Standard Disclaimers apply. My characters belong to me; their characters belong to them. This is for fun. Obi Wan and Qui Gon share a close and loving father/son type relationship, completely non-slash people.

Morgan Enterprises

Death is the great equalizer...

                               From the Harvester's Journals

The Bothan security guard covered his nose with a cloth as he examined the decomposing body. He growled under his breath as he saw how battered the body was. He just hoped it had been done after the poor fool had died and not before. He carefully withdrew a small amount of blood from the body and tested it with a small device he held in his hand.

The Bothan cursed roundly and several of his compatriots looked at him curiously. "Alert the Council. We found their missing Jedi Knight. One of them at least." He amended.

***

Qui Gon Jinn was up to his neck his blaster fire as the five remotes circled him, each one a separate, potentially deadly hazard he had to deal with. Thankfully, the remotes would only stun him if a stray beam accidentally hit him. He expertly deflected the beams and tumbled behind a pillar. The remotes zoomed in on him; their intentions were very clear.

"Master?" Obi Wan's voice broke through his concentration. He raised his hand, invoking the force and stopped them telekinetically.

"What is it?" he asked as he calmly snuffed his lightsaber and clipped it on his belt.

"Yoda wants to see us both in the Council chamber," he replied.

Qui Gon's expression tightened. Something told him he wasn't going to like this. "Let's not keep them waiting," he said. Together they left the practice room.

***

Qui Gon Jinn's misgivings grew as he and his apprentice were escorted into the chamber. Instead of a full council, he only saw Masters Yoda and Mace Windu waiting for them.

"Qui Gon, we have found Master Zanar Dun." Mace Windu told him grimly.

Qui Gon hand clenched unconsciously. He and Zanar Dun had gone through temple training together and they had been close friends for many years. Master Dun had gone missing a few months ago while he and his apprentice had been overseeing a trade summit on Alderaan. Several teams had been sent in search of the missing Jedi and one of those teams had never returned. "Alive?" he asked hopefully.

Mace Windu took his friend's arm and guided him to a chair. "No I'm afraid not. He was found on Etti IV. The Bothan security guard who found him estimated that he had been dead for several weeks before they had found him."

"No. It can't be," Qui Gon's mind went numb with disbelief. Zanar had been one of the most intelligent men he had ever known, as well as being a powerful Jedi Master in his own right.

"How did he die?" Qui Gon demanded, his eyes flicking from Windu to Yoda.

"Badly," Mace replied. "We think he was tortured to death,"

Qui Gon swallowed. "What did you get him involved in?" he demanded.

"Narl Organna has long suspected Morgan Enterprises of illegal activities, but all of his own attempts to get solid evidence on the company has failed. Many of his operatives have died under suspicious circumstances and others have simply quit. He finally contacted the Brotherhood. The evidence he presented was not enough to indict Morgan Leigh, but it was enough for us to assign a Jedi Knight to investigate the company. When Jedi Knight Sitari and her apprentice went missing, we immediately suspected Morgan Enterprises." Mace Windu told them grimly.

Yoda limped over to the three men, leaning heavily on his cane. "Suspected she is of the Tyn'ari plague outbreak on Delos Three among other things." Yoda replied.

"But you couldn't find any evidence linking their disappearances to the investigations and you couldn't get the courts to give you a search warrant to raid Morgan Enterprises," Obi Wan said shrewdly.

Yoda nodded. "Correct you are. That is when we assigned Master Zanar Dun."

"And now he's dead," Qui Gon said softly, deceptively mild. "And anything he may have uncovered is gone with him."

"Convenient, isn't it?" Obi Wan remarked in disgust. "Where do we fall in?"

"We want you to get the evidence we need to bury Morgan Enterprises," Mace Windu told them. "It's there. We just need to find it."

"Very well," Qui Gon said and got up.

When the two Jedi had left, Mace Windu looked at Yoda. "Are you sure about this Master?" he asked softly.

Yoda nodded. "No choice, have we. He is the best we have at this now that Master Dun is dead."

***

"Master, I should go with you!" Obi Wan told Qui Gon as they waited for the shuttle transport to Etti IV.

Qui Gon shook his head. "No, Obi Wan. It's too dangerous." He gripped the boy's shoulder gently. "You saw the holos the Bothans sent us of Master Dun's body. Whoever did that to him is capable of anything. I am not going to risk you. Stay here. See if you can locate any of the people who have investigated Morgan Enterprises in the past. Talk to them and find out what they know. Maybe we can at least get enough evidence to warrant a raid on their data banks."

"Why do you have to go?" he asked softly.

"Morgan Leigh is currently on Etti IV. And I need to see where they found Zanar Dun." He replied grimly.

"Alright," he said, knowing quite well he wouldn't be able to dissuade his Master. "I'll stay. But be careful,"

"Always," Qui Gon replied and boarded the shuttle.

"Always. Right," the boy muttered as he watched the starship soar out of sight, his heart and mind filling with worry. His master was rarely careful, at least when his own well-being was concerned.

***

Four Days Later, Republic Corporate Sector Etti IV:

Qui Gon knelt down closely watched by the Bothan security guard as he examined the site where Zanar Dun's body had been found. "I take it no one goes by this area much," Qui Gon said dryly.

The security guard grunted agreement. "A citizen complained of the smell. We found the body stowed in a drum like that." He nodded to a stack of them piled against the wall of the alley.

"Did you find out who owned the drum he was put in?" Qui Gon asked.

The guard laughed. "This is the Corporate sector Jedi. Nobody's gonna tell us anything that doesn't come with strings attached."

Qui Gon nodded in agreement. "I hear you," he said and turned away from the site. He had learned all he could from it. "Where is Morgan Leigh's office located?"

"You sure you want to speak with her?" the security guard asked curiously as he escorted him away from the alley.

"Yes,"

The guard shrugged. It was none of his business. "I'll show you," he said.

***

Obi Wan scowled as he scanned through data Narl Organna and others had given him. On the surface, everything seemed legitimate. He frowned as he looked through the invoices. Something about them seemed strange.

"Cost overruns?" he murmured to himself. "Computer, see where these supplies are going to." He commanded as he sent the information to his master via his comm-link.

***

Qui Gon sighed as he was escorted out of Morgan Leigh's office complex. Morgan Leigh had been polite, but uncooperative. As expected. His comm-linked buzzed, alerting him to an incoming call.

"Master, I found something strange in the files I got from Narl Organna." Obi Wan's voice flickered faintly through the comm-link

"How strange?" Qui Gon asked dryly.

"Cost overruns where there shouldn't be any. The supplies seem to be going to this place," the boy said as the information was uploaded into a small, hand-held view-screen.

"I'll look into it," Qui said tiredly.

"You sound like you're having as much fun as I am," Obi Wan told him.

"Probably less. Thank you Obi Wan, I'll look into it." He said.

"You're welcome," the boy signed off and the comm-link went dead.