1035 réponses à ce sujet

[Rogue Unit]

I find it funny that Ashley claims that Shepard is delusional and that Cerberus is manipulating Shepard and even goes as far to claim they somehow did something to change who he was mentally, then insults you and leaves you alone and under the thumb of a bunch terrorists.

Why not help a person in that situation?

Modifié par Rogue Unit, 11 juillet 2011 - 01:17 .

[ashlover mark 2]

Rogue Unit wrote...

I find it funny that Ashley claims that Shepard is delusional and that Cerberus is manipulating Shepard and even goes as far to claim they somehow did something to change who he was mentally, then insults you and leaves you alone and under the thumb of a bunch terrorists.

Why not help a person in that situation?

simple,bioware wanted to keep you away from ash.push those who romanced her into someone else (Miranda,tali,jack) for some, it worked.

[knightnblu]

"well now this is just a case of vastly varing oppions; as i dont see a loved one calling me a name is on scale with finding out shes cheating on me."

Had she called me a name, I wouldn't be so raw. She could have called me a S.O.B. and I wouldn't be so raw. To me, traitor is not a name. It's an assessment of your character and your honor. It strikes directly at the heart of your personal integrity. It is the lowest of the low. Shepard has spent his life in the service, his parents spent their lives in the service, he has sacrificed, sweated, and bled in order to uphold his oaths to the Alliance and to the Citadel. The term traitor erases all that he has ever done and brands him as unworthy to have ever worn the uniform. To me, you can't get more personal than that.

We are likely from two very different generations. I have served my nation in multiple capacities and I take that service very seriously. The people that I served with also took their responsibilities very seriously. So when Ash, who is also one who should take those duties very seriously, calls you a traitor it is a very different thing than calling you a MF or S.O.B., it means that you can no longer be trusted. In one fell swoop she has judged you as a man, as a soldier, and as a patriot, and found you lacking. When she states that at least she knows where her loyalties lay, that drives the blade in even deeper. That's what I take exception to.

I used cheating to illustrate the deep personal betrayal of such an act from someone that should have known what the score was. Ashley's character should have known what she was saying and more importantly why she said it. Being called a traitor by a civilian is one thing, being called one by somebody who should know what that means is another.

I recognize that some people do not have that sensitivity to the word traitor. To them, it is equivalent to chucklehead or something. But for others, that word has a deep and serious meaning and the writers should have known that before they chose to put that word in her dialog particularly given the context. Unfortunately, I did a poor job of explaining this scale in my previous post and elicited confusion. For that, I apologize.

It is my hope that somebody at BioWare will read this and realize that there is some follow up required in ME3 unless they want Ashley to be a pariah amongst the people who take offense at being branded a traitor by somebody who claims to care about them. That is why I say that the scale is so very different between the apology and the offense. I am not certain whether the writers intended to go there or not. As for me, I just go with the way that she was written and play accordingly.

[MillaShepard]

Rogue Unit wrote...

I find it funny that Ashley claims that Shepard is delusional and that Cerberus is manipulating Shepard and even goes as far to claim they somehow did something to change who he was mentally, then insults you and leaves you alone and under the thumb of a bunch terrorists.

Why not help a person in that situation?

It's not so far fetched to think that Cerberus could've changed Shepard mentally.  They had the tech to bring him back from the dead afterall..   I would've been more concerned if Ashley wasn't suspicious.  And remember that at the time Shepard had been gone for 2 years (that's how long Ashley had to deal with his death), yet it probably felt like only a few days or weeks to Shep.  She couldn't undersand why (if she was your LI, or a squaddie) he wouldn't have contacted her (not knowing he'd only just been fully reserrected).  So ya, she's pissed off and confused and hurt and there was a lot of heat between them on Horizon because of it.  If anything it just seems more realistic to me. 

[slimgrin]

Ashley was never my girl in ME1, not once in 4 playthroughs. I disagreed with her stance on just about everything. But I respected her, more than Liara actually.

Modifié par slimgrin, 11 juillet 2011 - 01:43 .

