John Trent

"I once thought I could save the world... now look at it" — Spoilers for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided follow!

John "Sheppard" Trent
Personal information
Born	1986-87 (age 42 in Mankind Divided)
Died	2029
Height	5'9''
Occupation	Belltower Associates, Strike Team member (formerly) Arms dealer
Behind the scenes
Appearances	Deus Ex: Black Light Deus Ex Universe: The Dawning Darkness Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Voice actor	James Loye

John Trent, known as Sheppard, is a former Belltower operative turned illegal arms dealer.

Biography

Prior to 2027, Trent was employed as a Belltower spec ops strike team commander stationed aboard Rifleman Bank Station. After Belltower's scandal concerning the illegal experiments conducted at the station broke out, Trent and his crew left Belltower to train terrorists and deal in illegal arms and augmentations. Trent is described by Jim Miller as being ruthless with a disregard for civilian casualties.

Sometime in 2029, the Illuminati are utilizing Trent and his group to smuggle military-grade augmentations manufactured by Sarif Industries out of Detroit, the augmentations being relevant to certain unspecified Illuminati activities in Europe. Although Trent and his group are being utilized by the Illuminati, a member of Trent's group remarks that they are "more like independent contractors," when asked if they work for Jenna Thorne, an Illuminati agent in charge of handling the extraction of the augmentations from Detroit.

At the time, Christian Jarreau, commander of Task Force 29's North American Division Alpha team, has been assigned to track down Trent as part of an ongoing operation against arms trafficking. With information from Jim Miller, Jarreau's team intercepts Trent and his group in the process of shipping the augmentations out of the city using a cargo jet. As the cargo jet is taking off, Adam Jensen, who had recently been taken into the custody of Task Force 29 and was brought to the operation as an observer, succeeds in releasing the plane's cargo module, causing the augmentations to be dropped from the plane. The cargo jet, with Trent on board, flees for the Canadian border. Due to Trent's failure to extract the augmentations out of Detroit, and a failed subsequent attempt by the Illuminati to recover the augmentations, the Illuminati are forced to look to other suppliers.

Later in 2029, TF29 gets another chance to go after Trent as Trent heads to Dubai to sell high grade augmentations and weapons to the Jinn cartel. Trent had made an arrangement to meet with Jinn member Arun Singh, who is an undercover TF29 agent. TF29's Central European Division arrives in Dubai, ready to capture Trent. Before they can do so, however, Trent is killed by a group of gold-masked mercenaries in the atrium of the Desert Jewel Resort Hotel.

Interactions

This character is involved in missions.

M1: Black Market Buy

Trent appears in M1: Black Market Buy, but is killed by shadow operatives when Adam Jensen arrives at the atrium. His body can be looted for a pocket secretary, which contains the code (8132) for safe A04 in the Palisade Property Bank.

Notes

• The Picus Daily Standard covers his death in a news story titled Rogue Arms Dealer Killed in Dubai.
• While he is depicted as wearing a standard Belltower troop uniform, his TF29 profile lists him as having spec ops training and Miller mentions him as having been a spec ops commander. 
• The message on a pocket secretary found on Trent's body is addressed to the name "Dominik Sheppard." However, the name "Dominik" does not appear elsewhere, and it appears that Trent is generally known simply as "Sheppard."  

Gallery

Trent in his Belltower days

John Trent's TF29 profile

Unused portrait from the Deus Ex Universe companion app