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The opening sequence of Mass Effect 2 features Wilson, one of the specialists assigned to revive the dead Commander Shepard, betraying the team and trying to kill them all with the station's mechs. However, his motivations aren't revealed, and the other characters quickly move on without questioning his actions.

According to Wilson's entry in the Mass Effect wiki, recoverable logs reveal Wilson's growing dissatisfaction with the project, and with Miranda in particular. Then, files from the Shadow Broker DLC reveal that Wilson was working for the Shadow Broker.

However, this still doesn't seem to answer the question. Why would the Shadow Broker want to stop Project Lazarus? The Shadow Broker volunteered information to Shepard during Mass Effect 1, indicating that he understood Shepard's value in fighting the Reapers, and we know from the DLC that the Shadow Broker was just as aware of the coming invasion as the Illusive Man was. It would make sense for an information broker to steal data about reviving the dead, and he was always in competition with the Illusive Man, but trying to destroy the station just as Shepard was ready to wake up seems like odd timing, and assigning a biologist to slaughter dozens of people seems like a weak play for someone as powerful as the Shadow Broker.

Are we to believe that Wilson acted alone in attacking Project Lazarus, a disgruntled employee who was already a corporate spy just taking it one step further? Or were Wilson's actions taken at the instruction of the Shadow Broker, and if so, why would the Shadow Broker try to destroy such a valuable asset for the coming war?

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  • "assigning a biologist to slaughter dozens of people seems like a weak play" It's actually not. He was an inside man with enough knowledge about the security systems to turn them against the defenders. And he almost succeeded, too. Apparently Shepard, Miranda and Jacob were the only survivors. And they're all trained in combat and have above average skill. And if Shepard hadn't woken up in time, maybe then they wouldn't have made it either.
    – Sebastian_H
    Jun 11, 2015 at 17:34

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As revealed in the short run comic series Mass Effect: Redemption (This was released beginning in October 2009, with the Mass Effect 2 being released January of 2010. ) The Shadow Broker was attempting to collect Sheppard's body for the Collectors.

Miranda brings Liara to the Illusive Man, who tells Liara that the Collectors want the corpse, and have hired the Shadow Broker to give it to them.

Liara desperately tries to persuade the Shadow Broker that helping the Collectors is wrong, but he replies that it was merely a good business deal, one too good to pass up.

Since Wilson was an agent of the Shadow Broker, it is possible that just before Sheppard awakened the Shadow Broker saw it as the last real opportunity to acquire Sheppard and deliver him to the Collectors.

The Shadow Broker wasn't really on the side of the organics, he was on his own side. Some speculate that he saw a deal with the Collectors as a chance to maybe be spared from the Reaper's destruction.

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Another possibility that I always liked was it was the illusive man behind it. He knew the possibility of there being a traitor at the Lazarus station. He wanted to make sure Shepard was ready and having him wake up in the middle of a deadly attack would be an excellent warm up exercise for Shepard. And he would certainly want to “contain the situation” and tie up any loose ends. It would not be out of character for him to have everyone who worked on the project and who knew Shepard was back killed to keep them quiet.

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    Your answer reads like just speculation. Can you edit it to explain why you think this?
    – Blackwood
    May 18, 2019 at 2:18

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