The second Culexus Boss fight. Read and review!
EDIT: Also, someone complained a while back that Jester handled Jona Sideris way too easily. Just remember: psionic. He can read minds and influence them.
Chapter Thirty-four
Illium, Nos Astra
"Donovan Hock, huh?" Aethyta repeated. "Now there's a character. You're going after the biggest human in the Terminus systems, and you want my help?"
"Is that what he is?" Kasumi asked, suddenly a little nervous.
The asari shook her head. "Hon, you need to learn to scope out your targets before you think about chasing them down."
"You know him," Miranda noted.
"I know of him," Aethyta corrected. "Heads up a big multi-faceted criminal empire. Bribery, assassination, kidnapping, forgery, heists, drugs, slave trade, you name it, he's done it."
"Hock has fingers in most of the Terminus Systems," Thane added. "Rumor is he's had trouble with the Shadow Broker, which is fairly significant considering his current position."
"I take it they don't like each other," Lawson posited.
Aethyta cast a pointed gaze on Liara, who jumped a bit before delving into her laptop. "Have to be on top of things, Little Wing," she said reprovingly. "For big clients, time is money." She turned back to the humans. "Here's the deal: the Shadow Broker's home territory is the Terminus Systems. He likes to keep track of anything and everything. And for the most part, he does. He receives payoffs from everyone because he's that good at keeping an eye on things. But he really doesn't like being shut out of anything."
"And Hock is shutting him out," Miranda continued.
"So goes the rumor mill," Aethyta nodded.
"Hock's senior entourage is entirely human," Liara added. "Most of his local agents and contacts are also. Occasionally, he might hire out other races, but only for small jobs or wet work." She frowned. "He's apparently the subject of a few STG infiltration operations. They've been trying to get more information on his operations, but apparently every single one of their agents has turned up dead."
Thane cocked his head. "I did recall hearing something about Captain Baelus Hrenna being found on the STG's front doorstep."
"I heard that too," Aethyta confirmed. "Caused quite a stir. The STG's greatest infiltration expert with a triple digit success rate suddenly gets express mailed in a body bag to Sur'Kesh. Never failed before then. Didn't it recently come out that he was also on the Broker's payroll?"
"Yes," Liara replied. "That evidence was turned over to the Citadel News by an unknown source. It included bank audits, footage of dead drops, and audio recordings where he was in contact with someone called Nebula."
"That's a statement if I've ever seen one," Miranda commented. "I presume the STG was investigating him because of his empire's anthropocentric preferences?"
"Right in one," Aehtyta confirmed.
"What does that mean?" Kasumi asked, feeling left out.
"Think, hon. A large criminal empire staffed by humans headed up by a human inside the Terminus Systems would be a perfect proxy organization for the Alliance to back up. It might seem a little too obvious, but it's still possible. The Council is worried that the Alliance is in fact behind Mister Hock." Aethyta smirked. "Obviously, Miss Lawson is going to tell us that's not true."
"Naturally," the agent mirrored the expression.
"I don't get why they haven't acted against him more openly though," the thief protested. "They know he's a criminal, and they have pretty good proof he murdered their agents. Why don't they take him down?"
"For someone who makes a living in the underground, you sure are a babe in the woods," the asari sighed.
"The Citadel can't act openly against any Terminus organization for fear of provoking all the independent powers into uniting against them," Thane explained. "In this case, they see double the potential threat. If Mr. Hock is backed by the Alliance, it could draw them into a conflict as well."
"But what about his business? Couldn't they expose him?" Kasumi argued.
"He doesn't directly do business in Council territory," Liara answered.
"There must be some way to take him down!"
"Not going to happen, hon," Aethyta shook her head. "The Council's been down this road before. The Hegemony used to do the same thing. They were involved in about 90 percent of all activity in the Terminus Systems before the Alliance decapitated their government. Everyone knew it, but no one did a thing because they risked war with the Terminus. These criminal groups know they're outcasts, and they can only rely on each other. The problem is that there's so many of them. And they're smart enough to band together if they get attacked."
"Tch!" Kasumi growled to herself, loathing the feeling of helplessness.
"Not so fast though," Miranda commented. "The Alliance could care less. We've already demonstrated to the galaxy how hard it is to fight us. We would have a lot less to lose in a war with the Terminus."
"And the savvy ones know that," Aethyta warned. "Which is why they'd threaten the Citadel in order to get their protection. You humans can't fight off the whole galaxy."
