N7: MSV Strontium Mule

This mission is triggered by completing N7: Archeological Dig Site and reading a PDA with the coordinates pointing to the (Arinlarkan System, Omega Nebula) where the MSV Strontium Mule is found. The ship has been captured by Blue Suns mercenaries. Cerberus is interested in a particular piece of cargo carried by the ship.

Mission Briefing
Upon completion of N7: Archeological Dig Site, Cerberus will send this e-mail message:

A scan of the ship brings up the following message: "Derelict ship, registered MSV Strontium Mule, visibly damaged from weapons fire. Ship is not responding to hails despite life signs aboard. Transmissions using known Blue Suns encryption detected. Airlocks are sealed, but the ship can be boarded through an emergency hatch in the cargo hold."

Walkthrough
The entire ship has been taken over by Blue Suns mercenaries led by Captain Vorhess and Sergeant Boortis.

Several PDAs that can be found on bodies all over the ship and the ship's main log retells the story of MSV Strontium Mule. The ship's captain Jarett Barnes answered a distress signal two weeks ago, but it turned out to be a trap set by the Blue Suns to loot the ship. Vorhess tried to pry the authorization codes for the ship's cargo canister from the Captain but since he found them in the black box, he proceeded to kill the Captain and his crew on the bridge instead. He was going to open the canister (although a PDA indicates Sgt. Boortis wanted to take it for his own and kill Vorhess) when Commander Shepard arrived. After a fight against both leaders' men and several FENRIS Mech, Shepard claims the ship's payload for Cerberus. Upon completion of this mission, Shepard will receive a message from Cerberus Command directing them to a planet in the Decoris system. See N7: Blue Suns Base.

Upon entering the ship, you'll fight a wave of Blue Suns, including a Heavy and an Engineer. Proceed to the door they came out and climb a flight of stairs to find a couple more, and a console indicating the airlocks have been sealed. Up another flight, you'll find locked doors. The console to open them is behind you; bypass it to unlock them.

From this room, the central door will lead to the drive core with the Blue Suns' Lead Engineer and a couple of mercs. There's heavy weapon ammo up on the platform to the right. The door on the right of the hub room leads to the bridge if you turn right and the sickbay with some medigel on the left. The door on the left of the hub room also leads to the bridge if you turn left again. On the right is a maintenance rooms with no loot, just a console noting that the FTL drive is offline.

Up the stairs from the left or right, you'll find the bridge on one end of the ship; the mess hall (with a couple of Blue Suns and the remains of the crew) and the cargo hold are on the other. Doors to the bridge and the cargo hold are locked by the bypassable console to the right of the bridge entrance. After defeating Vorhess and his men on the bridge, examine the ship's log to get the access codes for the cargo.

In the cargo hold, you'll find a case with 2000 units of iridium, a hackable container with a researchable Heavy Skin Weave damage reduction upgrade, and the cargo you came for.

There are only two major fights to be aware of. The beginning in the cargo hold and the end where you'll fight two groups back-to-back, first with Vorhess and then with Boortis. You'll also encounter scattered Blue Suns as they scramble to deal with Shepard's group and their own internal struggles (as they have been killing their own men to get a larger share from the cargo). The beginning has plenty of cover to make use of while the majority of the ship has few spots to hide. Towards the end (while fighting Vorhess) you'll have little room to move about. It is important to use the bridge and the corridor leading up to it as a killzone for Boortis and his men. Drawing them in will put you at less risk against their two heavy weapons users.

Bugs

 * The Research Docket that contains the Heavy Skin Weave upgrade in the final area of the ship with the Payload may be unusable; an interact icon displays but does not start the hacking minigame. Accessing the Payload will give you the option to Hold F (PC version) or Press B (X Box 360 version) to end the mission, and the game Auto Saves at that point. Reloading the Auto Save puts you right back at the same spot, but makes the Research Docket usable.
 * For some reason, if you perform a Slam on the last FENRIS Mech during the ambush in the bridge, the Mech will freeze in midair. The game will not count that as a kill and the last batch of enemies will not come out of the locked door across the room. Thus, you will not be able to finish the mission no matter what you do.

Consoles

 * Airlock Security Console


 * Engine Room Main Console


 * Maintenance Records


 * Transmission Relay Console


 * Ship's Main Log

Enemies

 * Senior Engineer
 * Blue Suns Trooper
 * Blue Suns Heavy
 * Blue Suns Legionnaire
 * Captain Vorhess
 * Command Bodyguard
 * Sgt. Boortis
 * FENRIS Mech

Mission Summary

 * Experience: 125 (156)
 * Credits: 7,500
 * Cerberus Funding: 3,750
 * Credits Found: 3,750
 * Resources
 * Iridium: 2,000
 * Upgrades
 * Heavy Skin Weave (Lattice Shunting)