Dossier: The Assassin

According to the dossier, Thane Krios has been trained from childhood in the art of assassination with a specialty in marksmanship. The Illusive Man thinks he would make a great asset and would like you to find him. It is rumored that he has a target on Illium, and thus, it is highly likely that there is where we will find him.

If you are not already on Illium, return to the docking station and pick up Thane's trail from Liara (if you haven't inquired about him already). She refers you to Seryna in the shipping area. Seryna gives a stand-offish attitude at first, but when pressed she lets you know that Thane is headed for Nassana in the Dantius Towers. Not surprisingly, this involves the Eclipse mercs. Seryna offers you her assistance since offing Nassana will be in her best interest.

Nassana drops your crew off amid a fleeing group of salarian workers who are mercilessly gunned down by some LOKI mechs. The accompanying FENRIS mechs crash through the glass window to start up this battle. After doing them in, head off to the left first to pocket some credits from the terminal and a Medi-Gel. Then, move to the opposite side to find a salarian survivor. He has been gravely injured, but manages to tell you a few bits and pieces of information. There are other salarian survivors to help further in, and unless you are outright callous you are encouraged to aid these innocent beings for Paragon points. You may earn some serious Paragon points by fixing up the salarian's waning health with a Medi-Gel.

The salarian turns and hobbles away presumably to a safer place, but following him you find out that is not the case at all. LOKI and FENRIS mechs emerge from hiding and bullets streak through the room in no time. The salarian is strangely nowhere to be found, but regardless more battles need to be fought and won. Most of the enemies unleashed by the Eclipse are of the machine type, so expect the effects of Incendiary ammo to be nullified. If you have them, Cryo ammo are much more apt for dismantling both mechs and humanoids. Also on the plus side is the fact that these enemies charge at you without a shields.

Head through both doors to the upper level and pick up the Medi-Gel and spare ammo clips before dipping your bacon in the frying pan in the area ahead. The usual welcoming party intercepts your crew. Nassana's strength seems to rely heavily on numbers--she can throw a great many Eclipse mercs at you as you work your way toward the next checkpoint. The LOKI mechs and troopers will be in abundance, but thankfully these guys are more easily disposed of. Shielded Vanguards, on the other hand, may be more of a handful, especially when in tandem with the other mercs. Expect to slog through quite a few waves of mercs before you finally reach the elevator door. The music should stop, signifying the welcoming end to these bad guys…for now.

Don't hop in the elevator just yet. Walk past it and the other door to the far back to find a security terminal and a M-97 Viper Sniper Rifle for both Garrus and Thane. Bypass the door now to open the door on a surprised and relieved group of salarian workers. The friendly salarians echo Seryna's exact opinion on Nassana, complaining that they are often ill-treated. You can elicit more information about the Tower and Thane himself. After the salarians depart, scour the room for some goodies: a Medi-Gel and a slew of free credits.

As soon as the elevator is called, Shepard voices a legitimate concern aloud: the elevator likely won't come down empty. Quickly take cover! The elevator doors slide open and out pops a Bounty Hunter along with Eclipse Engineers. These guys can certainly slow your progress slightly, but not nearly enough to put a damper on anyone's plans. Pile into the elevator and ride it to wherever it takes you. It deposits you just behind an Eclipse trooper. His fate is at your discretion, but be warned that the Renegade option will put your team in heat. Pick up the datapad on your way out to initiate the Salarian Family Data quest.

Entering the room at this time provides the perfect opportunity for a pre-emptive strike. The stationed mercs are in correspondence with Nassana and the mechs are currently deactivated. All that will change, however, once the first gunshot rings out and flushes out all available personnel within the area. Scan the opposition to discover that your primary concern is the Vanguard in the room--not much of a concern at all.

There's another locked door here with a salarian locked behind it. Only this time this fidgety worker needs a little more reassurance than the rest. Exercise some disarming dialogue to put him at ease, or lash out at his behavior. The latter results in needless bloodshed. Either way, search the room for more Medi-Gel and credits. Round the corner to find some power cells and a ramp leading up and to more Eclipse resistance, mostly Vanguards. Some Element Zero to be uncovered, as well as a Medi-Gel kit and a weapons locker to raid.

Outside on the bridge, the mercs are too engrossed in their work to notice you immediately. Use this to your advantage to lay the surprise attack on them by blowing up the explosive. Scattered among them is a more formidable foe, an Eclipse Commando. Follow the path to the back to find a corpse surrounded by ammo, a Medi-Gel, and a Microfield Pulsar upgrade. Hack the device for credits as well. The bridge ahead presents more enemies, and as you move deeper in the more and more thick the action gets. Pretty soon the presence of rockets flying through the air confirms Rocket Drones amongst the attack squad. These drones sit in the far back, perched on high ground. They can be avoided entirely if you rush toward the end of the bridge, where lose their line of sight completely.

This danger-filled trek across the bridge doesn't stop once you reach the other side. More enemies lie in wait and jump at the opportunity to finish you off. Once the dust settles, one last door stands between you and this treacherous Nassana. Thane makes his appearance in the most ninja way possible, and wastes no time in sealing the deal to work under Shepard. Thane and Shepard have common interests, and Thane will gladly join the crew.