"...There is a Pathfinder for each major species..."
Except for the Krogan. There was no Krogan Pathfinder.
And still, I'm not sure why they wouldn't have a Pathfinder. All a Pathfinder is essentially is a person with a stronger connection to a designated S.A.M. than other people.
Having a S.A.M. during the construction of the Nexus and ultimately in aiding to make crucial decisions would have made logical sense.
But then again, civilian operation or not, it would have made sense to have the Arks capable of defending themselves (they made sure the people could defend themselves but not ships, vehicles, or the Nexus??) but we can see how that turned out.
Yep, spot on correction. There was a sizable enough force of them on the Nexus to be used as mercenaries before their betrayal there and subsequent relocation to Elaaden. Perhaps their numbers are much smaller and therefore didn't qualify for an Ark due the events in the ME trilogy and the genophage. Let me rephrase that - by numbers I mean those who would "want" to come to Andromeda and those that would have been "allowed" in the grand scheme of things. Definitely a good bit of information missing there.
Not sure I agree with you on the role of Pathfinder though. SAM is a major part, but they are specially trained and hand picked. They are unique representatives in each of their species that all seem to have history even before becoming a Pathfinder that is recognized. Because of the unique role of the Nexus, I still don't think a Pathfinder would be the right fit.
Good point that their population might have been too small.
I am not saying S.A.M. is not important or that the Pathfinder isn't important but considering that they handpicked a bunch of people to be able to take up the mantle should they lose one, it just seemed that maybe 3 of the chosen could have went to Nexus and one of them could have had a S.A.M.
In fact, my suggestion lends more credence to how major S.A.M. is then them deciding not to have a person with a S.A.M. present for the construction of something of great importance that the arks would have to rely on.
If S.A.M. is so major (which it is) why not have it be involved in the major project that is the Nexus? Doesn't make sense.
Alec tied the SAM nodes to the Pathfinder (they aren't mutually exclusive). Working with Garsen and the Benefactor, he was the one responsible for the creation of the Pathfinder team, their purpose, and responsible for the creation of the SAM nodes. So, in Alec's mind, I could see where he would not predict the need for the Pathfinder/SAM team on the Nexus. Does that mean it was the right decision? No. But I can see how in a hurry and the plan having been that the Arks would have been there sooner originally, he wouldn't have assigned that team to the Nexus.
There is also a lot of missing information we just don't know, so that makes it even more difficult to really answer this question beyond conjecture. For example, SAM nodes can communicate with their Pathfinders across the galaxy. Ryder's SAM is never transferred to the Tempest (which makes sense as the Hyperion would be safer given the unknown's the Tempest is flying into). But Ryder's SAM is also never transferred to the Nexus. He stays on the Hyperion, but gives active assistance to Nexus personnel. I bring this latter part up because I believe Alec intended his SAM for a much broader purpose than the other SAM nodes. But how that was supposed to play out pre-scourge is the question.
Just was doing some additional research and re-watching some of the Initiative and Pathfinder videos online. One of them makes a statement I had forgotten - that the Pathfinder teams operate under their own authority. That may also be why the Nexus didn't have a Pathfinder/SAM. May have been a political or bureaucratic issue due to the authority interplay.
