The title is from one of my favorite songs, Take Me To Infinity by Breathe Carolina. The summary is from one of the last lines, 'trust what you feel because your eyes will deceive'. When I think of what Shepard and Thane must have gone through with their feelings for each other that's what I think they had to do. They had to just go with their feelings and what they felt was in their hearts. They would also have to look past what they saw - an alien, because when you see what you're not used to you're eyes lie to you when your heart is what really tells the truth. I just wanted to give a little insight on the title.

Bioware owns characters and everything you recognize from the game, rest is mine.

Bang

The last shot rang out, entering and exiting the Eclipse Commando's head, right between her eyes. Shepard put away her sniper and hit the button that would activate her medi gel supply. She had taken too many hits to her left shoulder today and would be paying for it later.

This assassin better be good she thought to herself with irritation. I just might shoot him if he wasn't worth all this trouble. The only good thing about this trip so far was being able to help those Salarians. I wonder why an assassin would take the time to keep civilians safe, she thought for the second time during the mission? They had encountered many Salarians on their way through the building, all telling the same story of rescue by a mysterious assassin. Maria shook her head of the thoughts, figuring she would have her questions answered in just a few moments. She moved past the fallen body and touched the holo pad on the door, leading her group through, Garrus and Grunt made sure to follow close behind.

Shepard and her two companions climbed the few steps leading to Nassana and her small group of bodyguards, who stood before the large window over looking the view of the city and the setting sun. Nassana turned towards the intruders and immediately recognized the women standing in front of her.

"Shepard…but you're dead!" Nassana said, as if her words alone would send Shepard back to her grave.

"I got better," Shepard teased, a mocking smile pulling at her lips. Nassana was scared.

"And now you're here to kill me." Nassana's guards raised their weapons , causing Grunt and Garrus to do the same.

"Maybe I just missed you." Shepard continued to mock, looking around the room as she spoke. There was no assassin as far as she could see. Where is this drell? She asked herself as she scanned the room once more.

"Go to hell." Nassana snapped, turning away from them in irritation.

"Charming as ever," Shepard smirk, returning her gaze back on the clearly flustered woman.

"I bet you find this all very ironic. First you take care of my sister and now you're here for me. Well you made it this far, now what?" Nassana asked turning back to them.

"I'm no assassin Nassana. But I am looking for one." Shepard confessed.

"Do you expect me to believe you did all this." Nassana opened her arms in a wide gesture, "Destroying my tower, decimating my security! All to find an assassin!" Nassana asked, scowling at Shepard, furious at the game the human was playing with her.

"I don't really care what you believe Nassana." Shepard drawled, crossing her arm over her chest definitely.

"Is it credits, is that what you want?" Nassana was losing her resolve; she was desperate to make this all go away.

At that moment Shepard heard something in the vents above. She assumed this was their assassin.

"All the credits in the world won't make this problem go away, Nassana," Shepard taunted, her lips lifting in a smirk.

"Who the hell gave you the right to play god?" Nassana asked her with indignation.

Oh this women was a piece of work, Shepard thought snidely

"I may not be perfect, but look at you. We both kill people for money. What's the difference?" Nassana turned away once more, her head hung low with loss of hope.

"You kill people because you think they are beneath you: they're in your way. I kill people when they give me no choice." Shepard bit out coldly.

Hope seemed to return to Nassana in that moment as she turned to the group." You have a choice. You don't have to do this. I can tell you…"

The noise in the vents got louder, but Nassana didn't seem to notice, but her mercs did. The Asari next to her interrupted her rant, telling her she heard something.

As Nassana gave orders to the mercs to check the entrances, she turned to Shepard and her group telling them to stay put. Her next sentence was cut off however. At that moment, the assassin decided to make his move.

He dropped down from the vents, systematically and gracefully dispatched the mercs. The first was brought to an end with a quick neck snap, the next suffered a punch to the throat, crushing it most likely. As he fell to the floor the Drell pulled his gun from his hip and shot the last Asari merc through the heart. She dropped to the floor as well, her gun however, was quickly snatched from the air by the assassin, who swiftly spun to point the barrel into the side of Nassana's stomach. The woman had barely registered what had taken place before meeting the eyes of the cold assassin. At the same moment Nassana attempted to aim her gun, the drell fired and it was over. He took Nassana gently into his arms and laid her onto the desk in front of them. Her hands were folded together on top of her chest, giving her a peaceful look. The assassin did not spare even a moments glance to his audience, he only proceeded to bow his head over his cupped hands and stand in silence before the group and his victim.

What the fuck was that, Shepard thought to herself.

"So this is our guy? Good." Grunt commented with satisfaction.

