Thane

The plan was set. He acquired all the information he could on his target from every source he could. He discovered a way into the residence with the help of Seryna. He plotted his path to the penthouse, where his target would most likely be. Now it was time to execute.

Thane was a ghost as he made his way to the Dantius Towers through the seedy underbelly of Illium. He hopped the fence that separated the lower levels from the overcrowded street. His planned route took him through the ventilation of the second, incomplete tower until he arrived at upper bridge level where he would cross and steal his way into Dantius' office. It was a relatively obstacle-free path. If everything went according to the plan, his presence would only be realized once someone discovered the asari's body.

Unfortunately, the plan would need to be altered. As soon as he was on the other side of the fence, Thane recognized the yellow armor of an Eclipse mercenary stalking the perimeter. Something or someone must have Dantius on edge for she only had a light personal guard before tonight. Her unease must have prompted her to hire additional help.

This new situation increased the difficulty and could potentially change his normally stealthy approach into a more assault centered one. And that new tactic needed to start now. Half of his intel had been focused on the people he would find on his way up the towers. With the new security, he was almost back to square one. Thane had to eliminate as many variables as possible.

The assassin stalked the unsuspecting human. He was a shadow as he slowly closed the distance between them. When he was close enough to hear the human's breath, Thane struck.

First was the kick to the back of the knee of the leg that was supporting his weight. The man grunted as he fell to his knees. He tried to shoulder his weapon, but the assassin wrenched the arm awkwardly, nearly popping the shoulder out of place. Then, as mercenary was about to cry out in pain, Thane spun around him and drove his knee into his solar plexus, forcing the man to gasp as his diaphragm spasmed uncontrollably. Finally, the drell slammed his elbow into the man's jaw and knocked him unconscious.

Once he had him tucked away in some remote corner, Thane searched the man and took the transceiver that would allow him to listen to the Eclipse's radio communications. He uploaded the encryption into his omnitool before tossing the now useless device back.

He made his way to the ventilation shaft he was expecting to use and started his climb. Thane didn't get very far when the radio erupted with life.

"We have a code black! I repeat, we have a code black."

"What the hell. Who is this? This better not be one of you guy's idea of a prank because it's not funny."

"No! This is Steve down on the perimeter. I found Clark. He's out, and someone removed the grating to one of the ventilation shafts down here. We've been breached."

"Shit. All right people, you know the drill. Squads Alpha through Echo, move to the bridge. The rest of you, get all non-Eclipse out of here and find whoever got in. Watch the ventilation system."

More complications. Now, he wouldn't be able to sneak past the guards through the air ducts. He was nearly silent, but even one bend of the flimsy metal would be enough to alert the closest mercenary.

"This is Nassana Dantius. Your boss," a new voice said over the frequency. "I order you to shoot any of the workers not out of this building in five minutes."

Cowardly, Thane thought. His mark was too concerned with her life at the expense of others. He briefly wondered if that was one of the reasons he was hired. It didn't matter in any case. He was hired to do a job, and he would see it completed.

The assassin continued his climb, listening to false sightings of him relayed through the radio by jumpy mercenaries. He also overheard the reason for the additional guard. Apparently, Nassana was afraid of her sisters trying to enact some revenge scheme. Thane didn't know who hired him, but he could see the benefactor being another Dantius. Nassana certainly left a bad mark on the name.

Halfway to his destination, a new report caught his attention.

"We have incoming!" a mercenary yelled over gunfire.

"Is it the intruder?"

"I don't think so. They came from the landing pad. There's three of them: a turian, a krogan, and a human." There was a loud explosion. "Damn it! They're tearing us apart! We need – ARGH!"

"Hey! What's going on down there?"

No answer.

"Fucking shit. What the hell is going on? All squads, ready for an assault. Take those commandos out."

Thane kept tabs on the reports of new arrivals as he dropped out of the ventilation system to get to the elevator shaft and the next phase of his path. Had someone else hired people to take out Dantius? Certainly there were more people than her sisters that wanted her dead, but it seemed odd that their attack would be the same night he performed his. Regardless, he had to pick up his pace if he was to reach the mark first.

In his rush, he failed to notice the two mercenaries just about to round the corner. The assassin quickly hid in a room, but it was not fast enough. One of them saw him.

"Did you see that?" the man asked his partner.

"See what?" the woman replied.

"I think I saw something go in there. What if it is the infiltrator? Should we contact command?"

"I think you should go get him."

"What?! You go. I don't want to get my neck broken."

"Get your ass in there. Nassana isn't paying us to stand around."

"Fine, but I want-"

Thane had heard enough. He swung out of his spot and kicked the man in the stomach. The assassin tossed a biotic field toward the asari to keep her off balance before he crushed the human's throat with his knee. He tossed the gagging man toward the open ventilation shaft Thane just exited before moving on to his partner.

The asari was just starting to regain her footing. She tried to bring her shotgun to bear, but he was suddenly too close for her to wield the clumsy weapon. He punched her in the left upper quadrant of her abdomen. Striking the nerve cluster there disrupted the asari's balance again. She fell to her knees, and he held either side of her head.

"Please, no," she pleaded.

"May Kalahira accept you into her embrace," Thane said. He twisted her head violently, breaking her neck.

He heard a shriek as the asari's body collapsed and caught a glimpse of someone running into a room. He carefully made his way over only to realize the noise had come from a one of the salarians that were taking refuge there.

He watched them as they cowered in fear. These were the workers Dantius was so willing to throw away. The drell would see them survive this ordeal. He closed the door and sealed it. With all the commotion, the Eclipse mercenaries would be too busy to check what was behind the locked door.

