Borsk Fey'lya

"He lives in a world of shifting alliances. Borsk does what Borsk needs to do, at any given moment, to benefit Borsk. And he's so jaded by that personal philosophy that he thinks everyone else plays by the same rules."

- Luke Skywalker

Borsk Fey'lya was the Chief of State of the New Republic during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the Galaxy. Prior to his election to the New Republic's highest office, he served as a Senator and was responsible decades earlier for bringing many Bothans into the Rebel Alliance. He was also considered one of the most polarizing members of the New Republic Senate, and in the eyes of many, was little more than a power-hungry, amoral traitor.

Early Life
Borsk Fey'lya was born on Kothlis, a Bothan colony world, to the Fey'lya branch of Clan Alya. At a young age, he realized he had little aptitude in piloting and athletics, so he turned to politics. Since he was from "second-rate" Kothlis instead of Bothawui, he felt he had to push himself harder than others. With a few legitimate land deals on Bothawui, a number of Bothans latched onto him, and he found himself with great political support. Eventually, he was elected Chief Councilor of the Bothan Council. But Fey'lya's ultimate goal was to rule the Galaxy, which was under the control of Emperor Palpatine at the time. Without a means to become leader of the Galaxy, he did what most self-respecting Bothans did&mdash;joined the Bothan Spynet.

At the beginning of his career, Borsk Fey'lya was the leader of Deep Ear, a faction of the Bothan Spynet. The group was responsible for procuring the second Death Star's plans aboard the Suprosa but were later captured by Imperial forces on the planet Gellefon. Borsk managed to elude capture and met up with his alliance contact, a Mikoan known to him as Watcher, and informed her of what had happened. The two of them, along with a group of rebels who were sent to help, helped free the members of Deep Ear from Pinnacle Keep and escaped the planet to meet up with Alliance High Command at Keff Base in the Sullust system.

Rise to Power


Fey'lya came to power as a member of the Provisional Council of the Rebel Alliance, bringing the clout of his faction at a crucial moment after Garm Bel Iblis left the Rebellion to fight his own war against the Galactic Empire. Becoming one of the council members under Mon Mothma, Fey'lya staunchly opposed the greater political clout carried by other species, in specific the Mon Calamari and Admiral Ackbar, in the hopes of raising his own prestige. Seeing his own personal gain as one and the same with both the gain of his people and the gain of the New Republic, Fey'lya did whatever he could to achieve his goals.

Fey'lya reached one peak of his power during the depredations of Grand Admiral Thrawn, five years after the Battle of Endor. With Ackbar accused of treason due to false data planted by Thrawn, Fey'lya was able to acquire considerable support from various factions within the New Republic military. This pinnacle soon passed, however, when he was tricked into revealing his true (and less than favorable) opinion of the New Republic warrior on an open channel, evaporating his support among some of his staunchest defenders. Soon after, Ackbar was exonerated, and it would be years before Fey'lya recovered from this double setback.

Political Recovery
During the Black Fleet Crisis, Fey'lya's political fortunes had risen to a level of influence, resulting in becoming Chair of the Justice Council and a member of the Ruling Council. Fey'lya supported the Vote of No Confidence against Leia Organa Solo, and began whipping votes to secure his election as interim Chief. However, Leia declared war on the Yevetha before the vote came about, and the Senate supported her. After the crisis, Fey'lya was dispatched to Galantos, one of the Republic's new member worlds. Fey'lya was never known for his patience, and the Fia's attention to detail drove the Bothan to the limits of his sanity.

Fey'lya's darkest hour was the Caamas Document crisis. Organa Solo had taken a leave of absence, and Fey'lya was not chosen as her successor. However, Ponc Gavrisom, Organa Solo's interim successor, was a close ally of his. But the trouble was just beginning. Clan Alya, Fey'lya's Bothan Clan, was accused of complicity in the devastation of Caamas, and Fey'lya, as Chair of the Justice Council, was accused of letting off Bothans guilty of aiding the attack. Teaming up with Organa Solo and Gavrisom, Fey'lya managed to weather the storm, even briefly purchasing Leia's protocol droid C-3PO, so that 3PO could search Bothan bank accounts and look for those who were paid for the devastation of Caamas.