"You'd be surprised," Lawson replied ominously. "We don't have any real reason to do so, but if you found something on Mister Hock that implicates him in action against the Alliance, you can be sure we'd move in on him. Naturally, that's easier said than done."
"I've done impossible missions before," Kasumi retorted, her eyes shining with devious wrath.
Omega, Eclipse holdout
No matter how she tried to steel herself, to regain control, to free herself from fear, it still pervaded her being. Jona still remembered vividly the pure terror that the powerful human inspired in her mind. Worse, it was bringing back long-suppressed instincts born of desperation and a desire for self-preservation. She ingratiated herself to him, currying his favor to earn a reprieve from his presence, just as she did for her long-dead master.
The power she'd accrued as a biotic warrior, the power she'd longed for and sought ever more of as a security blanket against the fear and helplessness of her past, was now ironically her greatest curse. Jester did not give a damn about her fellow test subjects. He saw them as worthless and mindless fodder, and cast them off. But her, he kept, because of that same power. Bound by fear. She held no illusions as to what he would do to her if she ran off from him. Like her master before him, he would find her.
But unlike that dead batarian, she had no hope, not even the slightest prayer, of killing him.
All she could do was carry out his orders. She was to make sure that Eclipse held steady in the face of the onslaught. The humans were coming, and so was that wretched turian, Archangel. None of them would show any mercy. None would be inclined to spare her.
Had she possessed her senses, she might have recognized the fact that death at their hands would be a mercy kill.
Omega, Central Nexus
"Sarge?"
"Yes corporal?" the soldier replied, not taking his eyes off his fire lane.
"Why the hell are we even here, sir?" the junior NCO asked. "I mean this isn't our territory. This is Citadel territory. Why do we give a flying fuck about a bunch of criminals killing each other on an asteroid at the ass end of the galaxy? It's their own damn problem."
"Ours is not to wonder why, son," the sergeant replied.
"Yeah, I know the other half of that song too, sir."
"Firefly, this is Six. We're coming up," the radio squawked.
"Copy sir. Rendezvous point is clear. No sign of the Spectre yet."
Ten minutes later, the squad heard the footfalls of the command group.
"Still quiet sir," the sergeant reported. "Recon still hasn't reported any contacts."
"Tali, anything?" Shepard looked at the quarian, who shook her head.
"I still can't access the systems on that part. They were probably manually shut down."
"That's one way to put it," Aria interjected sarcastically. "Or you could say they slagged it, which is probably more accurate." The asari pointed to a smoldering building. "That's where the communications hub was."
"Smart of them," Captain Silva noted.
"When you're finished admiring their fieldwork, you can get back to clearing these fuckers off my station!" Aria snapped.
"Just waiting for our recon boys to report back," Silva retorted.
"Contact!" A number of heads swiveled in the direction of the speaker. "High velocity, big mass effect signature…it's one of ours, sir."
"Garrus," Shepard commented before moving off with both asari and the quarian in tow.
"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, why are we here?" the sergeant queried.
"Far be it from me to question orders from the top," the captain replied, "but I think there are two possible reasons. One, Captain Shepard thinks of the Spectre as a friend. Two, this is a goodwill mission. The Spectre has friends in high places, so helping him out on something like this might be important later on."
"Fucking politics," the sergeant growled.
"That's why you should never become an officer," Silva grinned.
"She's here," Garrus said without preamble as he landed.
"Who?" Shepard asked.
"Jona Sideris."
"Oh, that little cunt?" Aria's lips peeled back in a dangerous grin.
"How do you know?" the red-head wondered.
"I asked a few people," the man's tone made it clear what that had entailed. "They were even kind enough to tell me where she is right now."
"I wonder where that rat lieutenant of hers is, Sayn," Aria's grin turned downright vicious.
"Probably hiding nearby," Garrus replied. "I also know where Jester is running things from."
"Somewhere with a crapload of scum between him and us?" Shepard guessed.
"Near the auxiliary docks. That complicates things."
"He'll probably run for it if we clear out Eclipse," Silva interjected as he joined the group.
"Yeah. We'll have to hit both areas at once."
"Agreed. Time to split up," Shepard noted.
Aria's expression turned to displeasure. On one hand, she really wanted payback against Jester for taking her throne. On the other hand, Jester had clearly demonstrated his superiority in combat, and she did have a score to settle with Jona Sideris.