[ashlover mark 2]

@knightblu your probely right,im no soldier or anything and im only 19,but i am an american and i am a patriot and if someone accused me of being a traitor i wouldnt take it to kindly either.but if my girlfriend called me one for whatever reason i wouldnt hate her for it (i would be mad) but i would be more hurt than anything and if she had stopped off like ash did without so much as a word ever again than i suppose that would be diffrent.

but she didnt,she apologized it may have been in an email but the words in it were enough for me to forgive her and hold out hope that there would be a time in the future were we can deal with this togther.

it should be know that i never was upset about horizon at all i understand why it was done i think bioware screwed up in its excution but i understand what they were trying to do.

Modifié par ashlover mark 2, 11 juillet 2011 - 01:48 .

[Badpie]

I actually like how emotional Ash was on Horizon - and I understand that she was emotional which is why it's easier to understand her reason for her harsh words. I really wish Shepard had matched her in passionate delivery of his side of the story, but he didn't. He was basically all "what's the big deal? I just explained this to you in like three words. Seriously why are you so upset?" And that, to be honest made me want to jump through the screen and strangle him, not Ash.

[Chromie]

slimgrin wrote...

Ashley was never my girl in ME1, not once in 4 playthroughs. I disagreed with her stance on just about everything.

Same here.

[stewie1974]

Now she's let her hair down.... I modified my play through to make her my girl. Still really no Mass Effect 1 love interest held anything for me... Liaria only got interesting during shadow broker where she developed a sense of humor.

Overall the Mass Effect 1 love interests were as appealing as cardboard....just like Jacob and Miranda... Only interesting L.I's were Tali, Thane, Garrus..... Damn why couldn't I romance Kasumi...

[Repearized Miranda]

ashlover mark 2 wrote...

well now this is just a case of vastly varing oppions; as i dont see a loved one calling me a name is on scale with finding out shes cheating on me.

i dont know you so i dont know if youve ever been in a relationship (not trying to insult you in anyway) but i have,and in my experiance nothings perfect, least of all love. yea ash said some hurtful things but shepard himself was hurtful.him standing around with his "DERP" face on was such a douchey thing to do,regadless of what hes done in the past as the big hero the girl loves you man she thought you were dead...be a little bit sensative....instead this was shepard

"hey ash whats up *punch in arm* how ya been"?

that alone considering all thats happned between them to me in my oppion is just as bad as ashley flipping on him and calling him a traitor.shepard was a bastard ash was on the verge of crying (tone of voice and facial expression) she poureed her heart to him and he was as emotionless and uncareing about her feelings as a rock.to me thats one of the worst thing you could do to someone you love.shepard aint innocent on horizon either.

and he didnt even bother to apologize.

I'm with Knight on this one. I doubt anyone is saying Shepard is innocent, but it'd be no different if s/he went off on somebody for no reason as the victim of that verbal assualt would be "herp and derp," as well. Again, Ashley made up her damn mind from the beginning. I doubt Shepard would've been able to convince her otherwise, so it makes sense if s/he didn't try. Like the Council, brushing off his or her countless "The Reapers are coming!" cries as if that were nothing but gibberish. Shepard's right regarding the Council, but wrong regarding the VS? I'm not buying it!

[ashlover mark 2]

Repearized Miranda wrote...

ashlover mark 2 wrote...

well now this is just a case of vastly varing oppions; as i dont see a loved one calling me a name is on scale with finding out shes cheating on me.

i dont know you so i dont know if youve ever been in a relationship (not trying to insult you in anyway) but i have,and in my experiance nothings perfect, least of all love. yea ash said some hurtful things but shepard himself was hurtful.him standing around with his "DERP" face on was such a douchey thing to do,regadless of what hes done in the past as the big hero the girl loves you man she thought you were dead...be a little bit sensative....instead this was shepard

"hey ash whats up *punch in arm* how ya been"?

that alone considering all thats happned between them to me in my oppion is just as bad as ashley flipping on him and calling him a traitor.shepard was a bastard ash was on the verge of crying (tone of voice and facial expression) she poureed her heart to him and he was as emotionless and uncareing about her feelings as a rock.to me thats one of the worst thing you could do to someone you love.shepard aint innocent on horizon either.

and he didnt even bother to apologize.

