Moshae Sjefa is a revered elder scientist among the angara. Considered the foremost expert in Remnant technology, her numerous contributions on and off that field greatly aided angaran civilization in their ongoing struggle against their Scourge-induced dark age and the kett threat.
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“Make no mistake — this is a one-way trip.” — Spoilers for Mass Effect: Andromeda follow. |
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Background[]
The Moshae was born to explorers on a research vessel in deep space. Her parents never stayed in one place for too long, and eventually her own travels also took her to every world in the angaran domain. She never married nor had children, for she focused on unlocking the secrets of the Remnant for the benefit of all angara. As her reputation grew all of the settled worlds tried to adopt her as their own, but she developed a preference for Aya.
"Moshae" is not exactly a title, but a reference to pre-Scourge myths that Sjefa earned. She thought it was nonsense when someone first called her that: she forgot who it was, but she did remember telling them to shut up. The reference caught on with others, and over time she grew to recognize its uses.
Throughout her decades of existence she amassed a number of followers who studied the Remnant with her. Among them was Akksul, regarded as her best student, and Jaal Ama Darav, who eventually dropped out but retained fond memories of her.
The Moshae's expertise eventually caught the Archon's attention. Her bodyguard, an Angaran Resistance commander named Vehn Terev, sold her out to the enemy thinking it would end the war against the kett. In captivity aboard the Archon's Flagship the Moshae would be hung immobile, sleep-deprived, or otherwise beaten when she refused to answer the Archon's questions. She broke each limb twice, and also compromised her immune system.
However, the Moshae never stopped gathering intelligence on her captors. When the Archon decided she would be exalted, she was sent alone to an exaltation facility on Voeld and learned about the process and what it meant for angara taken captive by the kett. She was housed with prisoners who described their own abduction experiences. Even as she was subjected to numerous exaltation procedures she noted her own reactions, and she was able to compare notes with a transformed kett who was formerly a fighter for the Resistance. By her reckoning she spent days inside the facility under the "care" of its overseer the Cardinal.
Mass Effect: Andromeda[]
When Pathfinder Ryder comes to Aya in search of its local Remnant vault, they are told that only the Moshae could help them access it, but the kett had captured her. The Resistance is reluctant to accept aid from an outsider, prompting the Pathfinder to prove their worth first by lending assistance on either Havarl and/or Voeld.
The Resistance has tracked the Moshae's whereabouts, but the place has nearly impregnable shields. When Ryder has amassed enough trust, Resistance leader Evfra de Tershaav authorizes a joint rescue mission between the Resistance and the Andromeda Initiative which results in the successful breach of the facility. The Cardinal, acting on the Archon's order to expedite the Moshae's final exaltation, retrieves her and attempts to escape, but are stopped by the Pathfinder team and Jaal at the shuttle bay.
The Moshae, regaining consciousness, marvels at being rescued because no one has ever returned from behind kett walls. She urges the Pathfinder to destroy the facility because of her findings on exaltation, a notion both Jaal and the Cardinal object to because of the other angara still imprisoned. She reasons that if the place is left standing the kett will simply fill it with prisoners again.
Whatever the Pathfinder's decision, the rescue team proceed to the facility rooftop for extraction. Despite her weakened state, the Moshae puts up a bioelectric field to help her allies regenerate shields faster, replying over Jaal's concern for her health that it's her decision to make.
Aboard the Tempest's med bay, the Moshae laughs off suggestions of being "frail", although she requires some rest after the events of Voeld. If Ryder spared the facility against her wishes, she testily asks if Ryder now values what she has to say, and she hopes they understand if the time comes she does what she thinks is right. If the Pathfinder destroyed it, she declares her trust earned by that act. Either way she proceeds to describe the purpose of exaltation to the Pathfinder and an angry Jaal.
Ryder then learns the Archon captured the Moshae for her Remnant knowledge, and formally seeks her help getting into Aya's vault. If the Pathfinder makes an emotional appeal, the Moshae empathizes with the Initiative's plight in a way that she feels Ryder doesn't for her people (if the exaltation facility was spared) or she agrees wholeheartedly (if the exaltation facility was destroyed). However, she still believes emotion musn't get in the way of science. If Ryder wants her to name her price, she agrees the threat of the Archon using the Remnant is enough cause for concern. Whichever the conversation goes, she agrees to take the Pathfinder to the vault.
The Moshae spends some time in the med bay resting, though if Ryder delays returning to Aya she can be found a bit more refreshed sitting in crew quarters and ready to share her experiences in the exaltation facility.
Upon her arrival on Aya, the Moshae is greeted by a sizeable crowd and personally received by Evfra and planetary governor Paaran Shie. She shortly leaves for the vault to prepare it for the Pathfinder's arrival, while the Pathfinder receives full access to Aya's capital city.
The Moshae hasn't brought anyone to the vault in over two decades, and the Pathfinder is the first one in a long while. She and her followers also never managed to change the active display for Aya, a feat shortly rectified by Ryder and SAM interfacing with a console. Sjefa interprets the new holographic information and identifies a sigil from a relic in the Archon's ship: Dubbed "Meridian", she thinks it is the control center for all the vaults, and realizes the Archon must've taken her because he thought she knew something about it. She warns Ryder the Archon has already been to Meridian, and is only looking for a way to activate it.
