Thane Krios

Thane Krios is a drell assassin, rumored to be the most skilled in the galaxy. Unlike most assassins, who prefer to snipe their targets from a distance, Thane prefers to get up close and kill his target personally, utilizing a mixture of stealth, firearms, hand to hand combat and biotic abilities.

Despite his profession, Thane is a deeply spiritual man who prays for success in his missions, and asks for forgiveness after each kill, even going as far as to ignore those in his immediate vicinity until he is finished doing so. Thane is a possible romantic interest for a female Shepard.

Thane Krios is voiced by Keythe Farley.

Weapon proficiencies

 * Sniper Rifles
 * Submachine Guns

Dossier
Thane was born in 2146. At the age of six, his parents gave him to the hanar to be trained as an assassin, as part of the Compact between the two species. He made his first kill at twelve. He met his wife Irikah during an assassination, where she noticed the targeting laser on Thane's target and stepped in to block his shot. Thane was intrigued that a civilian would put her life on the line to save a complete stranger, and later fell in love with her.

The hanar released him from his compact to let him have a family, but with no other skills, Thane freelanced his services. Eventually Irikah gave birth to their son, Kolyat, and Thane worked very hard to keep his work and his family life separate. However, some time after Kolyat was 10 years old, Irikah was murdered in revenge for a batarian mercenary leader whom Thane had killed. The mercenaries paid the Shadow Broker for his identity and killed Thane's wife because they were unwilling to face Thane himself. Thane traveled back to Kahje for Irikah's funeral and left Kolyat in the care of his aunts and uncles while he hunted down his wife's killers. Thane finished the job, killing everyone involved in his wife's murder. Thane notes that while he has always striven to kill his targets as quickly and cleanly as possible, he took extra time with them. He claims these murders are the only ones he chose to conduct himself, and the only time emotions have affected his actions.

Commander Shepard first confronts Thane on Illium, where he is on a mission to assassinate Nassana Dantius. While Shepard talks with Nassana to discern the assassin's whereabouts, Thane drops from the ceiling and takes out Nassana's bodyguards before killing her with a pistol shot at point-blank range. He tells Shepard that he hoped this mission would be his last, expecting that he would have been killed by Nassana's guards. He reveals he is slowly dying of a disease which is later revealed to be Kepral's Syndrome. He joins Shepard's suicide mission against the Collectors, perhaps hoping to die in the process, which he feels will redeem him from his past evils.

Thane is unusual among drell in that he follows the old polytheistic religion of his species rather than adopting those of the hanar or asari and spends much of his time in prayer and meditation, even within his work. To find a target, he prays to Amonkira, the lord of hunters; when defending another, he prays to Arashu, goddess of motherhood and protection; after taking a life, he prays to Kalihira, goddess of oceans and the afterlife.

If Shepard asks how Thane can reconcile his deep spirituality with a violent profession, he explains that the body and soul are seen as separate entities by his faith. Thane sees his body as merely a tool or vessel through which people can choose to commit an act of murder, similar to a gun.

While this philosophy spiritually absolves him of his crimes, that convenience is undermined by the eidetic memory native to his species; the ability to perfectly recall every single act of murder he committed over the years has weighed down on his conscience, thus Thane cannot help but to feel regret over his actions. This guilt, combined with an impending death, compels Thane to join Shepard's campaign against the Collectors as a gesture of penance.

Loyalty
Thane shares his concerns of his son Kolyat to Shepard. Thane has learned that in spite of his efforts to prevent his son from following in his footsteps, Kolyat is preparing to take part in the assassination of a turian politician, Joram Talid, on the Citadel. Once aboard the Citadel, Thane and Shepard discover the intended target of the assassination and stop it. After Joram Talid is rescued or killed by Shepard, Thane reunites with his son and tries to earn his forgiveness. Completing the missions unlocks Thane's Shredder Ammo ability.

Romance
After successfully gaining Thane's loyalty, a female Shepard has the option to romance him. If pursued, he will affectionately refer to Shepard as "siha" for the rest of his conversations. Thane eventually reveals it as the name of "One of the warrior-angels of the goddess Arashu. Fierce in wrath. A tenacious protector." When Mordin notices Shepard's attraction to Thane, Shepard can ask him for advice regarding the drell. Mordin will advise her to avoid oral contact, since they can cause hallucinations.