I'm with Knight on this one. I doubt anyone is saying Shepard is innocent, but it'd be no different if s/he went off on somebody for no reason as the victim of that verbal assualt would be "herp and derp," as well. Again, Ashley made up her damn mind from the beginning. I doubt Shepard would've been able to convince her otherwise, so it makes sense if s/he didn't try. Like the Council, brushing off his or her countless "The Reapers are coming!" cries as if that were nothing but gibberish. Shepard's right regarding the Council, but wrong regarding the VS? I'm not buying it!

funny thing here is that there is a reason,cerberus BAD,shepard working for cerberus no matter what his reasons; not gonna go over well with the people he knows in the alliance and council.was he really expecting any diffrent from them. if he was than thats really foolish.

but lets agree to disagree i can already see the direction this debate is going and i rather not go down it again.

some people ashley is justified in her reaction and stayed with her.

other people think ash jumped the gun and breached trust.relationship over.

Modifié par ashlover mark 2, 11 juillet 2011 - 02:59 .

[Repearized Miranda]

^ The Alliance is BAD, but I doubt she'd give Shepard the time of day regarding that argument! They both acted like buttholes!

[ashlover mark 2]

im going to pass on the alliance vs cerberus debate. i herby agree to disagree.

[Quething]

knightnblu wrote...

"well now this is just a case of vastly varing oppions; as i dont see a loved one calling me a name is on scale with finding out shes cheating on me."

Had she called me a name, I wouldn't be so raw. She could have called me a S.O.B. and I wouldn't be so raw. To me, traitor is not a name. It's an assessment of your character and your honor. It strikes directly at the heart of your personal integrity. It is the lowest of the low. Shepard has spent his life in the service, his parents spent their lives in the service, he has sacrificed, sweated, and bled in order to uphold his oaths to the Alliance and to the Citadel. The term traitor erases all that he has ever done and brands him as unworthy to have ever worn the uniform. To me, you can't get more personal than that.

We are likely from two very different generations. I have served my nation in multiple capacities and I take that service very seriously. The people that I served with also took their responsibilities very seriously. So when Ash, who is also one who should take those duties very seriously, calls you a traitor it is a very different thing than calling you a MF or S.O.B., it means that you can no longer be trusted. In one fell swoop she has judged you as a man, as a soldier, and as a patriot, and found you lacking. When she states that at least she knows where her loyalties lay, that drives the blade in even deeper. That's what I take exception to.

I used cheating to illustrate the deep personal betrayal of such an act from someone that should have known what the score was. Ashley's character should have known what she was saying and more importantly why she said it. Being called a traitor by a civilian is one thing, being called one by somebody who should know what that means is another.

I recognize that some people do not have that sensitivity to the word traitor. To them, it is equivalent to chucklehead or something. But for others, that word has a deep and serious meaning and the writers should have known that before they chose to put that word in her dialog particularly given the context. Unfortunately, I did a poor job of explaining this scale in my previous post and elicited confusion. For that, I apologize.

It is my hope that somebody at BioWare will read this and realize that there is some follow up required in ME3 unless they want Ashley to be a pariah amongst the people who take offense at being branded a traitor by somebody who claims to care about them. That is why I say that the scale is so very different between the apology and the offense. I am not certain whether the writers intended to go there or not. As for me, I just go with the way that she was written and play accordingly.

Well said. But the thing is, she does know what it means. And that's why she says it. Because she does think that betraying the Alliance is absolutely on the level of cheating on a spouse, absolutely that serious and absolutely that unforgivable.

And here you are doing it.

And you might even have the nerve to ask her to help.

Sure, she goes for the jugular with that. She hits you as low and brutal as she possibly can. Why wouldn't she? You've just done the same to her, just spat on the honor and service that you and she shared and dismissed everything she's devoted her life to by signing on with the evil mortal enemy of the service she remains devoted to, and as far as she can tell you've done it completely casually and without a hint of remorse or doubt (it's hardly her fault Shep's such an inarticulate emotionless dumbpluck on Horizon). Ash burns hot and quick, if you hurt her she's going to lash out, and Shep showing up wearing Cerberus colors hurts her every bit as bad as her calling you a traitor hurts you, for the exact same reasons.