Shepard didn't quite know what to make of what she had just seen or the assassin's actions after. She couldn't do anything but stare at the man in front of her, taking in what he had done but also him. She had never seen a drell before, she had been meaning to look them up on the externet when she had received Mr. Krios' dossier, but she never got around to it. All she could think now was, if there was a race out there that were the male equivalent of asari, this was it. Every man, no matter what race seemed to love asari, they were the male galactic fantasy race. In Shepard's opinion, drell must be the same for women. Mr. Krios' tall form looked like it was perfectly sculpted from stone and his beautiful scales were painted on, along with his cloths, which left little to the imagination. His body was covered in a deep green tone, red ribbing played down his neck and deep black markings decorated his face and peeked out from the cut out of his jacket near his shoulders. He had large, full lips, which had an interesting cut down the center, ending at the base of his chin. However, it was his eyes that really fascinated the Commander. They were larger then any humans and appeared to be completely black. As she had watch him take down his marks, the sunset had reflected off his eyes, causing them to shine as he preformed his deadly dance. This man radiated danger, skill and poise. Shepard was confident that he would strengthen the squad, but there was a mystery surrounding him that would be tough to brake through she was sure.

This might have been worth it after all, Shepard thought to herself.

Looks aside, Thane Krios was a dangerous and skilled man. He had shown them that much and he would be a valuable asset to the team, his looks, where just an added bonus.

Oh, right. That's what I'm supposed to be doing. Shepard mentally prepared herself for what her interruption might bring before taking a few steps forward and addressing the assassin.

"I was hoping I could speak to you?" She felt bad for disturbing him, but they really did need to get moving.

"I apologize, prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken," He spoke in a deep alien like voice.

That's interesting, Shepard thought to herself. A religious assassin? I guess it is no stranger than myself.

"Not many would pray on her behalf." Shepard commented. Maria continued to preform the symbol of the cross before Nassana's body regardless of what she had said. Shepard was not one of those people.

This seemed to catch his attention and possibly his curiosity, she wasn't sure by his subtle and alien facial expressions.

He shook his head, "Not for her, for me. The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you for instants, all this destruction . . . chaos." As he spoke, he moved around the table, his hands moving animatedly. "I was curious to see how far you would go to find me. Well . . . here I am." He stood in front of Shepard expectantly.

"How did you know I was coming at all?" Shepard asked curiously.

"I didn't, not until you marched through the front door and started shooting." He answered, moving past her to stand in front of Garrus' sniper, which was pointed at his chest. Maria wasn't sure if this was done to prove a point, that he did not consider any of them a threat or he just did not value his own life enough to remain cautious. He stood calmly before them as he spoke, military style with his hands clasped behind his back. "Nassana had become paranoid. You saw the strength of her guard force." He looked over his shoulder to Shepard. "She believed one of her sisters would kill her." He paused as turned completely towards the Commander once again, it seemed he had a trouble remaining still for too long Maria noticed. "You were a valuable distraction."

Shepard could swear she saw the corner of his lips curve.

Maria took a moment to study him, before continuing with the reason why she was here, "I need you for a mission." Shepard needed to wrap this up, no point in holding it off any longer. She nodded to Garrus to lower his gun.

"Indeed?" He stated calmly.

"You familiar with the Collectors?" Shepard asked.

Thane took a few steps away from the group, his back to Shepard now, facing the large window overlooking the city, "By reputation" he told her.

Shepard crossed her arms over her chest, facing the assassin she spoke, "They're abducting entire human colonies. Freedoms Progress; was their handy work."

Thane bowed his head, taking in what he had just heard.

Interesting, he thought, "I see."

"We're going after them," Shepard told him, wondering what his reaction would be.

Thane turned around suddenly giving Shepard his full attention, "Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 Relay. No ship has returned from doing so."

She had to already know this, Thane thought to himself. She was either insane or fearless.

"My ship will be the first" Shepard said with confidence.

She said it in a way that made him want to believe her, like nothing could stop this woman; maybe his previous thoughts on whether she was crazy or fearless were correct. She seemed to be a bit of both.

"You would like me to protect humans I've never met, from aliens no one knows anything about, by going to a place no one has ever returned?" He asked. He already knew he would do it, a suicide mission did not frighten him, he was ready to die, but he wanted to see if this would cause her to falter.

"That's the gist of it," she said nonchalantly. She stepped forward moving next to him at the window.

Thane bowed his head, this human was interesting. Then again, could he really expect normality from a person who had made a career performing the impossible?

Thane looked up at the sunset through the window, "This was to be my last job." Thane looked over at her meeting her eyes, "I'm dying". He looked back to the sunset, he was curious what her reaction would be. He had felt that if he was going to work for her on this kind of mission, she should know about his condition. "Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonist dose" he told her.

He was dying. No one had told her that. "I hadn't heard that, is there anything I can do?" She asked.

A desire to help him was not what he expected. "Giving me this opportunity is enough." So many mistakes, he thought to himself, "This universe is a dark place. I'm trying to make it brighter before I die." He told her, in a tone filled with regret. This would definitely make it a little brighter, but he knew there was nothing he could do to completely make the universe right, to make up for the mistakes in his life. Thane turned towards Shepard, "Many innocents died today, I wasn't fast enough and they suffered. I must atone for that."

This guy was something else, not what she expected at all.

"I will work for you Shepard. No charge" he said, shaking her hand to seal the deal.

Thane walked through the doors of the communications room, in front of him was a long table with a hologram of the ship in the middle. On the right was Shepard and across from her stood a dark skinned human in a form fitting black Cerberus suit. Thane stood at the end of the table with his hands behind his back waiting to be addressed.