En route to the Omega 4 Relay, Thane comes to Shepard's quarters. While he is glad for the chance he has had to redeem himself and to reconnect with his son, he confesses he is not at peace. Although he has long known he would die, he tells Shepard he is now afraid of death, presumably because of their relationship and is ashamed that he is. Shepard comforts a crying Thane and before they begin a long, passionate kiss she says, "Thane... be alive with me tonight." Should Shepard choose the Renegade dialogue choice, she will comment on how Thane is just nervous about the upcoming battle. It has been so long since he had someone that the thought of losing them concerns him. Thane notes that he hadn't thought of that and thanks Shepard for informing him. This option avoids the romantic encounter.

Lair of the Shadow Broker
After completing Lair of the Shadow Broker, if Liara is allowed to aboard the Normandy for a catch up, Liara will comment on how Shepard has spent "a few stolen months" with Thane. Depending the selected dialog option, Shepard will comment that Thane's condition is bad yet, and how she doesn't know what to do with herself in the situation, at which point Liara reminds her that this is no different than is the case with any asari who's in a relationship with someone of a short-lived species (in comparison to asari standards), such as a human. Liara also recommends Shepard to make use of her time with Thane rather than dwelling on it, and wishes the two happiness.

Trivia

 * Along with Miranda, Thane is one of the "poster" characters for Mass Effect 2 and appears on most of the promotional art and demo footage, and in several trailers.
 * Thane may be named for the historical Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon term used to describe either a high-ranking nobleman or a class of retainer. His name may also be derived from Thanatos, the Greek god of death (as well as the Greek word for death) as well as the namesake of the "death drive" in post-Freudian thought.
 * Krios (Κριός) is the Greek word for the constellation Aries, as well as the name of one of the Titan gods in Greek mythology. In modern Greek, it also means male sheep or battering ram. Τhe word Κρύος means cold.
 * Thane was the first Mass Effect 2 squadmate to be revealed by BioWare in early 2009.
 * Thane's loyalty achievement is called "Cat's in the Cradle", which is a reference to a song by Harry Chapin of the same name about a father who can't spend time with his son because of work until he himself is the one that wants to spend time with his son, but the son has work to do as he is much older.
 * When listening to the advertisement "booth" between the game store and the rapid transit terminal on level 28 of the Zakera Ward at the Citadel while having Thane in your party, the advertisement refers to him as "Sere Krios."
 * An article giving background on Thane's design and creation may be seen here. Also according to notes written on concept art for Thane, his character was meant to be a cross of an exotic fish, and a bird of paradise.
 * Should both Tali and Legion be chosen for your squad to fight the Oculus, Thane will appear in their place on the engineering deck during the crash in the debris field.
 * Thane comments that he is used to being alone and feels awkward sitting in the mess hall during meals. He states that he is used to sitting with his back against the wall watching the door, a possible reference to Wild Bill Hickok, who always sat with his back to the wall to prevent himself from being shot in the back; the sole time Hickok did not, he was shot in the back and killed by Jack McCall. Another possible reference is to Dune, in which Thufir Hawat offers similar advice to Paul Atreides.
 * Thane comments that he has trouble telling the difference between dark red and black due to the genetic engineering he had undergone to be able to see the ultraviolet frequencies that the hanar use in their bioluminescent language, which he sees as a silvery color. Ironically, the Alternate Appearance Pack contains a new outfit for him that uses a primarily dark red and black color scheme.
 * When asked about the state of Rakhana, Thane will respond with a quote from Thomas Hobbes' most famous work, commonly referred to as Leviathan.
 * When Thane is asked how he feels about killing, he will respond that he is "merely the weapon" which his employers use to kill. This is similar to the philosophy of HK-47, an assassin droid companion in BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.


 * As with all squad members, Thane has unique dialogue that can be heard at various locations, during missions or assignments, or if a specific squad member is in the selected team.
 * The Shadow Broker has files on Thane which can be accessed aboard his ship.