Sara Ryder (MR)

"After the Alliance discharged Dad, whenever people found out I was his daughter, doors slammed in my face. Being Alec Ryder's kids in the Milky Way, we were in for a lifetime of dreams that were never going to happen."

- Sara Ryder

Sara Ryder is a scientist, exo-archaeologist, pioneer, and one of the two main protagonists of Mass Effect: Andromeda. A member of the Ryder family, she and her younger twin brother Scott Ryder received informal N7 training under their father Alec Ryder.

After serving five years in the Systems Alliance military, Sara signed up with the Andromeda Initiative together with her father and brother, obtaining a position within the Pathfinder Mission Team chosen to find and establish a new home for humanity in the distant Andromeda galaxy 600 years into the future. However, following a series of unfortunate events upon arriving in Andromeda, Sara's cryopod was damaged during a violent collision with an energy cloud and was left unable to awaken. Sara was soon there afterwards placed into a medically-induced coma in order for her body to awaken naturally.

She eventually regained consciousness, but was unable to join Scott's team. Medical records reported Sara showing a slow but promising improvement in her condition.

However, sharing identical implants and similar physiology made Sara a prime target for the kett leader Archon. After attacking the Nexus and hijacking the Hyperion, the Archon took Sara captive, intending to use her to provide access to Meridian. Fortunately, her brother was able to intervene. Though injured, Sara made a full recovery and stayed behind to assist a joint-scientific research body to study Meridian.

Early life
"The first time I handled a Prothean artifact, I was hooked. It was so... alien. I just knew: there's more out there, and I want to see all of it."

- Sara Ryder, about her peacekeeping career Born on the Citadel space station in the year 2163, Sara Ryder and her fraternal twin brother Scott are the children of Alec Ryder, an N7 operative in the Systems Alliance military who served in Rear Admiral Jon Grissom's expeditionary task force beyond the Charon mass relay. Her mother, Dr. Ellen Ryder, was a renowned scientist specializing in biotics research that gradually gave root to the development of L2 and L3 implants. She was later terminally diagnosed with AEND due to repeated exposure to element zero and fell unconscious during her final days at the hospital, where she was presumed to have passed away; unbeknownst to the Ryder twins, Ellen was placed in cryogenic stasis to suspend the disease's progress until a cure could be found. She grew up surrounded by a multitude of alien species, cultures and histories. In her orientation interviews, Sara claims this sparked her fascination with science.

With informal training aided by her father's N7 background, Sara joined the Alliance military which was continuing its research for Prothean technology after successful discoveries on Mars. She was initially assigned to peacekeeping duties. At some point, Sara was approached to serve a support role for Prothean researchers and often described the thrill of serving with scientists like Mateus Shiva, on the brink of the next great discovery. However, when her father Alec was dishonorably discharged due to his AI research, this also effectively ended her career.

Andromeda Initiative
"I started in the Alliance, but it was the science that kept me going. When that ended... Well, if I wanted to be a part of the next big discovery, it had to be here."

- Sara Ryder Fascinated with idea of pursuing a new scientific frontier in the distant Andromeda galaxy, Sara and her brother Scott soon volunteered for the Andromeda Initiative as the program's newest recruits and were placed under their father's supervision. She was allowed to receive some informal training with a personal instructor—given the overall nature that the journey to the Andromeda galaxy was considered a one-way trip.

She, along with 20,000 humans, were placed in cryogenic stasis aboard Ark Hyperion.

Waking Up in a New Galaxy
643 years later, Sara was due to be released from her stasis pod upon Hyperion ' s arrival in the Andromeda galaxy. However, the Hyperion crew unexpectedly ran into problems when the Ark has a violent collision with an energy cloud above Habitat 7 causes momentary loss of gravity and damage to ship systems. Sara's cryopod was damaged in the event and her revival process was interrupted; since then, Dr. Lexi T'Perro kept Sara in a medically induced coma to allow her to awaken naturally.

Awakening
"Man, it's good to finally see you." "It's good to see anything. I was starting to think I'd never wake up."

- Scott and Sara Ryder Later on after the salarian Ark Paarchero has been found, she awakens from her coma. She is happy to see her brother again, though despite wanting to get out of bed, she is forced to stay. Later on when Scott discovers that their mother is still alive and in cryo sleep, Sara waits outside her pod. After conversing with SAM, the duo decide to keep their mother in cryo until they can discover a cure to heal her.

Battle for Meridian
"He wants to exalt everyone. If Heleus doesn't submit, he'll destroy entire planets."

- Sara Ryder, warning her brother about the Archon The Archon eventually invades the Hyperion, and disables SAM from Scott. SAM is able to contact Sara and requests that she reestablish the link between him and her brother. She is successful but is taken captive. She is then subjected to torture by the Archon, who uses her as a pain buffer so that he can access the Remnant tech. Sara is able to give her brother a clear path to her, but is unable to stop the Archon from getting control of the systems. She gives her brother help by giving him navpoints to disable the system. Scott is ultimately successful and frees Sara, who is then brought to Dr. Lexi T'Perro, who helps her heal.

She awakens a week later with her brother watching over her. When he is requested by the Nexus leaders, she tells him to go so she can rest.

Personality and traits
"I missed looking for Prothean artifacts. My team was a special exo-archaeology unit. Fully funded and sanctioned by the Alliance. My job―as in they paid me to do it―was to help dig up more artifacts and learn what we could from them. If things hadn't gone sour, it would've been a great life."