That she can even bring herself to tell you to take care of yourself when she leaves is more than Horizon!Shep deserves, IMO, and it's just one more reason I hate the Cerberus-employee railroad plot. <_<

Modifié par Quething, 11 juillet 2011 - 03:50 .

[JerkyJohnny14]

No way was she my girl. She was too manly for my taste and she was quite the xenophobe. Kinda why I executed her on Virmire. But I also somewhat regret that decision now because Ashley finally let down her hair. Haaaaaa oh well........ at least Kaiden has Biotics.

[Ryzaki]

knightnblu wrote...

"well now this is just a case of vastly varing oppions; as i dont see a loved one calling me a name is on scale with finding out shes cheating on me."

Had she called me a name, I wouldn't be so raw. She could have called me a S.O.B. and I wouldn't be so raw. To me, traitor is not a name. It's an assessment of your character and your honor. It strikes directly at the heart of your personal integrity. It is the lowest of the low. Shepard has spent his life in the service, his parents spent their lives in the service, he has sacrificed, sweated, and bled in order to uphold his oaths to the Alliance and to the Citadel. The term traitor erases all that he has ever done and brands him as unworthy to have ever worn the uniform. To me, you can't get more personal than that.

We are likely from two very different generations. I have served my nation in multiple capacities and I take that service very seriously. The people that I served with also took their responsibilities very seriously. So when Ash, who is also one who should take those duties very seriously, calls you a traitor it is a very different thing than calling you a MF or S.O.B., it means that you can no longer be trusted. In one fell swoop she has judged you as a man, as a soldier, and as a patriot, and found you lacking. When she states that at least she knows where her loyalties lay, that drives the blade in even deeper. That's what I take exception to.

I used cheating to illustrate the deep personal betrayal of such an act from someone that should have known what the score was. Ashley's character should have known what she was saying and more importantly why she said it. Being called a traitor by a civilian is one thing, being called one by somebody who should know what that means is another.

I recognize that some people do not have that sensitivity to the word traitor. To them, it is equivalent to chucklehead or something. But for others, that word has a deep and serious meaning and the writers should have known that before they chose to put that word in her dialog particularly given the context. Unfortunately, I did a poor job of explaining this scale in my previous post and elicited confusion. For that, I apologize.

It is my hope that somebody at BioWare will read this and realize that there is some follow up required in ME3 unless they want Ashley to be a pariah amongst the people who take offense at being branded a traitor by somebody who claims to care about them. That is why I say that the scale is so very different between the apology and the offense. I am not certain whether the writers intended to go there or not. As for me, I just go with the way that she was written and play accordingly.

This post is epic and very enlightening. 

And now gives Guardian a perfect reason to dislike Kaidan that's prefectly in character. 

I really hope Horizon isn't completely ignored. 

[GRISHASAUR]

Quething wrote...

knightnblu wrote...

"well now this is just a case of vastly varing oppions; as i dont see a loved one calling me a name is on scale with finding out shes cheating on me."

Had she called me a name, I wouldn't be so raw. She could have called me a S.O.B. and I wouldn't be so raw. To me, traitor is not a name. It's an assessment of your character and your honor. It strikes directly at the heart of your personal integrity. It is the lowest of the low. Shepard has spent his life in the service, his parents spent their lives in the service, he has sacrificed, sweated, and bled in order to uphold his oaths to the Alliance and to the Citadel. The term traitor erases all that he has ever done and brands him as unworthy to have ever worn the uniform. To me, you can't get more personal than that.

We are likely from two very different generations. I have served my nation in multiple capacities and I take that service very seriously. The people that I served with also took their responsibilities very seriously. So when Ash, who is also one who should take those duties very seriously, calls you a traitor it is a very different thing than calling you a MF or S.O.B., it means that you can no longer be trusted. In one fell swoop she has judged you as a man, as a soldier, and as a patriot, and found you lacking. When she states that at least she knows where her loyalties lay, that drives the blade in even deeper. That's what I take exception to.

I used cheating to illustrate the deep personal betrayal of such an act from someone that should have known what the score was. Ashley's character should have known what she was saying and more importantly why she said it. Being called a traitor by a civilian is one thing, being called one by somebody who should know what that means is another.