"Tell you what," she began, "when you see Jester, break his ribs for me. It's only fair to return the favor."
"You're taking Sideris, then?" Garrus asked.
"This is asari business, right, Justicar?"
Samara looked distinctly uncomfortable as Aria locked eyes with her.
The Olympus, Contractor Quarters
"We meet again, Admiral Hackett," Dr. Tygan said as he stood from his temporary workstation.
"Doctor," the admiral shook his hand. "I came to deliver a new potential contract opportunity to the Cydonia Institute."
"I see," Tygan's face twisted in puzzlement. "But I confess to being curious as to what this involves if the chief naval officer of the military is making the offer in person."
"Let's say that this requires discretionary release," Hackett answered quietly, letting his eyes do the talking.
Tygan pulled back slightly. "Well, I assure you that we will fully abide by the laws governing classified material."
"Just make sure you can trust your people," Hackett noted cryptically before pulling out a file, opening it, and laying it on the desk. "Some of your colleagues have already been pre-vetted by Intelligence in preparation for work on this newest project," he continued, deliberately tapping a finger on one spot on the top sheet while silencing Tygan's unspoken questions with a hard gaze. "We would prefer if you could keep the information limited to those select individuals for security purposes."
"We may have to partially brief others on staff," the doctor replied, returning his gaze to the one name the admiral had pointed to on the paper.
"Already considered that, doctor." Hackett held up a datacard. "Debriefs for each level of classification and staff. I trust you to make the proper decisions. Not for use on a non-secured terminal. Find a computer with no network access of any kind before you review it. Standard procedures."
"I understand, sir," the doctor acknowledged as the admiral turned to leave, utterly flummoxed with the strange meeting. This had been nothing like his previous experiences with the military, and the admiral had behaved quite strangely.
He shook it off. The most likely place for answers was the datacard, and he wasn't about to open that here. Not after the look Hackett had given him when talking about information security. But there was one place he could be absolutely sure it would meet the requirements. Coincidentally, that place was owned by the same colleague the admiral had pointed out on the paper.
Tygan slid his hand across the keyboard of his computer, accessing the secure communications app, before keying in the second party. Then he let the application make the connection while he turned to lock the files and datacard in his secure storage unit.
"Hello Richard," a curt female voice greeted him.
"Doctor Shen," Tygan returned. "We have a new project from the military. I'll brief you on the details as soon as I get back."
Omega, Eclipse Forward Position
The salarian lieutenant cast a nervous eye over the lines of men and women, hoping against all odds that he could find some way out. Ideally, he would escape with his position and authority in Eclipse intact, though that possibility seemed very remote indeed.
Everyone was on edge. Aria T'Loak was not known for anything resembling restraint when angered. The most infamous example of her wrath was when she got wind of some sleazeball turian who'd plied his charms on her daughter, Liselle, and when that failed, attempted to kidnap the girl.
The man had vanished, along with his entourage of sapient traffickers, only to be displayed in various stages of live vivisection for an entire year on the Extranet. Some hangers-on who'd been fortunate to share an audience with the Queen of Omega whispered of hearing faint screaming from the lower levels of the Afterlife club, suggesting that decades later, her victims were still kept alive.
The salarian shuddered involuntarily, recalling an adage that advised against getting on the wrong side of ANY asari in general. Those with a millennia to live have a long time to master the art of torture. But then again, if others stories were true, Aria might be the least terrifying. She was only an asari commando. The Archangel had demonstrated his capacity for station-clearing brutality with nothing more than high-tech armor, a steady trigger finger and a blue stick that could shatter protocomposite barriers. If his latest victims in the aftermath of his rampage into Blood Pack territory were any indication, he wasn't slowing down.
And that made him even scarier than an asari. Any soldier or mercenary worth their name or rank knew that the best way to fight an asari was to drag out the fight. Most commandos relied heavily on their biotics to make up for their physical frailty and lack of endurance. It exhausted their metabolisms and forced their race as a whole to prefer blitz and ambush tactics. But all the other races could simply keep going, as the Archangel had been for nearly four hours of continuous combat.
Still, he wasn't a super-soldier. That status was reserved for the one enemy that the salarian considered the worst option of all. The Butcher of Torfan, the poster child and exemplar of the Alliance military. She never stopped, never faltered, was incredibly vicious and violent towards her enemies, and was known to experiment or "play" with her prey. All of those behaviors could be attributed to the Alliance in general. Everyone had read up on the history and conduct of X-COM during the Ethereal War. They knew of the horrific experiments and terrible risks and gambles and dangerous augmentations used in desperation to win the war. The Torfan Example was another reminder of how vicious and vengeful the humans could be. Capture by the Alliance could arguably be the worst fate imaginable.
