This was an idea I've had for a long time.
I wondered what would be the ultimate punishment for General Shepherd.
And then I realized, that his greatest fear would be the destruction of his reputation and his plans coming undone and all his crimes revealed to the world.
And that's exactly what happens here:
In an alternate version of MW2, an unknown group of operatives hand all the intel to the DOD and the White House, as well as leaking it to the press, evidence proving all of General Shepherd's crimes. They then force Shepherd to openly confess.
Shepherd is put on trial and found guilty.
Shepherd’s reputation is instantly and completely destroyed; instead of being a war hero he is now branded a war criminal.
He is stripped of his rank and dishonourably discharged, humiliated and disgraced by the press and the media.
He is forced to pay damages with everything he’s got; his house, his pension, everything. He is branded a traitor by the US government and seen as an enemy by the public.
He is also tried at the Hague and Geneva for war crimes and found guilty. And then tried by the UN for crimes against humanity. The whole world turns on Shepherd.
The scandal costs the DOD and the US government millions and as further dishonour they strip him of his US citizenship and seen as an outlaw and a terrorist. General Shepherd is then imprisoned for life in a maximum-security facility.
Shadow Company is branded a criminal organization and disbanded, and all surviving members are imprisoned.
In prison Shepherd is kept in solitary confinement, no visitors, no interaction with anyone, only occasional news about the outside world, showing what has happened in his absence.
Task Force 141 is cleared of all charges and reinstated.
This is the ultimate punishment for him.