This was a really fun one-shot to work on! I've always been interested in the events surrounding Ferus Olin's death (he's a favorite character of him), and the fact that he gives up his life to save Leia Organa and the other Rebels is really interesting. So, here is my take on that particular event, going along with canon (although I did take the liberty of switching up some of Ferus' life just a teeny bit). This covers the events right after A New Hope all the way into Return of the Jedi and beyond.
Enjoy!
Glass crunched underneath her boots, and Leia winced at the sound. She could hear the other Rebels moving slowly behind her, their search lights flashing around in slow arcs. Three hours since the evacuation had been completed, and there was hardly anything left of the buildings in the prison compound.
Leia turned her flashlight onto the walls, noting the deep gouges and burn marks. "Luke!"
The blonde man jogged over, stopping next to her and pointing his light at the walls.
"They definitely came down this way," Leia said, directing her light back at the corridor stretching out ahead of them.
"Sergeant!" Luke called, beckoning the man over. "I want a team of seven to scout ahead; I will be accompanying you. Vader could still be here."
The man nodded. "Yes sir." He turned to the others that had gathered and called out seven of them. With Luke in the lead, the group disappeared farther up the corridor.
Leia took a shuddering breath, closing her eyes for a moment. She felt a strong hand on her shoulder, and she turned to Han Solo.
"Don't worry, Leia. We'll find this Ilee fellow." He cleared his throat, glancing back at Chewbacca. The giant Wookiee was directing another man to check a room, one they had probably missed. "So, were you and he, uh, close?"
Leia stared at him incredulously. "Have you lost your mind, Han? Fess Ilee is nearly twice my age. He's only ever been a close family friend."
"Alright, your worship, sorry for asking." Han backed up, both of his hands raised. Leia rolled her eyes, turning back to the corridor marked with lightsaber burns.
Leia kept her flashlight trained on the walls. The burn marks grew in size, proving the increase of fighting that had occurred only a few hours prior. She turned the corner, seeing Luke and the other men clustered together in the corridor. Luke turned to her as she approached.
"The entire building is clear; Vader is gone…again." He couldn't hide the bitterness in his voice. Leia touched his arm.
"You'll get your chance, Luke. I believe in you." She craned her neck to see over his shoulder. "Did you..?"
Luke sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, we found him. He's…"
Leia was already pushing past him toward the group of men. "Let me through!" She shoved the last man aside and stopped with a small gasp.
"Leia…" Luke put his hand on her shoulder, drawing her away from the sight into the warmth of his solid chest. His hand rubbed circles on her back. "I'm sorry, so very sorry."
"He protected me," she whispered with a choked sob. "All of us… He was so much, and we didn't even know it…"
"I know. Come on." Luke gently led her away, looking back at the body laid out on the floor. It was unmistakably Fess Ilee; his brown and silver-streaked hair was neatly combed back, despite the grueling duel he'd just been through (Luke wondered if the man had used hair spray?), and his clothes were neat, except for the massive hole in his chest. It must have been a painful way to die; Luke had been shot once or twice back on Tatooine, but trying to imagine the intense burning in your chest as it slowly killed you…
He nodded toward the sergeant, and the men scrambled to lift the body up. As they did, a slender metal cylinder fell from Ilee's hand, hitting the floor with a clang.
Leia stopped, her spine straightening. She ducked out of Luke's embrace and walked the few steps to retrieve the ancient weapon.
"I wonder how long he's had this," she mused quietly, forcing herself to keep her eyes averted from the body. "I wish…" Leia lifted her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Let's go."
The lighting was dim inside the chilled room. It wasn't normal to bring a body back to the base, but Leia had made an exception this time. She walked slowly around the metal table, running her fingers slowly across the surface.
"I didn't think I would see you again, Fess," Leia said, stopping to stand by the man's shoulder. His clothes had been changed, and if it weren't for the unnatural stillness of his chest, he could have been alive. "It seemed so strange that you came back after so many years; I guess my father had something to do with that, didn't he, Fess?" She sighed, closing her eyes. "Of course, your name isn't Fess Ilee, is it? I did my research really well this time. I think you'd be proud; you were the one who taught me to be thorough."
Leia paused, looking down at the man she'd come to love as a second father. Fess Ilee had walked into her life ten years ago, introduced to her by her father, and become one of her most trusted friends. Besides tutoring her in peaceful diplomacy, Fess Ilee had coached her quietly on inner strength, reading people, and other tactics she'd used during her career in the Imperial Senate. He had amazed her; his quiet demeanor and gentle smile had won her twelve year old heart immediately, and he'd been one of her favorite tutors while still residing on Alderaan.
When she had moved on to join the Imperial Senate, Fess Ilee had been there to see her off, only to disappear for years afterward. When he had reappeared some weeks ago, it had been almost like the old days. Leia had only been too glad to work with him again, and Fess slipped back into his old role of teaching her gently. Luke hadn't asked any questions, and Han hadn't been around to ask any questions.
