In 2186, Huerta Memorial Hospital, located within the Presidium on the Citadel, was overflowing.
Like every hospital in the galaxy, it had been inundated with survivors and refugees
fleeing the horrors of the Reaper War.
Among them was a reptilian Drell, a man admitted to Huerta under the name of Tannor Nuara.
If there was any hint that this Drell was not who he claimed to be, that he had in fact,
at one time been the most proficient hired killer in the galaxy, it was the arrival of
the legendary Commander Shepard.
The two were witnessed sharing a final few moments, shortly before the Drell succumbed
to his illness.
The passing of a single Drell was largely overlooked at a time when the entire galaxy
was on the precipice of annihilation, but his name - his true name - Thane Krios, adorned
the Memorial Wall of the SSV Normandy alongside some of the greatest heroes of his time.
Thane was born in 2146 and at the age of 6, was given to the Hanar to be trained as an
assassin.
This form of service was seen as a tremendous honor, part of the great and enduring debt
owed by the Drell to the Hanar known as the Compact.
Thane made his first kill at the age of 12 and quickly displayed a nearly unrivaled aptitude
at his craft over the ensuing years.
During one of his earliest missions, a Drell woman purposely stepped between Thane and
his target.
Intrigued that civilian would so brazenly risk her life for that of a complete stranger,
Thane was possessed by this memory and felt compelled to seek her out.
Eventually this women, Irkah, became his wife.
Thane was later released from his Compact with the Hanar, but with few other skills,
he became a freelancer and mercenary.
He endeavored to keep the grim nature of his work separate from his personal life, but
the birth of his son, Kolyat made this difficult.
Thane was forced to spend much of his time away from home and he slowly grew apart from
his family.
When Kolyat was ten years old, Irkah was murdered in retaliation for a Batarian mercenary leader
Thane had killed.
Kolyat was left in the care of his aunts and uncles while Thane hunted down his wife’s
killers.
Thane had always preferred to kill his targets as quickly and cleanly as possible, but in
avenging his wife’s murder he took extra time with his targets, the only time in his
career that he let his emotions affect his actions.
Thane eventually relocated to the Asari garden word of Illium and spent the better part of
two years based there.
On a mission to assassinate an Asari diplomat, Thane encountered Commander Shepard, a human
spectre who had temporarily become an operative of the mysterious Cerberus organization.
Having been previously diagnosed with Kepral’s Syndrome, Thane agreed to join Shepard aboard
the Normandy to take part in the seemingly impossible assault on the enigmatic Collectors,
perhaps hoping to either die or achieve some measure of redemption in the process.
Thane’s involvement proved critical in this so-called suicide mission and following its
miraculous success, he departed the Normandy before he could be interrogated by the Systems
Alliance.
With his life nearing its end, Thane attempted to reconnect with Koylat, and the retired
assassin lived as a model citizen as an example to his son.
During a vacation to New Mexico on Earth, Thane lost consciousness and struck his head.
The effects of his illness were now undeniable.
At his son’s insistence, Thane admitted himself to Huerta Memorial hospital to live
the remainder of his days under their care.
A deeply spiritual man, Thane was unique in that he followed the old polytheistic religion
of his species rather than adopting the faith of the Hanar or the Asari.
He devoted much of his time to prayer, meditation and reflection, even within his work.
When locating a target, he prayed to Amonkira, the lord of hunters, when safeguarding another,
he invoked Arashu, goddess of motherhood and protection.
Finally, when forced to take a life he prayed to Kalahira, goddess of oceans and the afterlife.
Unlike many in his profession who preferred to strike at a distance, Thane killed his
targets up close whenever possible, so as to immediately ask for forgiveness after each
kill.
Thane’s deep spirituality seemingly contradicted his violent profession, but he reconciled
the two in his faith’s belief that his body and soul were two separate entities.
Thane saw his physical form as merely a tool or vessel through which people could choose
to commit an act of murder, no different than any other type of weapon.
While such a philosophy spiritually absolved him of his crimes, Thane was nevertheless
weighed down by his conscience.
The eidetic memory native to his species ensured that he could perfectly recall every single
act he performed and Thane was haunted by his actions.
When the Citadel was attacked by Cerberus, Thane put his skills to use one last time,
slipping away before the hospital could be searched and informing Commander Shepard of
their movements.
Weakened and near death, Thane was nevertheless able to prevent the assassination of the Salarian
Councilor at the cost of his own life.
He succumbed to his injuries in the presence of Shepard and Kolyat, free of responsibility
or fear and completely at peace.
The nature of his work and the greater events threatening the galaxy at the time of his
death mean that many details of his life may never be fully confirmed.
Some reports state that Thane instead died during the attack on the Collectors and that
the assassination of the Asari Councilor on the Citadel was prevented by another, or perhaps,
not at all.
Whatever the true nature of his final moments, whether he found love once more in Shepard,
or never again after the passing of Irkah, the mere presence of his name on the wall
of the Normandy proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the galaxy was forever changed,
and perhaps saved, through the actions of a select few and Thane Krios will be forever
remembered among them.
In Dossier, the Templin Institute investigates the legendary figures from alternate worlds.
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