Lige (Shrike): Difference between revisions

In this and later timelines, Jefuty directly worked a deal with Colonel [[Kämpfe]], making it a condition to also evacuate her sister Lige. Unaware of Lige's nature, Kämpfe verbally agreed to Jefuty's conditions but did not include Lige in the mission orders of [[operation Bakery]], which would create drastic complications.<ref name=FinalII /> Jefuty hoped to join the [[Antarctic Union]] where Helena and Philip hailed from, hoping to find a place to live in peace with Lige.<ref name=C14 /> Jefuty and Lige embarked on the convoy manned by [[MID]] Squad Fox 2-2 under Lieutenant [[Anderson]] and made way towards their extraction zone. On 18 December 2092, around 8AM, the convoy was ambushed by URNC troops under Colonel [[Beria]]'s orders. Beria had received orders to capture Jefuty and Lige on behalf of Professor [[William]], but attempted to destroy them out of personal revenge.

All MID agents were killed and Jefuty told Lige to flee ahead of her while she slowed down their pursuers, but Lige ran into a tank and her body was utterly destroyed. An enraged Jefuty destroyed the tank with a rocket launcher before being forced to flee by enemy troops.<ref>{{cite|rc|Chapter 1, Prologue}}</ref><ref name=C3P>{{cite|rc|Chapter 3, Prologue}}</ref> Later, Jefuty noticed when passing by the road where Lige was killed that her remains had been recovered this time, meaning that the URNC had figured out her identity.<ref name=C11>{{cite|rc|Chapter 1, Act 1}}</ref>

At Küie cliff, which overlooked the base, Jefuty connected telepathically with Lige, but Lige's body had already been taken over by the Shrike, leaking their location to the URNC troops and causing their demise.<ref>{{cite|rc|Chapter 1, Act 6}}</ref>

While passing through an [[Epiphyllum]] field to reach the URNC base, Jefuty detected Lige's presence and reflexively established a telepathic connection, compromising their position.<ref name=C26>{{cite|rc|Chapter 2, Act 6}}</ref> They were attacked by Lige, who was ordered to bring back Jefuty's head, but bested her by exposing her to concentrated Collapse radiation from burning Epiphyllum flowers. Jefuty was badly wounded after being impaled by [[Sugar]]'s tail, coated in neurotoxins, but the AU force managed to leave the area by jumping into a subterranean river.

With the help of [[Carl]], who had already infiltrated the URNC base alone, the AU force reached the lab where Lige was detained, but Lige suddenly broke out of her healing tank and killed Atena before spawning Mitotic Specimens to attack Jefuty. After taking out the clones with a knife coated in her blood, Jefuty attempted to calm down Lige, but was run through with a blade-arm. Talking through Lige, the Shrike consciousness taunted Jefuty, saying that escaping through higher dimensions wouldn't save her, and Jefuty shot herself in the head with her side arm.<ref name=C29>{{cite|rc|Chapter 2, Act 9}}</ref>

Now aware that Lige would be deployed in the contamination zone, Jefuty went with Mendo to the Epiphyllum field, while Atena and Carl prepared to lure the garrison out of the base in case Lige was not where Jefuty expected.<ref name=C3P /> Reaching the Epiphyllum field before the URNC, Jefuty crafted blood bullets to prepare for a fight against Lige, but only Mitotic Specimens were deployed. Luring ELID creatures to tie down the enemy troops, Jefuty and Mendo started to leave the area to return to the URNC base,<ref name=C31>{{cite|rc|Chapter 3, Act 1}}</ref> but they ran into Lige. When Jefuty was about to be attacked by ELIDs, Lige temporarily took back control of her body to absorb the creatures into herself and save her sister. The operation left Lige weakened, but her body was too unstable to be captured and Jefuty and Mendo left the area.<ref>{{cite|rc|Chapter 3, Act 2}}</ref>

While Carl's orders were to call in an air strike against the URNC base to eliminate William, Jefuty convinced him to let her rescue Lige first, in order to deploy bombs filled with her blood to weaken the Shrikes that would otherwise protect William from the bombardment. Jefuty also wanted to assess the situation for herself since the events of this timeline unfolded differently even when she took the same actions.<ref name=C33>{{cite|rc|Chapter 3, Act 3}}</ref> Before entering the base's lab, Jefuty warned Mendo that they would be ambushed (since Atena had died there in the previous timeline), but Mendo insisted to follow her. Sugar and Mitotic specimens revealed themselves, but were crushed by the crumbling building when [[Kirill]] detonated the explosives he had planted in the lab, enabling Jefuty and Mendo to take Lige and flee.<ref name=C35>{{cite|rc|Chapter 3, Act 5}}</ref>

After fighting and killing the Core Consciousness, the AU forces made way to the evacuation point.<ref name=Nightmare /> On the way, the Progenitor launched an attack on Lige's mind, but she managed to fight back and the AU forces severely weakened the Werewolf force attacking them. After they departed, they were tracked down by Sugar, who could sense Lige's mind. Observing Sugar's abilities, Jefuty concluded that she was in fact a higher form of Shrike. The AU's route was cut by a URNC ontingent led by Kirill, out to kill both the AU and Werewolves as revenge for the murder of Beria.<ref>{{cite|rc|Chapter 4, Forward Pressure}}</ref>

On the way to Larne, the AU force received a radio call from Kirill, who informed them that Beria had been killed by Sugar. Beria's last order was for Kirill to bring their battle fortress to the AU. In Larne, they joined back Squad Razor and Carl received the battle fortress' control key as Kirill breathed his last. Lige felt the presence of Shrike cells on Kirill's body, announcing the impending arrival of Sugar.<ref name=Treach /><ref name=Rapid /> After a long fight, the Antarctican “Trolley” aircraft Mustang 6 carried an air strike on the city, seemingly eliminating Sugar.<ref>{{cite|rc|Chapter 4, The Final Battle I}}</ref>

Jefuty's memories were transferred back to the trip between the URNC base and Larne, in a different timeline where Beria had not yet fought Sugar. Jefuty warned that Larne was not a safe evacuation point, and after some discussion, selected an air strip near Mineral Water City.<ref name=C51 />

After successfully pushing back the Werewolves and Sugar in Mineral Water City, the AU force retreated to the air field to wait for transport White Crane I, but were again attacked by Sugar, who assumed the massive form of a Reflection of the Progenitor.<ref>{{cite|rc|Chapter 5, Act 2}}</ref> With the help of air bombardment from Mustang 6, the AU force entered the Reflection of the Progenitor's body to destroy it from the inside.