- Sara Ryder In her youth Sara had a fiery attitude and was headstrong, though not as much as her brother. As she matured into a young woman, Sara typically gives the outward impression of being polite to her superiors, considerate of her peers, and confident in herself.

Like her brother Scott, she is eager to get things done and concentrate on helping others. Sara often played the role of peacemaker during her brother and their father's many spats while remaining objective. Furthermore, she was also an intellectual individual, witnessed by her ability to rapidly excel in science, mathematics and archaeology at a young age. According to Mateus Shiva, Sara exhibiting an aptitude for mechanics and thinks on her feet, dedicated to finishing whatever she started.

She is especially close to her twin brother Scott, as they shared a bond that linked them together closely.

Appearance
Sara stood at 5 feet 8 inches tall, has fair skin, blue eyes and brown hair which she keeps tied in a pony tail.

Skills and abilities
In addition to being a skilled operative, Sara was a very talented mechanic. By her early teens, she developed a reputation of being able to build and fix almost anything with limited resources even in the most desperate of times. Internal memos also showed that as a technician in the Systems Alliance military, Sara was capable of operating drones and could hack enemy systems while also studying covert operations and tech skills used by special forces.

Video Games

 * Mass Effect: Andromeda (First appearance)

Novels

 * Mass Effect: Horizons

Quotes

 * -|Spoken by Sara=

Mass Effect: Andromeda

 * (about her twin brother) "I was born a minute ahead of him. I never let him forget it."
 * (about Liara T'Soni) "She studied the Protheans. When my team dug up artifacts, we'd debate her work. She had some pretty controversial theories, as I recall. Never gained much traction."
 * (after learning of her father's death) "I... I didn't get to say goodbye..."
 * "I'll miss dad... but I also know he'd be the first to say 'Get over it and get on with it, already.'"
 * (to Scott) "Oh, who are we kidding. I saw you eat your own boogers when you were six."
 * (about growing up on the Citadel) "Giant space city filled with every kind of alien you could imagine. I remember trying to play hide-and-seek with some hanar. It was no fair because they could float. Looking back, it's probably why I'm here: I saw how mind-bogglingly enormous the universe really is."
 * (to the Archon) "You'll get nothing from me. My brother will stop you."
 * "He wants to exalt everyone. If Heleus doesn't submit, the Archon will destroy entire planets!"
 * (to Scott, after learning their mother was still alive) "This is amazing. Dad's stubborn streak finally paid off. I could hug him. And scream at him! He should've told us about this!"
 * -|Spoken about Sara=
 * -|Conversations=
 * Scott: "Sara? Can you hear me?"
 * Sara: [via SAM] "Scott? Is that you? What's happening? Where am I?"
 * Scott: "There was a problem with your stasis pod. You're in a coma, on the Hyperion. Do you understand?"
 * Sara: [via SAM] "I... I think so. Am I dreaming?"
 * Scott: "SAM linked in to your implant. But they say you're stable. You're safe and sound in the med-bay."
 * Sara: [via SAM] "This is so weird. I hear you, but I can't feel anything. Where's Dad? Is he doing okay?"
 * Scott: "I don't know how to say this, but... he's dead, Sara."
 * Sara: [via SAM] "What?"
 * Scott: "It was a freak accident."
 * Sara: [via SAM] "But... it's Dad. He can't die. He..."
 * Scott: "I know. It's been hard on everyone."
 * Sara: [via SAM] "I didn't get to say goodbye."
 * Scott: "No one did."
 * Sara: [via SAM] "What about finding home? Dad kept telling me how beautiful it was."
 * Scott: "There's been some... complications. The golden worlds didn't exactly deliver."
 * Sara: [via SAM] "But... Dad said..."
 * Scott: "Sara?"
 * Sara: [via SAM] "I... am I dreaming? Where am I?"
 * Scott: "Sara, I'm sorry―"
 * SAM: "Her pulse rate is increasing rapidly."
 * Sara: [via SAM] "I need to go now."

(Following the rescue of Ark Paarchero)
 * Scott: "Sara..."
 * Sara: "Scott!"
 * Scott: "Bring it here... [hugs Sara.] Man, it's good to finally see you."
 * Sara: "It's good to see anything. I was starting to think I'd never wake up."
 * Scott: "You and me both. A condition like that, no one was sure what would happen."
 * Sara: "At least I got to be first at something: 'First woman in Andromeda to wake up from a coma.'"
 * Scott: "Dad always said relish the victories. Won't be many of them."
 * Sara: "Yeah. I'm sorry I wasn't there when he died."
 * Scott: "There's nothing anyone could've done. I wasn't even sure I should tell you."
 * Sara: "I'll miss him... but I also know he'd be the first to say 'Get over it and get on with it, already.'"
 * Scott: "Oh, there's been plenty of that."
 * Sara: "So I hear―Mr. Pathfinder."
 * Scott: "Not by choice."
 * Sara: "From the sounds of it you're going to need all the help you can get..."
 * Scott: "Careful!"
 * Dr. Carlyle: "No way are you fit for duty, miss. That stubborn skull of yours needs a chance to heal."
 * Sara: "Says who?"
 * Scott: "The Pathfinder, that's who. Time to rest up―that's an order, Specialist Ryder."
 * Sara: "[Yawns.] Yes, sir, Pathfinder, sir. Oh, who are we kidding. I saw you eat your own boogers when you were six."

Trivia

 * She is named after Sally Ride, the first American woman in space (June 18, 1983).
 * Sara is voiced by Fryda Wolff, and her appearance is based on that of American actress Jayde Rossi.