At that moment, the Normandy had just flown through the Omega Cluster's Mass Relay, and had just dropped out of light speed just beside the Mass Relay into the Osun system in the Hourglass Nebula. From that point, the Normandy would head to the Blue Suns-owned prison ship, the Purgatory, in order to recruit a person by the name of Jack, who was supposedly the most powerful human biotic in the galaxy.

However, a familiar synthetic voice met his ears as the ship approached the prison frigate, drawing his attention away from the Galaxy Map.

"Shepard. I have detected something on the Normandy's scanners," EDI stated as she appeared from the console beside the Galaxy Map. "While in design, it appears to be a frigate-class ship, it's mass is inconsistent with that of all currently-listed frigates."

"Is there any possibility it could be a Collector ship?" Shepard asked.

"I am afraid I would require more data to give you a proper answer," EDI asked. "I have calculated the ship's current trajectory. If left on its own, it will drift into the gravitational field of Osun's sun within four standard Earth hours. At that point, it would be too dangerous to approach the ship."

Shepard rubbed his chin in thought. The fact that the design and mass were both inconsistent with most frigate-class ships was a bit unnerving, and the fact that it either could or couldn't be a Collector ship pulled at his mind. It would also be bad if they were somehow trapped inside, and the unknown frigate drifted into the sun with them in it.

"Shepard, it's your call," Joker said from the cockpit.

Shepard looked at the holographic image of the unknown frigate hanging in space, the ship completely dead from what he could see. On the one hand, he could just pass it and save himself the trouble of scouring the entire ship when he could be securing Jack's assistance in his mission, but then that would mean condemning any potential "sleepers" aboard to a fiery fate within the next five hours.

It wasn't completely out of their way, however it would take considerable time to change course and head for the frigate, search it before it got too close to Osun's sun, and then head to Purgatory.

"EDI. Plot the fastest course," Shepard instructed. "There could still be people inside it, and I won't leave them in there to burn." Paragon Action.

"Of course Shepard. ETA counted at 50 minutes," EDI replied. That meant that once they got there, he'd have less then three hours to search the ship before it drifted too close to the system's sun.

"Alright then. Tell Jacob and Garrus to meet me at the shuttle in a half hour," Shepard instructed. "Dr. Mordin and Miranda will stay behind just in case there's an ambush."

"Acknowledged," EDI replied as she retreated back into the ship.

After going up to his private quarters, Shepard sent a quick message to The Illusive Man, saying he'd be making a quick detour before picking up Jack from Purgatory. Before he could receive a reply message asking as for what reason, Shepard went to his armor locker and brought out a white set of armor bearing red streaks. The armor components consisted of the Umbra Visor, Capacitor chest plate, Amplifier shoulder plates, Off-Hand Ammo Pack gauntlets, and the Stimulator Conduit greaves.

After that and a brief rest, he headed down the elevator, meeting up with Dr. Mordin, and then Garrus before dropping down into the cargo bay where the Normany's shuttle was stationed.

"So Shep. Mind telling us where we're headed?" Jacob asked as he checked his Assault Rifle.

"We're going on a search and rescue mission," Shepard answered as he checked his weapons, Garrus doing the same. "We go in, check for survivors, and then leave. Got it."

"Got it," the two replied.

While this chapter may've been short, it was mainly to establish the deviation in plot from the standard Mass Effect 2. Who/whatever is on the downed frigate will remain a mystery to all but the most astute readers.

Note:
This story's Shepard (Male) will be mostly Paragon. In what proportions, I have yet to reveal. He will be referred to as Shepard.
The armor he is using is the preferred armor pieces I'd assembled myself in ME 2, which I found the most useful since I didn't have access to the items provided in the Aegis Pack.
Shepard's character profile (the one I myself used in Mass Effect 1) was that Shepard was a Colonist, and became a War Hero. His combat class is Soldier.

At the moment, Shepard has already recruited Dr. Mordin and Garrus onto the Normandy (Miranda and Jacob already being there) from Omega in the Omega Cluster, leaving Jack (to be recruited in a few chapters), Grunt, Tali, Legion, Thane, and Samara un-recruited as of yet. The order is not illustrated here.

As for Kasumi (The Thief) and Zaeed (The Mercenary) -the optional characters available through the XBOX 360's Cerberus Network-, I will be placing a Poll up on my profile considering all possible options concerning whether one, both, or neither of them will be included in this story.

The later explanation will be that The Illusive Man (who will from this point on be referred to as TIM) will have just gotten the contract(s) with them agreed upon (provided votes are posted on the Poll).