N7: MSV Estevanico

A scan of the second planet Zanethu (Ploitari system, Hourglass Nebula) revealed the crash site of the freighter MSV Estevanico, which disappeared without a trace roughly a year ago. Any information that could shed light on the ship's fate would be very valuable.

Acquisition
To acquire the assignment, start scanning Zanethu. A distress call, identified by EDI as an anomaly, will be detected by the Normandy's sensors. The distress call reads as follows: "Assistance is requested. General distress. User unregistered or record damaged. Nature of incident is not recorded."

These mission notes are displayed upon entering orbit of the planet: "Alliance sources request that all ships keep watch for signs of the missing freighter MSV Estevanico, lost one year ago in this sector. Any data recovered that sheds light on the Estevanico's fate will be rewarded. Surface scans indicate the presence of a large shipwreck. Signature bears similarities of the Alliance merchant freighter MSV Estevanico. Structural integrity is critical. Life support is damaged but capable of sustaining a skeleton crew. Recommend extreme caution."

Walkthrough
This is literally a linear walkthrough mission, as there is only one path (fairly clear, with a only a few dead end turn-offs) to reach the objective: the ship mainframe. There are a few narrow beams to be crossed, however the game will not allow Shepard to fall off. As you progress, the ship will begin to groan and pop, and start rocking precariously.

Shepard lands on the far side of the decrepit freighter, EDI warning that the ship may become imbalanced and fall (it will not fall until the end). There is a dead end path off to the right with a hanging tile that needs to be shot down to form a path further down. Nearby to the left is an apparent bridge; however, approaching it will cause the near part to collapse (reportedly causing issues later: see Bugs, below). Proceed further to the left, and walk down the beam. Continue downward on the next beam, turn and head up the ramp that the fallen tile has made. There is a container of Iridium at the top. Collect it, and proceed up the beam, and there will be another container of Iridium. Take cover and hurdle the fallen beam next to it, then hurdle again at the top of it (correct placement may take a few tries).

Shepard is now on the far side of the bridge that was apparent on first landing (which may or may not have lost the front tiles). Continue down the ship, and make a path to the next crossing. As you near, the ship will give off a few loud pops and groans and rock, settling after a few moments. Move across, and further down the ship to the next beam. Crossing it will cause another rocking. Head up the ship to the beam leading down to another container of Iridium (and more rocking). Walk down the path to the stairs, and head down them. They will fall behind you as you reach the bottom. Turn around and walk across the path the stairs have created to yet another container of Iridium. Take the stairs past the container, and head across the path towards the mainframe. Step up onto the fallen beam, and walk across to reach it (Shepard may get stuck: see Bugs, below). Interact with the Mainframe to play a cutscene and end the mission.

Once you access the mainframe you will see a cutscene where Shepard retrieves the data, and the freighter finally falls off the cliff. Shepard is rescued by the Drop Shuttle just in time.

Bugs

 * Crossing the thin beam that leads to the mainframe at the end of the level seems to be almost impossible for some users, as Shepard ends up stuck in the air above it. It is not possible to return to ground level from there, nor can you return to the Normandy. Since quick saving is disabled for the whole level, you can't even save in front of the beam to try again if you get stuck, so most users with this bug have to load the autosave (which is made at the beginning of the level) and repeat until it works. Walking across the beam backwards works for some players. One possible solution to this is to keep walking on the left side of the beam until Shepard hits an invisible block, then slide to the right side and continue.
 * If Shepard walks on the right side of the beam from the start, there is a greater chance to get stuck. Another solution is to avoid running the entire level.
 * Holstering the weapon avoided the bug.
 * There is another bug in this mission well before the mainframe beam bug. In the beginning, if you get too close to certain panels, not the one you need to shoot down, they will automatically fall and you may have trouble hopping up onto the platform at the end of this section before even getting to the mainframe section. So stay clear of these panels so they do not fall and you will be able to get to the other section more quickly.
 * If this does occur you can still jump up onto the platform by very rapidly taking cover, and trying to jump up onto the platform then leaving cover if it doesn't work and trying again. Eventually you will leap up onto the platform when you find the right spot. Try this tactic near the far right, or far lefthand (ideally in the little corner created by the platform and beam) side of the beam.

Mission Summary

 * Experience reward: 125 or 156
 * Credits: 7,500
 * Cerberus Funding: 3,750
 * Credits Found: 3,750
 * Minerals:
 * Iridium: 2,000