Part 3: The Fire This Time

At a hidden signal from Admiral Reed, a young naval intelligence officer stationed at the soundboard flipped a switch.

The massive digital projector screen hanging behind the stage hummed violently to life.

Arthur spun around so fast he nearly lost his footing, grabbing the edge of the cake table to steady himself.

Illuminated on the twenty-foot screen were the original, unredacted safety stress reports.

They were internal documents, bearing Arthur Harrington’s own digital signature, proving beyond any doubt that Harrington Defense had known the emergency thermal doors installed on the Pacific Star would melt and fuse shut at temperatures above six hundred degrees.