and resolves to utilize his intellectual prowess to devise complex and intricate plans, along with back-up plans, and back-up plans to his back-up plans, for good measure.
 * Skilled martial artist: Kaidan has some skill in aikidō, ninjutsu, jujutsu, taekwondo and systema. Despite being outnumbered, Kaidan single-handedly bested Basileus Thanos and his gang with relative ease. Trained by his father in hand-to-hand combat, Kaidan even learned some N7 techniques.
 * Swordsmanship: Kaidan is a highly skilled swordsman, with his Monomolecular Blade being a preferred melee weapon for close-range combat. While dueling his opponents, Kaidan performed acrobatic maneuvers to increase his combat effectiveness. He also used his advanced precognition abilities to anticipate the dueling moves of his opponents in advance with high accuracy to effectively counter them, and outsmart his opponents.
 * -|Weaknesses=
 * Human vulnerabilities: One of Kaidan's greatest weakness is that despite his training he is quite vulnerable to the physical attacks of stronger and more powerful opponents, though he usually compensates for this quite well with his exceptional intellect, biotics, deception, and espionage skills.

Equipment

 * Combat knife
 * Flashbang grenades
 * Medi-gel
 * Omni-tool
 * Flashlight
 * Scanner
 * Radio
 * Camera
 * Omni-gel
 * Omni-blade
 * Monomolecular blade
 * Palm blaster

Andrea Taylor
Andrea is Kaidan's childhood friend. Because their fathers fought side-by-side against both the Collectors and the Reapers, Kaidan has known Andrea for as long as he can remember. He has always been interested in Andrea's scientific curiosity and was always seen either playing games with her or helping with each other's homework. Andrea, in turn, found Kaidan to be a relaxing and warming presence to be around. Andrea and Kaidan actually care deeply for each other and are always looking out for one another. It is suggested that Andrea may have a crush on Kaidan due to her always watching him and showing deep concern for him. She later reacts with embarrassment as she blushed when Kaidan told her he would always be there to protect her.

When they were teenagers, both their respective friends recall Kaidan and Andrea being named prom king and prom queen in 2204. It was during prom that the two shared their first kiss, completing the development of their friendship into something more.

As young adults, both went their separate ways and their relationship began to drift apart; Andrea became a top scientist in the Alliance Department of Research and Development, whereas Kaidan was one of Alliance Intelligence's best agents. Both were eventually reassigned to the Normandy SR-2 as their department's liaisons – much to their great surprise. Despite this, they both agreed to be professional. When Kaidan briefly left the Normandy to investigate an anonymous signal on the Attican Traverse-Terminus Systems border and was captured, Andrea realized that she missed him. When she learned of his capture, Andrea (without the knowledge of her superior officers) contacted the Shadow Broker and sent a request for Kaidan to be rescued.

When the extra-galactic targarium species invaded the Milky Way Galaxy, Andrea was reunited with Kaidan and they embraced after being separated for over a year. When Kaidan again takes a leave of absence from the Normandy to participate in the war effort, Andrea gives him a kiss on the cheek and tells him to "not get caught again", much to Kaidan's chagrin. Before the final battle, Andrea approached Kaidan in his quarters, confessing that despite having grown distant from one another for the sake of the mission and opting to be professional colleagues, Andrea admits that she always loved him. When Kaidan reciprocates, the two rekindle their romance and spent the night together, making the most of what short time of rest during the chaos and uncertainty of war. After Kaidan defeated and killed the targarium emperor Rudali Mashan, both Andrea and Kaidan discuss plans for the future; although Kaidan is scheduled to undergo N7 training in Rio de Janeiro, Andrea teases him and rules nothing out.

Kaidan and Andrea eventually got married at some point before 2213, and had twins.

Appearances in other media

 * Mass Effect: A Hero's Legacy (First appearance)

Quotes

 * -|Spoken by Kaidan=

Mass Effect: A Hero's Legacy
Child: Adult:
 * (about his nickname) "My name's 'Kaidan,' not 'junior!'"
 * (to his father) "After all, we have our memories and our feelings. And the most important thing of all is that our hearts are connected."
 * (to his mother after realizing his dream) "The countless innocent people we are born alongside and grow up with, what it means to protect them… It all meant a lot to dad. I want to take good care of them like he did, mom. No matter who we are or where we come from, I’ll ensure dad’s dream of ensuring the peace he made for us will be preserved. I promise you."
 * "Yes, I changed my father. But he also changed me, my brothers and my sister. Will that be enough? Well, we'll have to wait and see, won't we?"
 * "Great. Out of the frying pan and into the fire."
 * (to Raleigh) "Don't believe everything you hear, kid."
 * (to Sabarp Ezik) "You'll have to excuse me if stacks of intel reports appear to be scattered all over the place. Our staff have been quite busy as of late. More than usual."
 * (to a captive slaver) "Whatever you do, wherever you go, I'll be watching you!"
 * -|Spoken about Kaidan=
 * -|Conversations=

Trivia

 * He is named after Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, an L2 biotic who accompanied his parents John Shepard and Ashley Williams during the Eden Prime War.
 * Kaidan inherited his father’s facial features and eyes, as seen when Liara remarked that both Shepard and his son looked almost identical.
 * Kaidan apparently has a close bond to the Normandy crew, both past and present, as they played a part in his upbringing:
 * He calls Tali'Zorah vas Normandy "Aunt Tali", and freely accepts hugs from her.
 * Whenever he visits Tuchanka with his family, Wrex asks Kaidan to call him "Uncle Urdnot".
 * James Vega calls Kaidan "Little Loco", and taught him how to speak Spanish.
 * He refers to Garrus Vakarian as "Uncle Garrus".
 * Joker bought Kaidan toys and candy.
 * He is close to Jack, as she taught him how to effectively hone his biotic talents.
 * Dr. Karin Chakwas occasionally does Kaidan's medical examination.
 * Liara T'Soni and Miranda Lawson are Kaidan's tutors in history, science, literature and mathematics.
 * He is childhood friends with Jacob Taylor's daughter Andrea Taylor.
 * Grunt, Samara and Zaeed Massani often protected Kaidan from danger.
 * Kasumi Goto sometimes sneaks Kaidan cookies and pastries from the bakery shop on the Citadel, and also taught him how to speak Japanese.
 * He enjoys playing chess with Samantha Traynor; according to Sam, Kaidan beat her on his first try.
 * Steve Cortez showed Kaidan how to fly a UT-47A Kodiak drop shuttle during one of his visits; both he and Steve were later scolded by Ashley.
 * Javik was insistent on teaching Kaidan how to fight, although he did receive informal N7 training from his father and learned aikidō from his maternal aunt Sarah Williams.
 * Kaidan considers the asari to be quite attractive.
 * The Shadow Broker has files on Kaidan which can be accessed aboard the Normandy SR-2.