Blood of the Chozo

This article is written from the Real Life point of view

"What's the matter? All I said was that Komaytos look like little Metr-"

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Non-canon warning: This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the Metroid series in the overall storyline by Nintendo.

For the substance, see Chozo DNA.

Blood of the Chozo was a non-canon, interactive online story run by Nintendo Power Source, the AOL page of Nintendo of America. While initiated by Nintendo Power Source staffers, the rest of the story was written as a collaborative fan fiction.

Description

Blood of the Chozo began with an introductory post written by Nintendo Power Source staffers in the page's Epic Center, providing a base story to the online fan writers. The writers were asked to create their own character and write stories within the established framework, with writers loaning characters to each other and expanding on plot points occasionally provided by Nintendo Power Source staffers (presented in-universe through the Overdog computer). The character had to be from one of five guilds: bounty hunters, engineers, merchants, marshals, and trogs.

The story is set a few years after Mother Brain's defeat (presumably the recently-released Super Metroid, although Metroid may also be applicable) and involved an invasion by the "True Chozo", a branch of the Chozo species that split off and broke off contact with the peaceful members of their race, in the Messina star system. This invasion was predicted by the Overdog, a computer who helped organize a rebellion. Samus Aran played a minimal role in the context of the scenario, only known to have participated in the beginning and at the end.

Fans wrote over 6,000 posts throughout the story. Blood of the Chozo ran for three and a half months before ending. It was subsequently covered in a four page article of Nintendo Power volume 84 in May 1996.

A complete archive of Blood of the Chozo is not currently available. One writer, Cerberus, retained copies of the text chiefly regarding "The Rebellion" plot and shared the largely forgotten story with the Metroid community via Metroid Database, which made it publicly available in 2008.

Starting story elements

These are the story elements officially provided by Nintendo Power Source staffers at the start of Blood of the Chozo. A larger list of known fan-created characters, planets, weapons, and other miscellaneous elements can be found here.

Characters

• The Chozo are a reclusive race of bird-like aliens. Small groups of Chozo have recently emigrated to other planets and started to participate in guilds. Sullust is one such Chozo, and Nintendo Power Source staffers listed the Chozo as one of the races for fan-created characters. Chozo community leaders have not responded to inquiries regarding the True Chozo.
• The Overdog is a supercomputer. It features a network of information able to access Chozo mythology, and has advanced sensors for detecting technology. It can predict the future to a limited extent, foretelling the date when the subspace distortion field can be breached. Out-of-universe, the Overdog was used by Nintendo Power Source staffers to provide the story's exposition and direction. The name "Overdog" might be portmanteau of the contrasting words "overlord" and "underdog", which would presumably refer to the Overdog's key role in overseeing the rebellion against the more powerful True Chozo.
• Samus Aran is the most renowned bounty hunter in the galaxy. Despite being the protagonist of the Metroid series, Samus is hardly seen or mentioned in the Blood of the Chozo story; her Gunship is shot down by True Chozo fighters and crashes on Tranquility Base airfield. She spends most of the story in recovery at the guild medical facility.
• Sullust is the first Chozo "plebe" at Tranquility Base, just starting a Bounty Hunter apprenticeship. He is taunted and called "Mr. Adventure" by the other plebes, but he is apprenticed to a highly-reputed female Hunter (heavily implied to be Samus Aran) and hopes that he will finally earn some respect. Shortly after receiving his assignment, Sullust and the other plebes rescue Samus when she crash-lands at Tranquility Base airfield.
• The True Chozo are the central antagonists. They command a massive ship, constructed within the hollowed-out shell of an asteroid, and a squadron of fighters sent to attack targets across the Messina system while ordering that the system submits. Very little concrete information is provided in the starting post, with their backstory ultimately being fleshed out by fan writers such as Joshman773.
• Tyull Hovan is a reporter for Charybdis VidNews. He narrates a news story about Samus Aran's crash-landing at the Messina system, the invasion of the True Chozo, and the subspace distortion field surrounding Charybdis.

Locations

• Charybdis is a planet in the Messina star system, and a major setting of much of the story. Tyull Hovan is the news anchor for Charybdis VidNews. Shortly after the True Chozo attacks began, Charybdis was cut off from the rest of the system by an immense subspace distortion field. Its name is derived from Charybdis, a mythical sea monster.
• Messina is a distant star system serving as the main setting of Blood of the Chozo. It is invaded by the True Chozo at the start of the story. Charybdis and Tranquility Base are both located in the Messina star system.
• Tranquility Base is a location in the Messina star system. Bounty Hunter plebes such as Sullust stay at Tranquility Base. The base's airfield is where Samus Aran crashed her gunship when attacked during the invasion of the True Chozo.

