As soon as you’re given control of the Normandy following your unsuccessful attempt to rally reinforcements for Earth, Admiral Hackett sends you an e-mail regarding a hidden Cerberus facility in the Sigurd’s Cradle star cluster, on the planet Sanctum.
Intelligence suggests that the Illusive Man’s scientists have been performing experiments with captured Reaper technology, and the Alliance wants you to throw a wrench in their plans.
You need to deploy a strike team to the lab, steal the tech, and escape before Cerberus reinforcements overwhelm you.
INSERTION
The landing at the facility is fairly uneventful. You start on a landing pad that is filled with various shipping containers, but the enemy has not yet reacted to your presence.
Cortez pulls the shuttle away once the team is deployed and provides the first objective waypoint. There are two major routes to the Reaper Artifact.
Take the ramps to the left of your starting position and enter the labs from there. You can immediately surprise Cerberus troops while having plenty of cover and room to maneuver.
Failed Medi-Gel Experiment console
Once the initial group of Cerberus operatives is dead, scour the entire facility until you’ve found everything listed in the Items Requisition Rundown, including the Failed Medi-Gel Experiment, as you’ll not have a chance to return to this facility as Shepard.
Until you actually disable the security protecting the Reaper Artifact, you’ll have free run of the labs.
A few of the computer terminals reveal some disturbing information about how Cerberus has adapted Reaper Indoctrination for molding their soldiers for complete obedience.
THE FIRST ARTIFACT
Once you locate all of the credits and items, get to the control panel for the first Reaper Artifact and disable it.
Collect the artifact, and run back to the landing pad to rendezvous with Cortez. Once you drop off the artifact, the pilot will mark a second artifact in the base’s lower levels.
This will also cause another wave of Cerberus troops to enter the base. Fight your way to the next artifact, and be prepared for stiffer resistance from Cerberus.
THE SECOND ARTIFACT
Expect to see Combat Engineers join the Assault Troopers and Centurions you’ve been facing thus far on the way to the second artifact.
The close quarters you’re fighting in makes them priority targets, as their turrets can make brutally short work of you.
As you deactivate the security for the second artifact, troops begin to drop in literally right next to you. Your squad should engage them before they finish deploying.
COMPLICATIONS
Cerberus fighters begin to harass the shuttle, making safe extraction impossible. You’ll have to hold off waves of Cerberus troops while Cortez tries to lose his pursuers.
A good strategy is to find a location where cover is available for the whole squad, and try to limit the number of flanking routes the enemy can use to get to you.
Guardians will join the enemy reinforcements. Prepare to flank them with your squadmates, or snipe them through the view slots of their shields.
If Liara is in your team, Stasis is invaluable for lining up headshots.
EXTRACTION
Eventually, Cortez radios in to the team, explaining that he has an opening to pick you up, but he needs you on the landing pad to fight off Cerberus troops.
By the time you get there, Cerberus will likely be there in force. Try to approach from the upper floor labs, and use the height difference to your favor, funneling enemy troops up the ramps toward you.
Combat Engineers will set up turrets on the landing pad, so make sure the pad is free of those before committing you or any squadmates down to the pad.
If you’re a bit more aggressive, use the boxes on the pad for cover and be vigilant for any flanking attempts. Once you’ve killed several Cerberus troops, the shuttle will arrive. Interact with it to complete the mission.