STAR LABS FACILITY DESTROYED

From the Eagle Butte, South Dakota Sentinel:

In the early morning hours this morning, an explosion shattered the darkness in Martindale, a small hamlet 12 miles south of Eagle Butte on Route 63, flattening an ultra-high security facility owned by STAR LABS, and knocking glass out of windows as far as 3 miles distant.

As locals know, the STAR facility, located on a secluded, 200 acre campus and isolated from any buildings closer than a mile from it, has long been rumored to be producing top-secret weapons systems for the government. STAR representatives had no comment this morning, but confirmed that no employees were injured in the blast. Police and fire officials were actually turned back at the campus gates, under authority of the STAR LABS facility director, Shareena Nowland, who cited the National Security Secrets act of 2009 as authority to assume responsibility for the investigation. Proof that all employees were accounted for and that no chemical or toxic emissions had resulted from the blast was provided to local authorities, who admitted they were hamstrung by the legal requirements of the act, and had no choice but to leave the investigation to STAR LABS.

Details of how the blast occurred are sketchy, but the closest neighbors reported hearing a series of blasts and seeing distant flashes of light, followed by a deafening explosion as the facility was torn apart from within.

No further details have been discovered, and STAR LABS officials have not returned phone calls regarding the incident.