Miscellaneous

• Charybdis VidNews is the news station on planet Charybdis, in the Messina star system. Tyull Hovan is the anchor for Charybdis VidNews, reporting that the True Chozo had invaded Messina.

Official data

Introductory post

The wall chrono winked joyfully at him: It's 4a.m.! Time to clock out! Sullust blew his breath out his beak and nose in a sudden burst of exasperation and relief. For once, things were going his way. After a year as the first Chozo plebe at Tranquility Base, he'd finally be able to get off the graveyard maintenance shift and start his bounty hunter apprenticeship in earnest. He closed his locker, sealed it with a press of his talon over the sensor, then turned and headed for the double doors that swung out onto the edge of the tarmac.

Though Sullust was nervous about his new assignment, he'd be happy to leave the other plebes and their taunts behind him. "Mr. Adventure," they called him behind his back and to his face. Well, it sure showed them when the advanced training assignments were posted and they saw who he'd be apprenticed to for the first rotation! Of course, with her reputation, that meant he'd have to work that much harder to make the grade. But just think! A good eval from her could open a lot of doors for him when he finally...!

Sullust's daydreams were interrupted by a flash that painted the hallway with long stripes of light and shadow. This was immediately followed by a shockwave that rattled the building down to its reinforced foundations. Sullust wasn't even aware of the klaxons and emergency lights, reacting by reflex to the crisis in all the ways his training had imprinted on his mind. Locker open, suit on, helmet lock, gear secure, and he was off to the airstrip in less than a minute. It wasn't until he came close to the wreck that he realized whose ship it was.

With the other plebes at his back, he fought his way through the smoke, dousing flames as they jumped at him, trying to see if the command pod was still intact. The greasy plumes were so thick, he nearly rammed his visor into the smeared plex of the cockpit canopy before he realized that he'd reached his goal. The battered pod had come free of the airframe and was lying on its side. The plebes righted it, then made sure it was thoroughly doused with cooling foam before they used the manual override to pop the canopy. Her visor was open, and her glassy eyes took some moment to focus on them. She was slightly dazed, but she wore that familiar sardonic grin they'd all come to respect and fear, just a little bit.

"Well now, boys," she drawled, "what took you so fraggin' long?"

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This is Tyull Hovan for Charybdis VidNews. We've just been informed of a grave threat to the Messina star system. Samus Aran, a bounty hunter of some repute, crash landed this morning at the guild's Tranquility Base airfield. If you recall, it was Samus that single-handedly destroyed the infamous pirate leader known as Mother Brain and ended the Metroid threat a few standard solar years ago. She was taken to the guild medical facility for treatment of a concussion and other injuries. If not for the fact that she managed to don her battle armor during re-entry, she might not have survived.

Samus reports that on her approach to our system, she was overtaken by a massive ship, constructed within the hollowed out shell of an asteroid. She managed to evade the fighters sent in pursuit, but not before her ship was badly damaged. The asteroid ship has taken up a position beyond our outermost planet, hiding within a cluster of other asteroids, effectively masking itself from detailed long-range inspection.

We do know, however, that fighters sent out from the asteroid ship have already begun attacking targets across the system, killing beings and destroying property seemingly at random. The only communications received from the invaders have been the words, "The True Chozo are here. Submit."

Viewers will recall that the Chozo are a reclusive bird-like humanoid race from across the quadrant. It was this race that saved Samus from a pirate attack as a child and raised her as one of their own. It is only recently that small numbers of Chozo have begun to emigrate to other planets and participate in several guilds. Little is known about Chozo culture, and we have no idea who these "True Chozo" are or what their connection with other Chozo may be. Inquiries to local Chozo community leaders have gone unanswered. The Overdog computer indicates that there may be some reference to the "True Chozo" in Chozo mythology, but data is sketchy, and no conclusions can yet be made.

Attempts at further communication with the invaders went unanswered, and shortly after the attacks began, Charybdis was cut off from the rest of the system by an immense subspace distortion field. Neither communications nor travel are possible through the field, at least for us. The invaders are apparently able to come and go as they please. The Overdog's sensors confirmed that the aliens' technology is superior to our own, but not by too much, so there is hope. The people of Charybdis are asking the guilds to help us weather this crisis. We need to find a way through the distortion field, so that we may contact the other planets in the system. We must gather our resources and arms, find out who and what the aliens are, exploit any intelligence we can gather about them, and drive them out or destroy them.