Leia turned away from her mentor for a moment, suppressing a shuddering sigh. "Your real name was Ferus Olin; I read all about you, Fess. You were a Jedi during the prosperous years of the Galactic Rebublic, and you were an officer during the Clone Wars. When the Empire took over, my father hired you to protect me, but you had to keep your identity secret. On the side, you tracked down other surviving Jedi and created covers for them so deep, even the Empire couldn't trace them." Her voice broke, and she turned to look back at the man laid out on the table before her. "I didn't know you were Jedi, Fess. I could have… I don't know what I would have done, but you gave up so much for all of us…"
She heard the soft scuff of a footstep behind her and turned. Luke had stopped in the doorway, watching her quietly. His gaze flicked to the body and then back to her.
"Are you alright, Leia?" he asked quietly. He took a step closer, hands hanging idly by his sides.
"I know who he is," she replied, crossing her arms across her chest. "I finally dug around and…he's not Fess Ilee. I called him that for so long, I guess I just thought that's who he really was. He…he was a close friend of mine, and he was only my friend because my father paid him to be. We needed him, and he gave his life for us."
Luke came to stand next to her. "He was a good man. I didn't know him like I did, but I believe he genuinely cared about you."
She nodded slowly. "I want to… I want to give Fess a proper funeral; a Jedi funeral. Can we do that for him, Luke?"
"Of course we can. He deserves that, at least."
The flames crackled, and Leia resisted the urge to scrunch her face at the unpleasant smell permeating the air. It was a strange ritual, she had decided moments ago; the Jedi had always burned their dead. She understood they had to release the person's spirit back into the Force, but couldn't there have been a less smelly way to do it?
Luke stood to her right, and Han and Chewbacca had taken up positions to his right. Leia wrapped her arms around herself, despite the warmth in the air. She briefly registered Luke's hand on her shoulder, a comforting touch. Han frowned, and Chewie was silent.
"It's almost over," Luke whispered. "This is…" There weren't any real words to describe the seriousness of the event unfolding before them. It had been years since any Jedi had roamed the galaxy, and for a funeral to occur… It was surreal, to say the least. It almost felt as if they had stepped back in time to the glorious days before the Republic's fall.
"Do you think his spirit is with the Force now?" Leia turned her dark eyes up toward Luke. He nodded slowly, gaze still fixed on the pyre before them.
"Ben told me as soon as the fire is set on the Jedi, their spirit departs. Ferus Olin is at peace now."
Leia dropped her gaze, shivering. It was things like this she didn't understand. She was glad Luke was the Jedi-in-training and not she; the supernatural side of things was not clear to her.
"If you want, I'll stay to be sure the flames go out cleanly." Luke squeezed her shoulder affectionately, offering a small smile. Leia tried to return the gesture but found she could only nod.
"Come on, your worship." Han walked over, coming to stand on her left. "Let's go; this place is giving me the creeps."
Normally, she would have rolled her eyes at his comment, but Leia could only stare at Luke. His blue eyes softened with understanding.
"I'll save the ashes," he mouthed as they walked away.
The halls were silent, cloaked with a thick air of secrets long since buried within the ancient walls. Leia reached across the small space between her and Han, looking for his hand. He glanced down at her with a slight smile and a wink- she smiled back at him- and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
Up ahead, Luke walked purposefully toward the doors that had been sealed shut nearly three decades before. The stone pillars on either side were massive, carved elegantly to represent both sides of the Force. It was a chilling sight, to be certain, but in the daylight, Leia found she didn't much care.
"This is incredible," Luke's breathless whisper echoed back, and he tilted his head back to look at the two carvings. The pillar on the left was in the likeness of a serene man, his lightsaber held straight. The details of his clothing belied the fact he was a Jedi. The second pillar on the right was darker; Leia idly wondered if the builders had planned to use two different colored rocks. The cloak designed on this one had been brought up to conceal the figure's face, and there was a harder edge to the entire structure: Sith.
"Hurry up, would you?" There was no mistaking the excited edge to Luke's voice. For being a well-trained Jedi Knight, he still sometimes sounded like the eager twenty year old they had met so many years ago. Leia smiled at the memory.
"I don't know if those doors are going to open, kid. Maybe we should wait until we have a building crew or somebody come in. Luke, come on-"
Han stopped, staring slack-jawed as the massive doors slowly began to open, as if of their own accord. Luke had his hand stretched out, his eyes closed in concentration. Leia came to stand next to him, watching as the two doors swung open and came to a stop with a resonating thud.
"We're in." Luke stepped forward, slowly. His cloak brushed across the floor, and the sounds diminished. Leia felt herself holding her breath as they entered the ancient Jedi mausoleum, and even Han was keeping his usual snide remarks to himself.
The walls were lined with shallow alcoves, marked with names and carved details. Some were histories, Leia noticed, and others just appeared to be of the Jedi themselves who were buried in this part of the old Temple.
"There're so many names," she whispered, lightly touching one name plate, the dust coming off in clumps on her fingers. "Adi Gallia…"
"We need to find an empty one, if possible." Luke looked back at her, his arm tightening around the canister he held. Leia swallowed past the lump in her throat, still managing a smile.
"You're home now, Ferus," she said, glancing up at the ceiling and noting the alcoves continued up and out of sight. "Thank you for being my hero."