He kept moving once he was finished, forcing his way into the elevator shaft so he could climb to the bridge level. The three commandos were closing. Thane hadn't felt this much pressure or challenge since his time under the Compact in his younger years. It invigorated his outer shell. His reactions were faster, his body stronger.

Thane found the level he was looking for and exited the shaft. He watched from the shadows as the mercenaries scrambled to meet the closing commandos. The floor cleared, and the assassin thought he was free to move more openly when he heard yelling from across the room.

A human was holding a gun at more salarians. He was threatening them, about ready to shoot. Thane wouldn't let that happened. He unhosltered his sniper rifle, lined up the shot, and fired. The man's head jerked as the bullet penetrated his skull and rushed through his brain. The drell replaced his weapon and continued to move.

The bridge would have posed a problem if Thane hadn't prepared for it. It was the one choke point in his path, and he was sure it would be heavily guarded. Fortunately, it wasn't completed yet. Narrow scaffolding still ran underneath the bridge. It was dangerous and risky, but it would also be free from gunfire. Once he got to the other side, a few acrobatic maneuvers would get him back into the ventilation, and he would be free to enter Dantius' office.

The plan started well enough, but the three attackers were catching up. It drew more mercenaries away from the mark's office and directly in Thane's path. He was forced to take a less optimized route, and, by the time he made it halfway down the bridge, the commandos were overhead.

He raced down the bridge and flew into the ductwork. He moved as fast as he could without making too much noise. The drell heard Dantius' voice speaking once he was above her room. It seemed he had lost the race, but he would not lose the kill.

"-find the person to kill me. What are you playing at?" she said.

So the commandos were looking for him? Interesting.

"What?" the mark snapped at what Thane assumed was a guard.

"I heard something."

"Damn it. Check the other entrances!"

Thane readied himself over one of the guards.

"You… stay put."

He dropped down behind a human and twisted his head as the asari continued to speak. He crushed the next man's windpipe with a palm strike and shot the asari in her heart. Dantius turned, trying to aim her weapon. Thane grabbed her arm as the pistol in her hand went off and harmlessly hit the wall. He pressed his own pistol to her gut and pulled the trigger.

The assassin did all this before Dantius could even finish her sentence.

Thane gently placed her on her desk as she gasped for air and folded her arms over herself. He had hit the main artery and vein running through her abdomen. Death would be swift.

He clasped his own hands and started his prayers to Amonkira, Arashu, and Kalahira.

"So this is our guy. Good," he heard the krogan's low, gravelly voice say.

There were a few moments of silence as Thane continued to pray. Eventually, the human leader approached.

"I came a long way to find you. Do I at least get a hello?"

"One moment. Prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken," the drell answered.

"I wouldn't bother," the human said. His distaste for the dead asari was quite evident. "Nassana Dantius was a rotten person to the core. You should save your prayers for someone worthy."

"I wasn't praying for her. They are for me." He rounded the desk. "The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you, for instance. All this destruction… chaos. I was curious to see why you were here. Now I have learned it was for me. Well… here I am."

Even if his reputation did not precede him, Thane could tell the man before him was well-trained. The turian had obviously survived some destructive force by the marks on his face. The krogan was… well a krogan. Between the three of them, the assassin didn't know if he could survive an attack if they were here to kill him. Not that it mattered much to Thane. He would rather die relatively quickly here than some hospital bed as he struggled for air.

"How did you know I was coming?" the man asked.

"I didn't. Not until you marched in the front door and started shooting. You saw her guard force. Nassana had become increasingly paranoid that one of her sisters was trying to kill her. You provided me a distraction. You made my approach easier than I initially suspected."

"You used me."

The assassin shook his head. "I took advantage of the situation."

The man obviously didn't like his answer, but he didn't force the issue. "Fine. Let's just cut to the chase. I want you on my team."

"Intriguing."

"Are you familiar with the Collectors?" the human continued.

"By reputation." They were an enigmatic race at best and a treacherous one at worst.

"They're abducting entire human colonies. Freedom's Progress was their handiwork."

"I see." Thane was beginning to see were this was heading.

"We're going after them."

"Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so."

"We'll find a way. I've been told I have a habit of doing the impossible."

The man sounded so sure of himself Thane almost believed him. Still, he needed to know why this man was risking his life again.

"You'd like me to protect humans I've never met, from aliens no one knows anything about, by going to a place no one's every returned from?"

"Sounds bleak when you put it like that. But yeah, that's the gist of it. Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but hundreds of thousands of people are being taken from their homes. I need to put an end to it. And I need the best to do that. That includes you."

Thane contemplated the idea. It sounded like a suicide mission. But the cause was worthy, and the man asking him to join was a living legend.

"This was to be my last job," the drell said quietly. "I'm dying. Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonists does."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the man said, sounding genuine and sincere. "Maybe we can get you looked at by our ship's doctor. She could-"

"No," Thane interrupted. "You needn't worry. It is a condition that has long been known to my kind. There is no cure for it, but it will not affect my abilities for many more months. And it's not contagious, so you needn't worry about me infecting your crew."

"So, that means you'll be joining us."

The drell held out a hand, knowing shaking them was a common gesture to solidify agreements in human culture. "I will work for you, Shepard. No charge."

The commander looked a little stunned. "You know who I am?"

"Of course. I would not have joined otherwise. The galaxy is too small for a man of your fame and caliber to hide."

He smiled. "Well, all right then. Let's get back to the ship, and get you settled in."

Author's Note:

Another one down. For how little dialogue there was in this chapter, I'm surprised at how fast it wrote itself. I guess it was easier since I followed the mission, filling in the blanks that players don't see. And Thane is easy to write when he is in his "battle sleep." Just describe him as the bad ass assassin he is, and you're good to go.

Two more this week hopefully. I think I'm going to make it.

Thanks for reading and please review.