A sudden noise caught everyone's attention. The Eclipse soldiers aimed their weapons into the alleyway. "Who's there?" the lieutenant demanded.
"Well well, if it isn't Sayn," a familiar voice replied.
"L-lady Aria," he stammered as his forces shifted nervously.
"You know that if your boys and girls pull the trigger, you're not getting off this station alive," Aria called. "Not while the Alliance is blockading the docks."
"Fuck!" an asari trooper whispered. Sayn shared the sentiment. Somehow, Aria had Alliance military aid, and NOBODY wanted to fight them.
"But if you just walk away, you might get through this one, Sayn. You're not the one I'm here to kill."
"You've got to be kidding," Sayn retorted. "We're part of Jester's forces. We had a part in attacking you. Why would you let us go after we provoked you?"
"Because I know you," Aria's voice flowed back. "You all want to make it out of this. You guys were forced into it. I hear that Jaroth wanted to reject your little team-up, and Jester got him killed. You're a smart man, Sayn. You're a practical man who can keep that bunch of killers and mercs in check. I like that in you. The only person in Eclipse I plan to kill now is Jona Sideris. That bitch and I are due for a little talk."
Sayn grimaced as the Eclipse soldiers looked to him uncertainly. Psychotic or not, Jona had been the central icon and founder of Eclipse as an organization. They had started as a group dedicated to targeting slavers before Jona had gone off the deep end. But now, she was…a liability, he admitted to himself. She had made numerous powerful enemies, including the Queen of Omega herself. She was not a sane person at all. And her tendencies had often led to the deaths of certain new members who'd for one reason or another pissed her off. No, it was time for new leadership.
"Weapons safe," he ordered. With hesitation, the Eclipse troopers nonetheless complied.
"Good choice," Aria's voice came from directly behind him. He whirled around in shock to see her grinning at him while shrouded in a powerful blue aura. "I knew you were a smart man, Sayn."
"Do not waste her generosity," another asari voice warned. Sayn turned back to see an asari in red leathery armor, calmly standing in the middle of a number of Eclipse mercenaries while disregarding a few nervous rifle muzzles pointed at her. "Leave now, lest I be forced to kill you all."
Not even the presence of several asari Culexus thralls comforted her. Even with these nearly mindless and totally obedient comrades to defend her, she was still gripped with terror. The enemy was coming to kill her. If she ran, her mast-no, her warden Jester would kill her. She could only imagine the pain that would befall her either way.
The looming sight of the enemy approaching nearly set her off. Aria T'Loak, a woman who'd beaten her in the past, and a Justicar.
"No, no no nonononono!"
"Wow," Aria remarked. "I heard the salarians fucked you up, but I didn't know it was this bad. Last time, you at least had a spine for me to break."
"You've come to kill me, you've come to kill me!"
"Child," Samara cut in, "there are things far worse than death."
"You'll hurt me just like HE did!" Jona rambled, her biotic aura beginning to grow with her agitation. Her thralls slowly gathered around in a protective manner. "You'll enjoy it! You'll laugh, and you won't stop!"
Aria's slight smirk vanished. "Goddess, what did they do to her?"
"They said they'll protect me! You'll never hurt me again!" the thralls began growling and hissing while Jona's aura flared to new heights. "I won't let you! I WON'T LET YOU!"
With a roar, the thralls lunged forward, propelled by a powerful blast wave of biotic energy.
"Ugh! Get the fuck away from me!" Aria snarled, compressing a large quantity of air into a blue-hot grenade before throwing it into the face of a feral turian thrall. The make-shift grenade flared and unleashed a concussive wave that tore apart his body and shoved three others behind him back toward their master.
Samara swatted away a feral asari thrall, easily weathering the wave of energy. The krogan thrall behind it glowed blue briefly as she grabbed it by the shoulders before turning to smash the crest plate and hump onto the asari lying next to her. Right before impact, the blue aura faded, restoring full mass and inertia to the krogan. A loud combined crack echoed across the clearing as the asari instantly expired from a crushed chest, and the krogan suffered a snapped neck.
