Sowing The Seeds of Victory

At the next stop, a visit to the Citadel, Gianna dropped all surveillance of the rest of the Normandy crew, and focused her efforts entirely on the woman(?) in charge of the ship.



And it wasn't long before Gianna knew she was on to something.



Shepard handled her official business quickly when she arrived, checking in with a few Alliance contacts and visiting some other allies.  After that was done, Shepard went on the prowl.  Once she parted with her teammates, Shepard began visiting the bars and hangouts of the Citadel.



And Gianna followed behind, trying her best to remain unseen.  Shepard was one of the few people on the Normandy who would recognize her, so she kept in the back of crowds, staying as discrete as possible.



Even as she had her suspect, Gianna didn't quite believe at first.  Sure, attitudes these days were a lot more permissive than they were a century or two ago, and Shepard was quite a fetching woman.  But could she really seduce that many women into... doing whatever it was she was doing to put a bun in their oven?



The answer to this question was yes, she could.



It was uncanny to watch.  Once she arrived at her chosen location, Shepard would focus her attention on a woman and, within the span of 10-15 minutes, would have them clinging on to her like a life-preserver in the middle of the ocean.  Even women who had visited the place with a man would find an excuse to leave their date for a moment, often times following Shepard to the restroom before emerging with wrinkled clothing, frazzled hair, and a contented smile on their face.



And as soon as Shepard was done with one, she would shift her attention to the next, woman after woman dragging Shepard away by the hand to find some private place, only to return and resume the night's activities as if nothing had happened.



And, unless Gianna missed her guess, with new life starting to grow inside their bellies.



Shepard stayed at each location long enough to focus her attentions on 5-6 women, before she would leave and make her way to another spot, repeating the process there as well.



It boggled Gianna's mind to think about it, relaxing in her hotel room after a day spent tailing Shepard.  If Shepard did this at every port the Normandy stopped at, and if every one of the women she spent time with ended up being pregnant...



"Shit," Gianna said, as the realization hit her.  Shepard hadn't been targeting Binary Helix employees at all.  She'd just been knocking up so many women that Binary Helix employees just happened to get within her cross-fire.



Gianna was at a loss for what to do next.  If she had been following her mission to the letter, she would have sent Killira a message right now, letting her know who her culprit was.  But Shepard had helped Gianna out in the past, and she didn't feel right hanging Shepard out to dry like that.



Plus, there was the matter of convincing the CEO of Binary Helix that Shepard was the culprit in the first place.  She'd need to have more evidence than this to make the case that the man impregnating all of the company's employees wasn't a man at all.  She'd need…



BUZZ



Someone was at her door.  Gianna frowned.  Nobody should know she was here.  Reaching into a drawer, she pulled out her trusty Striker III pistol.  In this business, she couldn't be too cautious.  Standing up, she walked to the door.



And the door slid open to reveal Commander Shepard, a trace of mirth on her face as she said, "You're not as stealthy as you think, Ms. Parasini."