I recognize that some people do not have that sensitivity to the word traitor. To them, it is equivalent to chucklehead or something. But for others, that word has a deep and serious meaning and the writers should have known that before they chose to put that word in her dialog particularly given the context. Unfortunately, I did a poor job of explaining this scale in my previous post and elicited confusion. For that, I apologize.

It is my hope that somebody at BioWare will read this and realize that there is some follow up required in ME3 unless they want Ashley to be a pariah amongst the people who take offense at being branded a traitor by somebody who claims to care about them. That is why I say that the scale is so very different between the apology and the offense. I am not certain whether the writers intended to go there or not. As for me, I just go with the way that she was written and play accordingly.

Well said. But the thing is, she does know what it means. And that's why she says it. Because she does think that betraying the Alliance is absolutely on the level of cheating on a spouse, absolutely that serious and absolutely that unforgivable.

And here you are doing it.

And you might even have the nerve to ask her to help.

Sure, she goes for the jugular with that. She hits you as low and brutal as she possibly can. Why wouldn't she? You've just done the same to her, just spat on the honor and service that you and she shared and dismissed everything she's devoted her life to by signing on with the evil mortal enemy of the service she remains devoted to, and as far as she can tell you've done it completely casually and without a hint of remorse or doubt (it's hardly her fault Shep's such an inarticulate emotionless dumbpluck on Horizon). Ash burns hot and quick, if you hurt her she's going to lash out, and Shep showing up wearing Cerberus colors hurts her every bit as bad as her calling you a traitor hurts you, for the exact same reasons.

That she can even bring herself to tell you to take care of yourself when she leaves is more than Horizon!Shep deserves, IMO, and it's just one more reason I hate the Cerberus-employee railroad plot. <_<

THIS and yes and always be

[Pockles]

Morals without context are a bit of a turn off. Was a deal breaker with Samara, unsure about Ash though. Will have to see what ME3 brings.

[Zubie]

 Yes I think "traitor" was exactly the word she wanted to use.

[mineralica]

easygame88 wrote...

 Yes I think "traitor" was exactly the word she wanted to use.

It's still not the word which may be thrown as a result of hearing rumours and 5 min long dialogue. Especially to person who spend his life defending Alliance. Especially by another Alliance soldier.

[knightnblu]

Quething wrote...
 

knightnblu wrote...
 
Removed to save space
 
 

 
Well said. But the thing is, she does know what it means. And that's why she says it. Because she does think that betraying the Alliance is absolutely on the level of cheating on a spouse, absolutely that serious and absolutely that unforgivable.
 
And here you are doing it.
 
And you might even have the nerve to ask her to help.
 
Sure, she goes for the jugular with that. She hits you as low and brutal as she possibly can. Why wouldn't she? You've just done the same to her, just spat on the honor and service that you and she shared and dismissed everything she's devoted her life to by signing on with the evil mortal enemy of the service she remains devoted to, and as far as she can tell you've done it completely casually and without a hint of remorse or doubt (it's hardly her fault Shep's such an inarticulate emotionless dumbpluck on Horizon). Ash burns hot and quick, if you hurt her she's going to lash out, and Shep showing up wearing Cerberus colors hurts her every bit as bad as her calling you a traitor hurts you, for the exact same reasons.
 
That she can even bring herself to tell you to take care of yourself when she leaves is more than Horizon!Shep deserves, IMO, and it's just one more reason I hate the Cerberus-employee railroad plot.

 
Great, we have gone from Shepard being the aggrieved party to a Mexican standoff! All kidding aside, you describe her reaction completely as I imagined it. However, you say nothing as to her reasoning. At first, Shepard is elated to see her, but Ashley lets the hammer fall leaving our poor Commander stunned. Shepard tries to tell her that he doesn't answer to Cerberus, but she won't listen. But if she is hurt, she hurt herself.
 