"Get away from me!" Both women looked back just in time to see the deranged asari mercenary propel herself at high speed at Aria. Aria only had time to cross her arms and flare her aura in an attempt to block before a terrifically powerful blow sent her sprawling across the ground.
Samara grappled with a batarian thrall before engulfing him in another blue aura and swinging him like a bat, again allowing the aura to fade just as the Culexus subject smacked into Sideris at a velocity exceeding twenty meters per second.
But Jona didn't even flinch. Her barriers simply blocked the man's body, forcing the unfortunate batarian to snap in half around her. Meanwhile, Jona had been preparing her own attack: a biotically enhanced straight-jab that accelerated mid-punch.
The justicar had never felt such a powerful impact. Her own biotics were enormously strong, on par with several matriarchs even in her matron stage. But this punch tore straight through her barriers like nothing. Only her last-second usage of a mass-reduction aura on Jona's fist prevented her from a suffering a crushed ribcage.
"You won't hurt me!" Jona growled as she recovered from that sudden burst. "You can't hurt me!"
"Oh please, that was a freebie," Aria scoffed as she cracked her neck while rubbing her bruised forearms. "The pain…is just getting started!"
Now it was Aria's turn to strike fast. Jona howled in pain as Aria appeared behind her while mashing another air grenade into her back. The explosion flash-burned the deranged asari and propelled her forward into Samara's waiting arms.
"Athame forgive me for what I am about to do," the Justicar whispered as she grabbed Jona by the head. Gritting her teeth against the pain in her chest, she slammed Sideris's face into the protocomposite ground with her mass-reduction trick. Then she hopped back one step before lunging and kicking the asari on the chin as hard as she could while once again reducing her mass.
Jona's spine arched like a bow as her body sailed back towards Aria. The Queen of Omega created another air-grenade and threw it. But Jona's body froze in mid-air before emitting yet another massive pulse of biotic energy, prematurely disrupting the grenade.
"I'm not weak anymore!" she screamed as she cast her glowing white gaze on her two opponents. "I can hurt YOU now! I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Come and try, cunt!" Aria roared back.
Jona zipped down from her aerial position right at the Queen of Omega. But this time, Aria was prepared. She dodged backwards out of the way while using her hands to create a much larger air-grenade. Jona was unable to stop herself from smashing into blazing hot biotic sphere. The heat disrupted her control of her power, forcing her to plow herself into the ground directly on top of a destabilizing explosive.
The explosion flung her upward only to be caught by Samara. The Justicar had jumped up to meet her. She once again reduced Jona's mass before spiking the asari downward. But she then enveloped the Eclipse founder in a different aura. This one tripled her mass while maintaining her enormous velocity. Samara enveloped herself in that same inverse aura before accelerating herself downward.
Jona smashed into the protocomposite hard enough to partially pulverize the surface. Before she could even attempt to get up, Samara landed with three times her mass, heels first on her spine.
As she stepped off the fallen asari, she heard a new sound. It took her a moment to recognize it: the sound of a child crying. Instantly, she was reminded of the last time she'd encountered it, when Morinth had been tearfully begging her not to take the children to the temple.
"…why?" Jona whimpered weakly through a coughing fit. "…why do…they hurt me?"
"Because you're a fucking cunt!" Aria answered darkly, striding over and hoisting the partially paralyzed asari up by the collar. "And like I said, the pain is JUST GETTING STARTED!" She punctuated her statement with an ominously glowing fist.
"Aria, please," Samara said.
"What?!" the angry Queen turned her glare on her temporary comrade.
"This child has suffered enough," the Justicar continued. "She has had a difficult life. She has known nothing but pain, through no fault of her own. She deserves mercy."
Aria snorted. "Mercy? Did you forget she's a sadistic psychopath turned Council supersoldier? And before that, she was terrorizing the Terminus Systems and killing off her own crew?!"
"She is broken," Samara replied flatly. "She never went past the level of a child. Do you intend to torture a child who has known nothing else but pain and fear? A child who has never had any real control over her life?"
Quiet agonized sobbing was the only sound that echoed in the area while both asari had a standoff. Finally, Aria huffed through her nose and threw the broken woman to the side. "Fine," she growled before moving off.
Samara moved toward Jona's trembling form. "Hush, child," she whispered, stroking the woman's face. "You don't have to hurt anymore."
"…you…can make it stop?" Sideris asked, looking at her with hopeful eyes clouded in pain and tears. It was clear she was delirious by now.
"Yes, child," Samara affirmed. "No one will ever hurt you again."
