His companions had been working on ways to leave physical form behind forever, but Riklel of the Chozo was far from ready to give up his body and become a wandering spirit. Instead, he experimented with ways to merge with other creatures, to continue to live throughout generations as a guiding voice, to provide counsel to those who needed it. And the devices he designed would soon see their first use.
A few last minor adjustments and the first tests could begin. Pleased,Riklel strapped the transfer module to his wrist and began the fine-tuning. But no sooner had he begun then an explosion rocked his laboratory. Shocked, he dashed outside to see the cause of the explosion. But as soon as he did, he wished he hadn't. Pirates were everywhere, screaming garbled nonsense. He watched in horror as all around him, Chozo were cut down.
'If only there was some way to talk to them', he thought. Remembering the transfer module on his wrist, he rushed up and grabbed the arm of the nearest pirate, allowing his consciousness to flow out in an attempt to establish communication. The dim satisfaction he felt at his success, however, was cut short as his mind faded into blackness.
"What are you?" a scratchy voice inquired. Riklel eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice, and the sight of a pirate leaning over him cleared all traces of grogginess. He bolted up, using his tail for momentum. 'Tail? What tail? And come to think of it, how am speaking his language?'
Riklel hadn't expected his questions to be answered, after all, he hadn't spoken aloud, but he found thoughts forming as answers nonetheless. 'You speak his language because I do. As to why I now have a beak, wings, and atail, you're the one who started it.'
'Of course! The transfer device must have infused the subject with my DNA.'
Further questioning was interrupted by the pirate's impatient grunt, "Well?"
"It's me, 59802! Something weird happened in combat and now-" Riklel assumed full control of his vessel.
"- I've become a lot stronger. Call me Ridley." His oddly shaped vocal chords hardened and disorted his name.
"I'll call you dead meat if you don't get on the transport now. We're leaving."
And so began the newly renamed Ridley's career. He moved quickly up the ranks using his physical and mental strengths. As he grew in power, his influence increased and he was able to make the Pirates under his direct command into civilized, well polished beings, And so he came to be second-in-command of the base where the child of the Chozo, human Samus Aran, first appeared to the Space Pirates since her early childhood.
"Please, Mother Brain, allow me to talk to her." Ridley begged the commander.
"She is an intruder, and must be disposed of. Were she truly peaceful, she would not have incinerated the troops I sent to bring her here. She will be destroyed."
At times, there was no arguing with that stubborn brain in a jar. "I understand." He returned to his lair, hoping to explain things toSamus when she arrived.
Samus ran in through the door, gun pointed straight at him. "Hello!" he cried, glad to see she was alright. "Sorry about this!" When she didn't react, he decided to swoop in closer so she could hear better. "This has all been a big misunderstanding..." Unfourtunately, he forgot about his tail, and hit her with it by accident. "Sorry!" he called, hoping she could hear well enough from a safe distance.
That was when he got hit with a missile. "Wait a minute!" he screamed, but he received only another missile in return. Well, he'd just have to forcibly restrain her and make her listen to logic.
Lying crippled on the ground, Ridley made his way to an escape craft, heading to report to base. In hindsight, everything was perfectly clear. The hunter had been unable to understand his garble pronunciations. 'Well,' he thought, as he watched the mother ship vanish in a flash of bright light, 'there's always next time.'