The Moshae realizes that the Archon wielding the powers of the Remnant will spell the end for both the angara and the Initiative. She charges Ryder with retrieving the relic with the Meridian sigil from the Archon's ship, and departs the vault to talk to Evfra about locating the ship.
At the Resistance Headquarters the Moshae is furious on learning the circumstances of her abduction had been kept secret from her. Upon her goading, Evfra tells Ryder about Vehn Terev's betrayal. The Moshae's former bodyguard may have information on where the Archon's ship is, and his last known location is on Kadara Port, a place even the Moshae writes off as a den of untrustworthy deserters. The Pathfinder offers to track Vehn down, but Evfra doesn't like it. The Moshae sides with Ryder and forces Evfra's cooperation.
Once Vehn Terev has been dealt with, the Moshae moves back to her laboratory beneath the Repository of History and has some comments about his fate. If the Pathfinder rescued Vehn from execution on Kadara, the Moshae thanks Ryder for it and his subsequent handover to Resistance custody. If she questioned Vehn's motives, she learns enough to understand him and decide he has lost his way. Rather than punish Vehn for his betrayal, the Moshae convinces Evfra to have Vehn tend Aya's Memorial Gardens, believing being connected with life will help rehabilitate him after being surrounded by death.
If Ryder allowed Vehn to be killed, the Moshae hears about it from Evfra and is indignant since she believes Vehn's betrayal was inexcusable but not unforgivable. If the Pathfinder disavows Sloane Kelly's involvement, the Moshae believes she had no right to kill Vehn. If Ryder claims Vehn had no regrets, the Moshae informs them he wasn't really contrite at his execution. Whatever the circumstances, the Moshae sighs in resignation since the deed is done.
Ryder's impressed with the breadth of Sjefa's knowledge, which prompts her to ask if they're applying to be her student. Ryder considers a career change given they never trained for their current one, but the Moshae assures them they're doing well at being Pathfinder. She explains two types of knowing: innate and acquired, and advises Ryder they already have the essentials with the rest to be figured out along the way.
The Moshae once held the impression that being captured by the kett was the worst fate imaginable, but after she was rescued and returned home, she is overwhelmed by the volume of her backlog, especially from Avela Kjar who pesters her almost constantly. She muses that she is busy with both everything and nothing and wonders which will win.
If asked about Jaal, the Moshae claims he talks in his sleep, eliciting an awkward pause from the Pathfinder. She jokes and only said it to see the reaction on Ryder's face: she deems Jaal a dear but hopeless student, but he has a good spirit that Ryder is lucky to have.
When asked on how the Pathfinder could stop the kett for good, she questions how victory over the kett would be defined. The Moshae provides example courses of action that could be used against the kett, but has no definitive answer. If they commit themselves to the complete eradication of the kett, she sees it costly and morally dubious. If they drive the invaders away she doubts they will give up and most likely return. She explains that with so much that they do not know about the kett, the problem they represent cannot be reduced to a simple solution.
If asked for future plans, she doesn't have a single answer for all angara since they're still individuals. She thinks Paaran may continue spreading hope, Evfra won't know what to do without an enemy to fight, and she herself may just fade away when she's no longer needed.
Following the revelations at Khi Tasira revealing that the Jardaan created the angara, the Moshae admits to Ryder that she should be shocked, but somehow feels that she already knew.
During the final battle to stop the Archon on Meridian, Moshae Sjefa arrives to fight along with the Evfra and the rest of the Resistance. She uses her electromagnetic powers to create a barrier to protect the salarian Pathfinder. Once the Archon is defeated, she is among those in the crowd gathered to receive Ryder and their squad.
Sjefa can be chosen by Ryder as the official Nexus ambassador under the belief that, as Heleus is their home, the angara should be allowed to help decide how the Milky Way races continue in Andromeda, something which Initiative Director Tann reacts to negatively. The Moshae is sceptical about her new position, explaining that choosing her will not bring the unanimous angaran praise that the Pathfinder was hoping for, although she resolves to do the best job she can until a more stable long-term government is established.
Back in her lab, the Moshae confesses to Ryder she never expected so much responsibility if she was chosen as ambassador. She can't decide whether to thank Ryder or strike them. If Ryder permits a free hit, they only stipulate anywhere but the face. Sjefa laughs and boasts she won her share of battles decades ago. Regardless, despite the pressure she doesn't feel overly burdened, and praises Ryder for staying true to their promise to keep Meridian from the Archon. She deems it the most beautiful place she's seen, even in comparison to Aya.
Friend or Foe[]
The Moshae can set up a meeting between Ryder and the Roekaar leader, Akksul, which goes poorly, with her former student expressing nothing but xenophobia.
Test Subject[]
Daanfre is one of the Moshae's old colleagues. On hearing Ryder allowed Daanfre to take scans of their body, Sjefa thanks them for putting up with the good scientist's terrible behavior. She wants Ryder to know Daanfre has been reprimanded.
Trivia[]
- Moshae Sjefa's voice actress, Indira Varma, also provides the voice for Sloane Kelly. In the Dragon Age universe, Varma voices Vivienne.