Ashley Williams is a human Alliance Marine, who becomes part of Shepard's squad during the first observed Reaper attack in the first "Mass Effect". In a late-game choice on the planet Virmire, the player must choose whether to save Ashley or Kaidan Alenko; this choice leads to the other character's death. If Ashley is saved, she will return in a cameo appearance in "Mass Effect 2" and as a member of Shepard's squad for "Mass Effect 3", where she has attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander and is later bestowed Spectre status by the council. She is a potential romance option for a male Shepard throughout the original trilogy.