"…thank…you…" was the gurgled reply.
Samara had killed many criminals in her centuries of life. She had pitied them all for their poor choices. But this wretched girl with a horrifying past had never had any real choice or control in her life. With a gentle smile, she laid her hand on Jona's chest, right over her heart. "Sleep now, and find peace…in the embrace of the goddess."
Omega, Unknown location
At the bidding of the ancient alien intelligence, the thralls made their way deeper into the station. Hopefully, in the chaos above, no one would notice their presence. And when it came time for the humans to withdraw, they would join the exodus of the fearful to the planet of Shanxi.
And then finally, they would create a weakness in the humans to exploit. After all, even the strongest empire crumbles from within.
Codex: Biotic Specialties
The strongest and most feared of the Citadel Races fighters include those asari who have mastered biotics to a degree beyond the average commando. Biotic Specialties are techniques often unique to those individuals that afford them a massive advantage in power and combat ability over any unfortunate enough to draw their ire.
Matriarch Benezia was famed for her usage of Biotic Lightning, a chaotic and focused ranged attack that caused tremendous damage to armor and soft tissue alike.
Aria T'Loak employs the Biotic Flare. It is an ability that allows her to efficiently deal with any number of enemies either at range or in close proximity.
Jona Sideris, the Founder of the Eclipse Mercenaries, was able to augment her combat capabilities by rapidly accelerating her limbs to increase the speed and strength of her blows.
Matriarch Aethyta is known to use the Biotic Strength technique, storing biotic energy in her body and releasing it right at the moment of impact to do severe internal damage to both hard and soft targets.
The Justicar Samara displays an affinity for mass-reduction and mass-increasing fields, enabling her to engage enemies of significantly greater size and/or strength on equal footing.
Yeah, sorry, no Jester this chapter. His fight is NEXT chapter.
Fleet Admiral Hackett is getting involved in the spy game now. Say hello to An-yi "Lily" Shen and Richard Tygan again!
Side note: I have gotten some reviews questioning the wisdom in the Alliance's decision to allow humans to leave their territory or allow intragalactic trade and business relations with the Citadel. The reason is this: Espionage.
In today's world, the easiest disguise for a spy or intelligence officer is a businessman. Travel a lot, talk to different people, operate in many different countries, be familiar with "creative expenses" (read, bribery). It's the simplest cover in existence. Everyone knows it, but it's very difficult to do anything about it without jeopardizing international relations.
Same principle in this story. People who immigrate to the Citadel or the Terminus include intelligence agents under cover. Businessmen and women cross the borders of Alliance Territory repeatedly, bringing information back that the Alliance wants.
The enemy you know nothing about is the worst enemy of all. The Alliance knows this.
In keeping with the name of the chapter, the main theme is Fear.
I am of the school of thought that Fear is the most powerful and primal emotion of all. Fear drives survival instinct, and is the basis for a number of emotions. Greed could be the fear of lacking means. Anger could be the fear of lacking control. Love could be the fear of losing a person.
Fear plays a big part in how the world works. Militaries exist out of fear of attack by foreign forces. Politics exists to assuage fears and reduce chaos out of the fear of the harm it brings to different nations. Economics is a massive game of engendering and exploiting the fears of the consumers, manufacturers, traders and executives. Cities and countries exist because of fear. People banded together out of fear that by not doing so, they would have a reduced chance of survival.
Tom Clancy writes "Wars are begun by frightened men." I consider that to be true. No self-sufficient nation goes to war. Only a nation with people fearful of the consequences of not going to war would allow it.
Fear is a tremendously powerful motivator. People are more willing to act out of fear than out of desire. Often, people think of fear as a weakness. But it can be a strength.
Jona for example. She feared her past. She wanted to never suffer like that again. She gained great biotic power and influence as a mercenary out of her fear of not having it. It drove her to do great things. It made her a dangerous opponent.
Like everything, fear in moderation is a positive influence. It makes you consider your actions carefully. It drives you to act. It motivates you. Everyone has their fears, great or small. Everyone subconsciously can use those fears to steel or strengthen themselves, to drive themselves to do great things.
But there is a reason fear is generally considered a weakness. It often makes people irrational, hasty, and brittle. Face someone with their worst fears, and you can break them.
And with that, I'll leave you guys with this ominous question: what is Captain Erin Shepard's worst fear?
Hint: if you go back and read the early chapters, you might find the answer.