In 20 ABY, Fey'lya was an invited guest at the wedding of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade.

Chief of State
After the resignation of Leia Organa Solo from the position of Chief of State, Fey'lya was elected her successor with a three-fifths majority in the first round. The Bothan brought with him his own council, which found itself in danger as the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong emerged. Thrown into the balancing act of maintaining peace within the New Republic, attempting diplomatic relations with the Yuuzhan Vong, and keeping Luke Skywalker's Jedi under his control at all times, Fey'lya made many wrong choices, particularly in light of the Yuuzhan Vong's desire for all-out war. Fey'lya spent a great deal of his energy into keeping his public image at its best.

Fey'lya also seemed willing to sacrifice certain worlds&mdash;particularly Yavin IV&mdash;to the Yuuzhan Vong as long as vital planets like Coruscant and the Core Worlds&mdash;as well as all of Bothan Space&mdash;were spared the invaders wrath. At around this time, New Republic Intelligence Director Dif Scaur had begun working with the Chiss to develop Alpha Red, a virus designed to destroy the Yuuzhan Vong at a cellular level. It is possible that Fey'lya may have simply been trying to delay the Yuuzhan Vong until the virus was ready.

Epiphany and death
"They look on Fey'lya as a kind of minor hero." "Huh. They didn't know him like we did." "And maybe we didn't know him as well as we should have."

- Jacen Solo and Ganner Rhysode

Eventually, he realized the Jedi were the only hope for the New Republic. When Nom Anor appeared before the New Republic Senate two years into the war demanding concessions and the lives of the Jedi, Fey'lya made a complete political turn around by stating Luke Skywalker had his full support, and lashed out at Anor, calling the Yuuzhan Vong a race of cowards. But it was already too late, as the Yuuzhan Vong launched their attack on Coruscant, forcing its evacuation in the face of overwhelming numbers. Fey'lya asked his old rival, Leia Organa Solo, to rally the New Republic to victory. Believing that he had lost everything, and that he only had a life of scorn waiting for him if he lived, he stayed behind, attaching a bomb to a heart monitor and surrendering himself to the Yuuzhan Vong in hopes of taking Warmaster Tsavong Lah with him. The Yuuzhan Vong leader saw through his plan and sent Commander Romm Zqar, a subordinate, instead. Fey'lya detonated the bomb, killing himself and over twenty-five thousand Yuuzhan Vong Warriors, and destroying almost half of the Imperial Palace, including the data towers, thus preserving some of the Republic's most vital secrets. Whether or not this noble action redeemed him is questionable (indeed, some argued that he was irredeemable), but essentially Borsk Fey'lya died a hero. To both his people and the New Republic at large, he had become a modern day martyr, and his death inspired the Bothans, for the first time in centuries, to declare a state of ar'kai&mdash;total war on the Yuuzhan Vong by the Bothan people.

Behind the scenes
Borsk Fey'lya first appeared in the Thrawn Trilogy, though he is established in The Essential Chronology to have played a role in the Rebel Alliance since the defection of Garm Bel Iblis shortly after the Battle of Yavin. While his character was antagonistic and greedy, Fey'lya should not be considered evil or corrupt, merely a typical Bothan. In truth, he always did what he thought was right, and always believed that the Republic would prosper under him.

Borsk is Bothese for proud, which could accurately describe him.

In the Human Galactic Basic tongue, the name "Fey'lya" bears a close resemblance to the term "failure", a derogatory term to call a sentient.

Appearances

 * Rebellion
 * X-wing Alliance
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Masquerade
 * X-wing Rogue Squadron: Mandatory Retirement
 * X-wing: Wedge's Gamble
 * X-wing: The Krytos Trap
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command
 * X-wing: Isard's Revenge
 * Shield of Lies
 * Tyrant's Test
 * The New Rebellion
 * Specter of the Past
 * Vision of the Future
 * Union
 * Vector Prime
 * Dark Tide I: Onslaught
 * Dark Tide II: Ruin
 * Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
 * Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse
 * Balance Point
 * Edge of Victory I: Conquest
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Star by Star