El Mano: so here we go, the third chapter, thank you for all the reviews please keep them up. Thank you so very much. I hope you all remember I don't own anything.

Chapter 3: The Perfect woman meets the Broken man

"As a child I grew up in books, the extranet and in fantasies. I dreamt of running, of doing what normal kids do. I never imagined that I would one day fly the greatest space ships in the entire universe."

"Normandy?"

Yes the Normandy… my baby, she was everything to me.

"WelltheNormandywasveryspecial."

"No… not the Normandy."

"Well then what was?"

"SHEPARD!"

/

I scream… that's all I remember I'm screaming, incredible pain racks my body. I can't move, I'm strapped down. The lights are incredibly bright, but I can see these masked men evaluating me as if I'm under a microscope and just another subject. I scream in protest at the violation of myself in front of these strange masked men. My eyes look down and I realize I can see my own heart beating erratically until a doctor pumps drugs into my iv, lowering my heart rate but I'm still panicking. They remove my tibia with some difficulty and I feel it, I don't know how I feel it. I just do. They scrutinize it for a second before discarding it. Then they pick up this shiny metallic structure that resembles it and placing it in. It feels like I'm in a horrible hell, "TERA!" I scream, I yell her name. I do not know why but somehow I know she can hear me.

/

"AHH!" I shot up out of my covers. Sweat was pouring from my body, I felt so cold, and the dream was real, almost too real. I wiped my hand across my head, I tried to catch my breath but joker… it was joker in the dream I would know his voice from anywhere. "I have to find him!" I shot up and almost ran to find him but I stopped myself. Joker was dead and I couldn't find him even if I wanted to, the alliance couldn't find his body and none of my contacts including the shadow broker knew or had any idea where he was. I stood in the center of my room for a good ten minutes before I decided to take a shower to get rid of the sweat and the memory of the dream.

I washed slowly, the warm water was just what I needed, then I thought about him. His touch… I remember his warm breath on my neck as he held me close that night, his soft kiss. His rough touch I wanted to feel that on my body. And to my shock I found myself climaxing, my hands not where I remember them being instead where I imagined his hands were. I blushed immediately embarrassed at how I must've looked. I washed myself a second time with no repeat performance. I still wanted him though; I could never want someone else. I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around my body. I almost had a heart attack noticing the time. I blushed a brighter shade of red; I was in the shower for a good hour. I shook my head and sat at my terminal opening messages. I was about to turn it off when something appeared in my inbox.

"Commander Shepard,

We have a lead on an oncoming attack on a human colony, the attack will come two weeks after this message and we of the council feel that such a matter should be easily taken care of by one of your caliber."

Council secretary,

Caril 'Tso

Tera sighed; she hated being directed by the council. They were always so… bossy. But I guess it was their job for the "intergalactic community". She laughed at her joker impersonation. He always knew how to make her laugh. For him she would protect humanity because he saved her and to change because he died… he wouldn't have wanted that. I dressed quickly into my standard N7 armor, kicking the bottom shelf of the closet which allowed the walls to slide back revealing the custom items, that a specter like me have come to enjoy.

The newly made, custom stock riot suppressing multi-grenade launcher, with three types of ammunition, lethal, non-lethal and the all too popular "bouncing betty"; It was a descendant of the Earth based mine version but now it could auto burrow, it was good for retreats and ambushes. Next was a fresh "off the factory floor" Tsunami shotgun with a custom suppressing choke barrel making the gun more accurate and changing the loud gun into a silent killer. Then there was the "Reaper" a sniper rifle of incredible caliber, totally custom. So deadly that the council outlawed any mass production of said rifle. But being a specter had its privileges. With a tri-barrel extension, reducing heat output capacity and having the ability to send "fifty caliber rounds" into the head of any target at near the speed of light with hardly any kickback, it was the perfect long range artillery rifle ever produced. This was the perfect rifle. Finally the pistol, with a nine inch barrel, it was known simply as the "compensator". It had a hell of a kick back, but if you wanted to take down a target regardless of shields then the compensator would touch you in ways that left a hole in your beating heart.

"Awe, look who missed mommy." Tera picked up one of her most prized possession, an eight inch battle tested blade with a black custom steel grip that fit snugly in her hand and slid easily in her boot. She was now ready for the day.

/Half a year ago/

Beep….beep…beep… beep.

"Stop, the goddamn beeping!" Joker picked up the bed pan but instantly dropped it and held his arm in pain. The slight clicks of heels went unnoticed as joker cursed moving at all. He turned as soon as she cleared her throat and tapped her pen against her charts. He looked definitely sure that she had to be built to look like that.

