Mass Effect: Andromeda - Why Saving This Angaran Cultural Icon Is Important

Mass Effect: Andromeda's only race native to the Heleus Cluster, the Angara, have a tentative grasp on their actual history. As the game progressed and SAM and the Pathfinder unearthed hidden truths, it became clear that many of the Angara's memories of the time before the Scourge were clouded by misconceptions and, perhaps, planted information left behind by the Jardaan, their creators.

Moshae Sjefa, who was born of humble origins to explorers on a research station in deep space, rose to the admiration of her people through her numerous technological discoveries. Though she scoffed at the idea of the reverence of Moshae, believing the ancient mythological position of reverence unfit for her, she did everything in her power to become worthy of it once it was bestowed.

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Sjefa spent decades of her life studying the Remnant technology left behind by its mysterious creators after the Scourge. She amassed a major following of students, who went excitedly with her into the field to study the Remnant. Among them were Roekaar leader Aksull (whom she fondly considered to be one of her best students) and Jaal Ama Darav. Jaal did not stick out his studies with the Moshae, instead turning to other fascinations, but when the Pathfinder asked about him about his time with her, he remembered that time and his mentor with deep fondness.

Because Moshae Sjefa held such a firm grasp on the Remnant, her studies and her knowledge eventually drew the attention of the Kett's Archon. The Archon himself had developed a deeply detrimental fascination with the Remnant, which he believed held the secrets to unlocking beneficial mysteries in the Heleus Cluster that would eventually lead him to a position of power over his superiors.

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A traitorous Resistance fighter named Vehn Terev was eventually assigned to be the Moshae's bodyguard by his leader, Evfra. Terev believed that Evfra and other Resistance leaders were wasting their time and their resources to protect a useless old woman. He believed they should have been focusing on their efforts to drive Kett forces out of the galaxy, so when Terev learned of the Archon's fascination with Moshae Sjefa, he arranged to hand her over to him in the hopes that it would stop the war with the Kett.

Aboard the Archon's flagship, Moshae Sjefa was mercilessly tortured by the Archon and his men. In her refusal to give him what he wanted, she was punished. They didn't allow her to sleep, strung her up immobile and broke her bones more than once. During her time as their prisoner, she became sick, and her immune system was so severely compromised that she would have died had the Archon not decided she was the perfect candidate for exaltation.

Exaltation altered the subject, turning them into Kett. Though they lost themselves bodily to the transformation, they also retained much of the information they carried inside them. Exalting Moshae Sjefa would make her more amenable to his demands, and as an ally, she would lead him to the information on the Remnant he so desperately sought.

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When the Angara asked Pathfinder Ryder to help rescue the Moshae from the facility on Voeld, they didn't know what to expect when they found her. She did everything in her power to survive, and though her trials were difficult, the scientist within her knew she needed to hold herself together well enough to study what the Kett were doing. She recorded her experiences and reactions, always with the hope that her research would somehow prove useful to her people.

Upon saving her, she recommended that the Pathfinder blow up the facility, despite there still being several Angara imprisoned within. Her logic was that, so long as the facility stood, the Kett would simply fill it with more prisoners and continue their experiments. Jaal disagreed, wanting desperately to save as many of his people as he could. Though it was possible to save the Angara, players could not save them and still blow up the facility.

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If Ryder took the Moshae's advice, their relationship began on the right foot. However, if they ignored her, she would feel somewhat resentful when they next asked for her advice. When it came time for the Moshae to take Ryder to the Vault, Ryder's inquisitiveness caused her to jokingly ask if they were applying to become one of her students.

As the plot continued to thicken, and it was revealed that the Angara were created by the Jardaan, Moshae Sjefa confessed that (though she should feel shocked by this news) a part of her felt as if she'd always known the truth about their origins. Joining the Resistance in the final fight against the Kett, she protected the Salarian Pathfinder during the battle, and could later be chosen to become the Ambassador to the Nexus.

Though she never asked to be celebrated and revered, Moshae Sjefa played an essential role in the technological discoveries and advancement of her people. Saving her from Kett exaltation when prompted to do so may very well have turned the tide in the overall battle with the foreign invaders. After all, who's to say how much stronger the enemy might have become if they'd managed to make the Moshae one of them.

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