Shepard never had a choice as to his involvement with Cerberus. Shepard also did not insure that Ashley was ordered to Horizon to be used as bait to draw in the Collectors either. By having Ashley on Horizon, TIM insured that the Collectors would strike there and that Shepard would do his level best to save Williams. Shepard also didn't sabotage the defense turrets by corrupting the programming, but TIM did. Active defenses would have forced the Collectors to abandon Horizon and to seek a new target. Williams was just as much a pawn as Shepard was. Which is why TIM is going feet first into a wood chipper in ME3 if I ever get the opportunity, but I digress.
Shepard never had an opportunity to refuse Cerberus. TIM had him cornered and there was no way that he was going to get loose until TIM was done with him. I am also sure that TIM sent a good deal of information/misinformation to the Council, Alliance, and Anderson to insure that TIM's hold on Shepard was secure by shutting down possible avenues of escape. Hence the rumors that Ashley mentions.
 
It isn't as if Shepard woke up one day and thought that joining Cerberus would be a blast and then dropped by the headquarters to file and application. His corpse was stolen from the Shadow Broker and then subjected to Cerberus' Frankenstein treatment. Two years and twelve days later he wakes up to a small war going on around him, has no idea where he is or why he is there, and somebody is giving him orders by loudspeaker. (As an interesting aside, if you take Miranda with you to get Grunt, she makes a snarky comment about orders over a loudspeaker, déjà vu)
 
Nowhere can Shepard ever depart from TIM's control regardless of how much he hates Cerberus or TIM precisely because TIM has made certain that he has nowhere to go. Further, who is going to save the colonists if Shepard goes rogue and heads for parts unknown? Shep is stuck and he knows it.
 
Now I will grant you that Shepard is no silver tongued devil on Horizon. I think part of that is his sudden elation at seeing Ashley turned to shock and surprise almost instantly by the one person in all the galaxy he most wanted to see. In my mind, Williams took a stroll on Shepard's manhood with golfing shoes and she did it without just cause.
 
Ashley did to Shepard what the Alliance did to grandpa Williams and she was the one person in all the galaxy who should have known better. The fact that she even sent an apology, if a lukewarm one, at all indicates that she knows that she was wrong. I know that she was offering an olive branch of sorts, but it is way too little for something like that. As you say, this needs to be addressed in ME3 and somebody has a full plate of crow to eat.

[ubermensch007]

I'm reading some of this thread right now, but i just wanted to jump in for a moment to say one or two things.What get's me most about the altercation with the VS on Horizon...To piggy back on some things nightnblu said about military culture and tradition.

Whether its Kaidan or Ash, what trips me out most of all -- Is a complete and utter lack of respect in their tone of voice.When speaking to a man or woman who was there former COMMANDING OFFICER...

-- They don't ask for, "Permission to speak freely, sir."

-- They don't even have the courtesy to say, "With all due respect" .

The way they talk to Shepard is with the UTMOST CONTEMPT...It was almost like watching someone disrespect thier parent.I said in another thread,"When Ash said, "You betrayed the Alliance... Anderson.You betrayed me!" I wanted to smack her..<_< And I still believe that she deserved to be smacked across the face for saying that.

This is a man who would have taken a bullet for either of them.This is a man, who lead them to victory after victory.Success after success.And they have the NERVE -- to speak to him in such a way.

I still can't believe BioWare didn't give us the option through the conversation wheel, to say to them,"Who The Hell, Do You Think You Talking To?!"  & "Who the hell, do you think you are?!"

Modifié par ubermensch007, 11 juillet 2011 - 10:06 .

[Quething]

knightnblu wrote...

Great, we have gone from Shepard being the aggrieved party to a Mexican standoff! All kidding aside, you describe her reaction completely as I imagined it. However, you say nothing as to her reasoning. At first, Shepard is elated to see her, but Ashley lets the hammer fall leaving our poor Commander stunned. Shepard tries to tell her that he doesn't answer to Cerberus, but she won't listen. But if she is hurt, she hurt herself.
 
Shepard never had a choice as to his involvement with Cerberus. Shepard also did not insure that Ashley was ordered to Horizon to be used as bait to draw in the Collectors either. By having Ashley on Horizon, TIM insured that the Collectors would strike there and that Shepard would do his level best to save Williams. Shepard also didn't sabotage the defense turrets by corrupting the programming, but TIM did. Active defenses would have forced the Collectors to abandon Horizon and to seek a new target. Williams was just as much a pawn as Shepard was. Which is why TIM is going feet first into a wood chipper in ME3 if I ever get the opportunity, but I digress.
Shepard never had an opportunity to refuse Cerberus. TIM had him cornered and there was no way that he was going to get loose until TIM was done with him. I am also sure that TIM sent a good deal of information/misinformation to the Council, Alliance, and Anderson to insure that TIM's hold on Shepard was secure by shutting down possible avenues of escape. Hence the rumors that Ashley mentions.
 
