Mods exist to ensure that both Ashley and Kaidan survive the events of the first Mass Effect, letting you skip one of the first big moral choices in the series. This story was then expanded with another mod for the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect 3, continuing this canon divergence up to the end. And now, we have a new creation that bridges the gap, letting both Virmire survivors appear in Mass Effect 2.
Virmire Savior is a mod for Mass Effect 2, making it so Ashley and Kaidan will be present in the game. It also removes any mention of either death, keeping everything consistent throughout the playthrough. It has already been downloaded a few hundred times over on Nexus Mods, proving to be a popular way to mix up the trilogy.
As well as making it clear that both Ashley and Kaidan survived the Virmire mission from the first game, the mod also "adds small but important multiple story elements to integrate both survivors into the same missions." This means that the pair will appear on the Horizon colony when Shepard is sent to scope it out.
Right now, the mod focuses on giving Ashley fans more content, letting her do all the talking on Horizon while Kaidan stands alongside her. The mod creator, Nexus user Vegz, says this is because the game views Ashley as the default option, making it harder to implement a talking Kaidan. Future updates will address this, however, so sit tight Kaidan fans. All five of you (myself included).
Vegz is also the creator behind the other Virmire Survivor mods in the Legendary Edition trilogy, letting us save the human duo in the first game, and fight alongside them in the third. Getting rid of all references to either death will definitely make this new experience more immersive, and spares you from at least a bit of the guilt Shepard builds up throughout the trilogy. Hey, it's one less death to worry about.