Her black hair fell like a waterfall to just past her shoulder. Her slightly pale skin was unblemished, her eyes held contempt for him, but otherwise they were a beautiful shade of brown. Her lips pressed together in almost a pout but it was definitely cute and her body… he wasn't even going to go there, his eyes looked her over without any shame, she wore the skin tight cat suit so it wasn't his fault he liked what he saw. He looked back at her eyes. They showed slight amusement, but mostly anger.

"Mr. Moreau, I would appreciate it if you do not ogle your doctor." Her voice had a hint of Australian in it and he cocked an eyebrow at the accent.

"Well how about you get out of the cat suit and then we'll talk." Jeff wiggled his eye brows suggestively.

The insanely beautiful woman shrugged and started to unzip the cat suit which caused a critical patient to flail and cry out both in pain and shock as he tried to convince the woman that he was joking. The woman chuckled lightly and joker realized that he had been played.

She pouted out her lips as she gazed at his chart and looking at him occasionally. Her beautiful brown eyes making him fidget a little.

"Well everything seems to be functioning normally, all cybernetics and genetic weaves are doing what they were meant to and it seems that your bones are adapting well with the synthetic upgrades." She took a sharp intake of breath and looked up into his eyes before looking back at the chart bringing it up to her face and walking out very fast.

I just turned on my side. "Shit." I can feel the spasm before it hit.

Lights flashed in my eyes, and I can't feel my feet, my lips are dry but that may be because I'm biting them. The doctors would later on tell me that my body would function normally; my bones were remade into a proper form of god. And I could even dance on my own two legs. The shit part, the part where every story tale leaves out…. Is that this "hero" the thing that makes me angry about, is the god that everyone believes in, is that he also had to give me a degenerative condition. Almost like cancer. Cerberus could cure this disease; they had the resources and the time to research and develop a cure. It would most likely have a 55% of killing me. I had a year to live before the disease would cripple me as a vegetable this time. A year, 4 billion credits, 12 of the best minds in the galaxy and death himself, and I came back, I came back for her, to live my life to tell her how I felt… now I had a disease that would kill me if I didn't work for a terrorist group that me, her and the entire crew fought against. I guess I did something shitty in my old life.

The lights flash one more time and I fall into a fitful sleep. The thoughts of Shepard plaguing my dreams. I remember…. I remember her smile.

/present/

The councils got me on a ship. A ship to some colony world that I don't give two shits about to stop an attack from an enemy I have no idea about. It sounds super suspicious and very very familiar, like oh I don't know, Eden Prime all over again.

"Ma'am, we will be landing on Freedoms Progress soon." Shepard looked down at the young man straight out of boot. He had to be just 19 if not a day. His eyes spoke of ignorance and not those of a man dedicated to his work and ready to die if need be… he would die crying for his mom not charging enemy lines. She nodded and walked off the bridge of the small alliance frigate transporting her. It was nothing compared to what the Normandy was or ever could be. She didn't say anything as she jumped into the military transport next to the young man who she scrutinized on her way down here. He smiled at her and she kept her eyes on the dark space that took the man she loved. With barely a shudder the transport lifted up and started the journey to the planet below.

It wasn't a long flight down but the recruits on the transport made jokes and otherwise innuendos about killing the enemy and being badass. Not surprisingly the man smiled as he joked with his buddies. she hopped off the transport and found the leader of the colonist as they dug trenches and other fortifications for the buildings. The AAF (anti-air flack) towers stood still no signs of sweeping or scanning.

The leader shook her hand and welcomed her. He wasn't a bad looking man with dirty blond hair, nicely shaped face and light blue eyes but she could smell the bureaucracy on him. "Lucas Stal ma'am, we've done as asked and have prepared for the worst, what else do you need us to do?"

Shepard started walking and the surprised Lucas hesitantly followed. She motioned to the armory "get the civilians weapons, my boys will teach them how to use it, get those two over there." she pointed at two men in a corner smoking a pipe. "And lock them in a room, they're no good to us stoned, the trenches have to be deeper, get more sand bags against the outlining, and for the love of god get those MOTHER FUCKING AAF TOWERS UP AND RUNNING!" Lucas stopped dead in his tracks scared. Shepard turned to him and grinned sadistically at him. "We fight a battle, we plan for a war." She turned around and kept walking.

"y-yes ma'am" Lucas turned and started to get to work.

/somewhere on a silent ship/

A black masked and armored man tapped a few keys on the console in front of him, inputting data before reaching the mass relay. He turned and saw the crew that worked diligently and didn't make a peep. He sighed and leaned back. The ship glided like a bird toward the Mass Relay and he grinned under the mask. "I 'm coming." He whispered as the Mass Relay shot him half way across the galaxy.

El Mano: so heres the newest chapter, I want to thank those who reviewed and for those that didn't… PLEASE REVIEW! Im pretty pathetic that way, I need constant praise to keep going anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter keep on rocking. I don't own anything.