It isn't as if Shepard woke up one day and thought that joining Cerberus would be a blast and then dropped by the headquarters to file and application. His corpse was stolen from the Shadow Broker and then subjected to Cerberus' Frankenstein treatment. Two years and twelve days later he wakes up to a small war going on around him, has no idea where he is or why he is there, and somebody is giving him orders by loudspeaker. (As an interesting aside, if you take Miranda with you to get Grunt, she makes a snarky comment about orders over a loudspeaker, déjà vu)
 
Nowhere can Shepard ever depart from TIM's control regardless of how much he hates Cerberus or TIM precisely because TIM has made certain that he has nowhere to go. Further, who is going to save the colonists if Shepard goes rogue and heads for parts unknown? Shep is stuck and he knows it.
 
Now I will grant you that Shepard is no silver tongued devil on Horizon. I think part of that is his sudden elation at seeing Ashley turned to shock and surprise almost instantly by the one person in all the galaxy he most wanted to see. In my mind, Williams took a stroll on Shepard's manhood with golfing shoes and she did it without just cause.
 
Ashley did to Shepard what the Alliance did to grandpa Williams and she was the one person in all the galaxy who should have known better. The fact that she even sent an apology, if a lukewarm one, at all indicates that she knows that she was wrong. I know that she was offering an olive branch of sorts, but it is way too little for something like that. As you say, this needs to be addressed in ME3 and somebody has a full plate of crow to eat.

It's true. Shepard was backed into a corner, and never given a choice about working for Cerberus. The betrayal here is on TIM's head. You and I both know Shep's still loyal.

But *Ashley* doesn't. She's not sitting behind the monitor with us. She's not privy to metagame information. She didn't see Shepard get shot down by the Council, or witness Shepard's mysterious game-dictated inability to contact Hackett and arrange to detain and arrest the SR-2's crew. She didn't see Shepard get reconstructed and she wasn't there when Shepard woke up in a foreign medical bay with no memory of the last two years. The only things she knows are a) that Shepard has been working for Cerberus for months without bothering to even tell anyone s/he wasn't dead, much less report for debrief, and what Shepard tells her and shows her during their conversation on Horizon.

And what Shepard tells her is basically nothing, and what Shepard shows her is pretty much indifference.

How can she possibly conclude from the minimal information she's given that Shepard even considered not rolling over for TIM, much less attempted any other course of action? Shepard never says "actually I hate Cerberus, this whole mission is me under duress." Instead, Shepard says "I'm totally cool with Cerberus as long as they help me" and "you're being too emotional." The squadmates defend Cerberus and insult Ash and the Alliance and Shepard makes no effort to contradict them. Certainly Shepard never speaks of Cerberus with the least bit of distrust or venom, and is basically just full of righteous "stop questioning me because REAPERS." Nothing about that spells "I hate every second of this and I would kick a truckful of puppies if it meant I could go back to the Alliance." Rather the opposite in fact. You can't expect her to know Shepard's secret virtue when the only evidence she's actually presented with points to betrayal.

As for the apology, I don't think that's necessarily an admission of some grave wrongdoing on her part. Presumably she gets the same evidence of Shep's honesty (maybe she and Anderson hooked up and exchanged notes) regardless of whether she romanced Shep or not, but only a romanced Shepard gets the message. I think it's more a "I don't even care who was right and who was wrong, what I care about is that I love you and don't want to fight with you, so I'll make the first move toward fixing that." First thing main!Shep is going to do when they meet in ME3 is offer a corresponding apology in return, for the same reason; sometimes in a relationship it basically comes down to "what's more important, the fact that you're in the right or the fact that your partner is hurt," and neither Ash nor Shep needs to believe they did anything particularly heinous on Horizon to feel badly about what happened there and be willing to tell each other so.