Mass Effect 2 begins in 2183, not long after the events of Mass Effect. While on patrol for geth, the protagonist Commander Shepard's ship, the Normandy, comes under attack by an unknown assailant. The ship suffers extensive damage, forcing the crew to evacuate in escape pods. Shepard is the last to escape the ship before it is destroyed completely, but eventually asphyxiates and dies while drifting through space. Commander Shepard's body is retrieved by the shadow broker, who has been employed by The Collectors. In the events of Mass Effect Redemption, former squadmate Liara T'Soni is employed by Cerberus (A pro human group) to get the body for the organization, before it is delivered to The Collectors. After this Cerberus works to revive the Commander through the Lazarus Project. Two years later in 2185, Shepard is awakened aboard a Cerberus space station that is under attack, and aids Cerberus agents Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor in escaping. Shepard is taken to Cerberus' headquarters and granted an audience with the Illusive Man, who explains that Shepard was "upgraded" and asks for the Commander's help in combating a new threat which has been abducting entire human colonies. Shepard and his team are dispatched to the recently attacked colony of Freedom's Progress in the Terminus Systems to investigate. There, the group encounters Tali, one of Shepard's former squad members, and discovers that the mysterious insect-like Collectors were behind the attack. Shepard reports this to the Illusive Man, who then reveals what Shepard's previous squad members are up to. After receiving command of the Normandy SR-2, Shepard decides to begin recruiting a new team to discover the Collectors' plan.
