Following the conclusion of the first Mass Effect, Shepard and his ship, the Normandy, are dispatched to wipe out any further geth resistance. During the patrol in space, the Normandy is attacked by an unknown ship. Most of the crew escapes the Normandy, but Shepard is killed. Fortunately, Shepard's body is retrieved and is revived by Cerberus, a pro-human organization that is at odds with the Alliance, whom Shepard was a part of. Two years later, Shepard learns from the Illusive Man, the leader of Cerberus, that numerous human colonies are vanishing, but the latter does not know why. After Shepard visits a colony that was recently attacked by these unknown belligerents, he learns that the belligerents are in fact Collectors, the same species that was behind the downing of the Normandy. Attacking the Collectors home world would be suicide. In response to this growing threat posed by the Collectors, Shepard creates a team made up of former squad members from the first Mass Effect was well as of new recruits. However, Shepard also must make the proper preparations necessary to confront the Collectors with the fewest casualties possible.