Fy-Laa
Every college romance story needs a third wheel to be best friends with the male lead. For Rom and Livia, that third wheel is Fy-Laa. A Velovian living on Elonia, Fy-Laa was a university student when the Dire Wraiths invaded and joined the ranks of the Solstar Order at the same time as his fellows and became one of the first Space Knights.
Fiction[edit | edit source]
Fy-Laa was born on Granzol-326. He attended the Elonia University of Arts and Sciences as an exchange student, where he befriended Rom K'atsema and Livia. Rom profile
When mysterious meteors crashed on Elonia, Fy-Laa was digging for samples with his friends. The three set out to examine the meteors at Rom's homestead and arrived in time to see it explode in a spectacular manner. When Shah K'atsema was pulled from the wreckage and taken to the Solstar Academy Medical Center for treatment. While waiting for news, Fy-Laa went to get snacks. When he returned, Shah had turned into a Dire Wraith and Fy-Laa approved of Diavod's instructions of fleeing. After Rom had impressed Diavod with handling a Neutralizer, the three were brought before Imperator Carax who explained what the Dire Wraiths were and offerred them all a chance to join the Solstar Order to fight them. He graduated at the same time as his friends and expressed disgust at their sexual urges for one another.
The group's first posting was an unfortunate one. The Blue Mountains where Rom's home had been. When Fy-Laa began offering Rom advice from Velovian religion, he was knocked out from behind by a Wraith. When he came to, Livia had lost an eye and Rom shattered the ground beneath them as a escape route. The three landed in a watery cavern without any escape until Rom picked up an inconspicuous rock that soon enveloped both him and his Neutralizer morphing into a suit of armor. Sucking up his claustrophobia, Fy-Laa merged with the ore gaining his own armor. Soon after he'd merged with the rock, Rom slew the Wraith that had once been his mother and Fy-Laa noted his claustrophobia abating as though the armor were an extension of him and praised Rom for his quick thinking that had led them to the ore.
Back at the military headquarters of the Solstar Order, Fy-Laa drew attention that despite the many boons of the armor, they knew very little about the ore it was made from and whether or not it might become as lethal to them as it was to the Wraiths. When Orphion made large boasts about the armor's potential, Fy-Laa noted that there were only three of them wearing armor before Orphion soon announced his intent to procure a suit and begin the order of the Space Knights. While Rom went to pay a final tribute to his family, Fy-Laa returned to the test site to discover more of the armor's capabilities. Cold Fire
Fy-Laa eventually became Rom's partner. While flying through space, Fy-Laa reshaped his armor to a more bulky and menacing appearance before the two Knights arrived at the planet Verdulun-5. Breaking out their Analyzers the two discovered the Wraiths were both everywhere and nowhere. Fy-Laa landed to try and get a clearer reading only for the gelatinous ground to spring to life and cleanse his armor of impurities. When Rom tried for a clearer reading, the blob revealed itself to be a Wraith as was every other lifeform on the planet who proceeded to surround the two Knights. Battle Scars, Part 1 The Knights took flight only to realize the planet was no threat to them. The uni-mind of Verdulun-5 explained why it was giving off a Wraith signature. While Fy-Laa was overjoyed to find a potentially peaceful resolution to the Wraith war, Rom insisted the planet had to be destroyed. Fy-Laa however made an impassioned plea on the planet's behalf but his use of the word "we" made Rom realize that Fy-Laa had been assimilated into the uni-mind. Battle Scars, Part 2
Using Fy-Laa as an avatar, Verdulun-5 beat Rom to the ground Battle Scars, Part 3 so it could assimilate him and use the Space Knights to spread its influence across the galaxy. Rom managed to unleash a powerful Neutralizer blast that shattered his restraints and briefly freed Fy-Laa from the mind control. His mind temporarily clear, Fy-Laa revealed that he had become dependent on Verdulun-5 for life and could not leave. After making Rom swear not to destroy any more beautiful planets, Fy-Laa unleashed his own Neutralizer on the surface while Rom fired his own from above, destroying Verdulun-5. Fy-Laa perished in the resulting explosion but several parts of his body were claimed by a Wraith Sorcerer. Battle Scars, Part 4
Despite the long war against the Wraiths forcing Rom to abandon attachment, Rom marked the anniversary of Fy-Laa's death each and every year. Battle Scars, Part 1 Solstar protocol was that Rom should have requested a new partner after Fy-Laa's passing, Reinforcements, Part 3 but for unknown reasons, Rom declined to do so, instead continuing his mission alone. Earthfall: Part Three
Fy-Laa's arm was transferred to a facility on Earth, allowing the Dire Wraiths to study his Energy Analyzer. However, it was later stolen by Ruan Sablik and Darby Mason. Long Roads to Ruin, Part 1 Though Sablik perished in the theft, Darby was able to use Fy-Laa's Analyzer. Long Roads to Ruin, Part 2
Notes[edit | edit source]
- Though heavily hinted at in the 2017 ROM annual, it wasn't confirmed until ROM #11 that Fy-Laa became Rom's Space Knight partner.
