Chapter 13 - Torres Gets Reed’s Old Office
Years passed.
Seaman Torres became Petty Officer Torres.
Then Chief Torres.
When he was eventually assigned to the training command, someone joked
that he might get Reed’s old office.
He did.
The first thing he hung on the wall was a red safety tag.
Claire visited during an inspection.
She saw it.
“You’re subtle.”
“I learned from you.”
“That is absolutely false.”
Torres laughed.
Tank Three remained in service after complete modernization.
Its history became part of instructor training.
Not as mythology.
As a case study.
What went wrong?
Unsafe equipment remained available.
Authority went unchallenged.
Credentials were shared.
Reporting pathways were fragmented.
Financial conflicts were poorly monitored.
People saw pieces but not the system.
Claire appreciated that the official report did not reduce everything to
Reed’s personality.
He had made terrible decisions.
So had Cole.
Vale had orchestrated crimes.
May you like
But systems had given them room.
Fixing only the people would have left the next failure waiting.
