Ashley Williams.

"Am I interrupting anything, Specialist Traynor?" Ashley asked, as she strode into the AI Core.

"Commander Williams!" Sam practically yelped, covering her bare breasts with her hands.

"I have a security risk quarantined, and what do I find when I come back aboard but my XO screwing it." The Spectre scoffed. "Real professional."

"I'm sorry Commander, it's just- It's her. It's really Shepard!" Samantha protested, as she extricated herself from Shepard and began to get dressed.

"So it claims. But the fact is, this is a Cerberus AI. That's a combination I'd rather not mess with. And what, I'm supposed to let it walk freely around the ship because it can sound like the Commander?"

"Ash, it's not like that at all." Shepard protested, standing and turning to face her former subordinate.

"Oh, so it can't even do that." Ashley pointed out.

"Commander, it really is Shepard." Traynor insists. "She knows everything Shepard did. Even things of a... more private nature."

"Cerberus has had this ship bugged from day one." Ashley shrugs it off. "For all we know, they're still out there somewhere, listening in."

Before either Shepard or Traynor could formulate a response, EDI popped up, presented by the holographic interface she had used during the campaign against the Collectors.

"Commander Williams, I've completed my scan of the Shepard AI." EDI informed Ashley.

"You scanned me?" Shepard asked, adopting an accusatory posture. She couldn't help but feel a little violated. Of course, she had just taken over EDI's body and used it to have sex. Perhaps it was simply tit for tat.

"A necessary precaution, Shepard." EDI insisted.

"Tell me what you found." Ashley asked. Despite her misgivings about AI in general, Williams had at least developed a tolerance and respect for EDI, fighting alongside her during the Reaper War.

"While Shepard's AI is derived from Reaper technology, her digital consciousness exactly matches brainwave and neural pathway information from the Lazarus Project." EDI explained, bringing up two holograms. One, a representation of Shepard's biological mind, the other, the synthetic replica she now existed as.

"So, what you're saying is, she really is Shepard?" Ashley mused, hands on her hips.

"That would be a matter of interpretation, Commander." EDI stated. "While the Jane Shepard you served with is most likely dead, this AI is indeed a perfect replication of her, complete with memories, feelings and thought processes."

"Jesus." Ashley looked deep in deliberation. "I remember when we just shot the tin cans and called it a day. No offence, EDI."

"None taken, Commander."

Shepard watched on as Ashley mulled over her choices. Times had truly changed. Back in the day, it would've been Shepard standing there, deciding which of a few difficult options she disliked least.