The Overdog has foretold that a way through the distortion will be discovered on 12/27. At that time, the Overdog will post information on the new planets that you can explore. We'll keep you updated as this amazing story unfolds. This is Tyull Hovan, reporting virtual for Charybdis VidNews.

Guild instruction

The guilds are designed to be like the character classes found in traditional RPGs. They're meant to give the rest of the players an indication of what your motivations and abilties [sic] might be like, and to give you a little bit of structure to work with. Of course, not every character in your story will be a guild member, and you'll always be interacting with beings from all walks of life. As you contribute to the adventure, you can use as many characters as you want, but we recommend that you stay focused on only one to three major figures of your own, just to keep things focused.

The only races we've assumed are in this adventure are human and Chozo. The rest are up to you! You can create any kind of race you wish to fulfill the needs of your story, as long as they conform to the rules of the game (no magic users, for example).

Characters may be in only one guild at a time, though their allegiances may change, if your story warrants it. We've appointed guild masters to keep track of their group's activities and report on them through a periodic on-line newsletter (check your guild's folder for the latest issue). This way, you can be informed about what your partners are doing, and what's happening with other groups. The newsletters can also be used as part of the ongoing adventure, for example, placing classified ads for partners or resources wanted or for sale.

The Bounty Hunter's Guild

Though they operate outside the normal boundaries of law enforcement, the bounty hunters have a proud tradition to uphold justice. It is not illegal to be a bounty hunter (indeed, many planetary governments actively employ them), but some law enforcement and government officials think that the hunters are as bad as the criminals they pursue. They don't have as many rules or as much structure as planetary police forces, but they do have a strict code of honor.

The Engineer's Guild

Engineers are freelancers who create and repair most any sort of mechanical or technological device, including weapons systems for bounty hunters. Some are specialists in one area or another, while others are jacks-of-all-trades, dealing with whatever tech is hot at the moment. Engineers also serve aboard starships, keeping all systems in good operating order.

The Marshal's Guild

The association of official law enforcers who uphold local and system-wide ordinances. Some marshals are stationed in specific cities, regions or planets, while others roam as "free agents." Marshals can be either elected or hired by contract to their posts. The marshals see themselves as true defenders of the law, and consider the bounty hunters dangerous rogues.

The Merchant's Guild

The Merchant's Guild helps regulate commerce around the system, but members also use their money and resources to influence the other guilds. Merchants often don't care who they deal with, as long as they get a fair price. While most of their activities are above board, some members are not above skirting the law to get what they want.

The Trogs

The Trogs are not a recognized guild, but actually a loose association of people living on the edge of Messina society. They beg, borrow or scavenge whatever they need from wherever they can get it, including the guilds. Some Trogs are people who wanted to embark on lives of adventure without following the codes of the guilds, while others are homeless and jobless with nowhere else to go. Trogs often hire themselves out as mercenaries, private detectives or troubleshooters.

Continuity

Blood of the Chozo is regarded as non-canonical. The official material written by Nintendo Power Source staffers contains details, characters, and names that have never been referenced again. The rest of the story is essentially fan fiction and is not regarded as part of the official canon.

In one excerpt from the Nintendo Power volume 84 article, Samus's backstory contains multiple details that contradict later canon. She is stated to be 6 years old at the time of the Space Pirates' raid on K-2L; the official manga Metroid: Volume 1 would later reveal her age to be 3, although Metroid: Other M concept art puts her at 4-6 years old. Two of Samus's family members (implied to be her parents) are named Captain Thea Aran and Chief Engineer Avram Aran, while they are named Virginia Aran and Chief Rodney Aran in Metroid: Volume 1. Furthermore, the excerpt mentions Samus's 4-year-old younger brother Solomon Aran, while Samus is not known to have any siblings in canon.

While fans incorporated characters from the Super Metroid comic into Blood of the Chozo, Armstrong Houston is referred to as "Houston Barrimonde". It is only confirmed in the text that they are intended to be the same character.

Blood of the Chozo sparked some renewed fan interest in 2017, when the Chozo Memories of Metroid: Samus Returns revealed an antagonistic faction of the Chozo. While this concept is very similar to the True Chozo, there has been no confirmation that Blood of the Chozo influenced the development of Samus Returns.

External links

• Metroid Database news article, posted 9/14/08: [1]
• Hosted on Metroid Database: [2]
• ZIP file containing "The Rebellion" story and article in Nintendo Power: [3]

Nintendo Power article

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.