"I've heard impressive stories Krios. Sounds like you will be an asset to the team. That is if you're comfortable with an assassin watching your back," The dark skin Cerberus operative spoke coldly to him, crossing his arms over his chest. He had looked to Shepard when he had said 'if you're comfortable with an assassin watch your back'. They must have been talking about this before he walked in, or arguing from the look and tone of his voice. Either way he was making it clear that he did not approve of his presence on the ship. This man didn't trust him. He didn't blame him, he was after all an assassin and most species did not share the same ideas about his profession as drell and hanar.

"I have accepted a contract, my arm is Shepard's." Thane told him calmly.

"Uh-huh. Don't know about you, but I'm loyal to more than my next pay check." The man scoffed at his reply.

This human is becoming tiresome, Thane thought.

"Obviously he is too. He's doing this mission gratis. What's your concern?" Shepard stepped in, putting the other human on the spot.

"I don't like mercenaries. An assassin is just a precise mercenary." The man answered.

But recruiting Zaeed, an actual mercenary, and Jake, who is a dangerous, unstable all powerful biotic murderer, are ok to have on the team but Thane is the one you are worried about. What the hell is this about? Shepard didn't get where the suspicion and hostile attitude was coming from.

"An assassin is just a weapon. A weapon doesn't choose to kill. The one who wields it does." Thane spoke, this human was getting annoying and all he wanted was to go to his room and meditate on the day's events and rest, his chest was bothering him. "Where should I put my things? I would prefer someplace dry, if anything is available." he asked Shepard.

A hologram of a cipher on top of a cylinder replaced the hologram of the ship in the middle of the table and spoke in a synthetic but famine sounding voice, "The area near the life support plant on the crew deck tends to be slightly more arid then the rest of the ship."

"Ah. An AI? My thanks." Thane told it, bowing at the waist with his arms at his side, both in thanks and to signal his departure to Shepard. He noticed Shepard bow her head slightly toward him before he left the room. Thane went through the armory door on his left and out to the CIC, as he headed to the elevator, a human women with red hair and a big smile on her face stopped him.

"Hello Mr. Krios, I'm Kelly Chambers. I am Commander Shepard's Yeoman and I am also the ships counselor. I just wanted to welcome you on board and ask if you need anything." Kelly spoke in a cheery voice.

"Hello, Ms. Chambers. Thank you, I do not require anything." Thane told her, giving her a small bow with his head and proceeding to the elevator.

Wow, he isfascinating. Kind of dark and scary but very polite, some people might mistake him for rude if they didn't know any better, but she could tell he was just the type of man who was used to solitude and doing things on his own. One thing Kelly couldn't help but notice was how handsome he was. Wonder if he has a thing for humans, she thought to herself before turning back to her work.

Thane arrived on the crew deck and exited the elevator, thankfully no one here tried to talk to him, many stared though. Most had probably never seen a drell. Thane walked forward into the hall and looked to his right, there was a sign that read 'Life Support'. He walked over to the door, activating the holo pad. As he walked through, the first thing he noticed was how easy it was to breath. There was a casing to the right when he walked into the room completely,a military cot, table and two chairs to his left. He set his things down on the table and proceeded to take his belongings out, mostly guns, which he placed in the glass case, a pack of special tea from Kahje, some cloths, and a small holo picture of a female drell holding a child.

The women had beautiful blue and silver scales, a large smile on her face and sunset colored eyes, the baby had blue scales as well that faded into teal at some places with dark eyes like his own. He put the holo picture back in his bag which he stored in the corner, trying hard not to slip into memories. Thane sat down in the chair facing the window that showed off the ships drive core and began to meditate.

Back in the communications room, Shepard continued to talk to Jacob after Thane had left.

"He seems quite civil." EDI had commented before logging off.

Shepard turned to Jacob, not very happy with the way he had treated their new team mate, "We need all the help we can get. He isn't what I expected in an assassin. He may surprise you."

"Yeah, and he might not" Jacob said with disbelief before walking off to the armory.

What the hell was that, Shepard thought. Just what she needed, two of here team mates fighting. Well not two really, Thane was civil the whole time, she was shocked at how well he hide his emotions, it would be really hard to read this guy and he was probably not used to people getting close to him. Well at least he was polite and not a blood thirst killer like half the crew. He was aware of the dangers of civilians getting hurt and went as far as to protect them, that alone was a rare characteristic even for military soldier. She had met many men and women in her military career who had the attitude of get the job done at all cost. She never liked that, she wanted to help people, she always got her missions done and did them pretty damn well without killing innocent people, though when it came to her enemies she could be ruthless, the merc she had pushed through the window had learned that the hard way, right before he hit the floor. Of course, you couldn't always save everyone, Shepard knew that better than anyone, and Thane seemed to take that to heart. 'Many innocents died today, I wasn't fast enough and they suffered. I must atone for that' he had told her. Yes, Mr. Thane Krios was very different, and like she told Jacob not what she expected in an assassin. She liked him already, he would be a great addition to they're team, she knew it.