diff --git a/static/loader.js b/static/loader.js
index 7432dca..d3e992b 100644
--- a/static/loader.js
+++ b/static/loader.js
@@ -7,9 +7,12 @@
     's-llms', 's-conversation',
   ];
 
+  // Determine which section to show first (same logic as nav.js)
+  var _savedSection = localStorage.getItem('ttsvc_section');
+  var _activeSection = (_savedSection && SECTIONS.indexOf(_savedSection) !== -1)
+    ? _savedSection : 's-voices';
+
   // ── Fetch app version once for JS cache-busting ──────────────────────────
-  // JS files are served with ?v=<version> so the browser can cache them
-  // aggressively.  Sections use Date.now() to always get fresh HTML.
   var _appVersion = 'dev';
   try {
     var _vr = await fetch('/api/version');
@@ -17,35 +20,50 @@
     _appVersion = _vd.version || _appVersion;
   } catch (_) {}
 
-  // ── 1. Fetch all section HTML partials in parallel ────────────────────────
   var _ts = Date.now(); // sections always fresh during a session
-  await Promise.all(SECTIONS.map(async function (id) {
-    try {
-      var res = await fetch('/static/sections/' + id + '.html?v=' + _ts);
-      if (!res.ok) throw new Error(res.status + ' ' + res.statusText);
-      var el = document.getElementById(id);
-      if (el) el.innerHTML = await res.text();
-    } catch (e) {
-      console.error('[loader] section', id, 'failed:', e.message);
-      var el = document.getElementById(id);
-      if (el) el.innerHTML =
-        '<p style="color:var(--red);padding:24px">Failed to load section <b>' +
-        id + '</b>: ' + e.message + '</p>';
-    }
-  }));
 
-  // ── 2. Load JS in parallel batches ────────────────────────────────────────
+  function _inject(id, html) {
+    var el = document.getElementById(id);
+    if (el) el.innerHTML = html;
+  }
+
+  // ── 1. Load ONLY the active section before anything else ─────────────────
+  // Feature modules set up DOM event listeners — the active section's elements
+  // must exist when JS runs. Other sections are loaded in step 2.
+  try {
+    var _ar = await fetch('/static/sections/' + _activeSection + '.html?v=' + _ts);
+    if (!_ar.ok) throw new Error(_ar.status + ' ' + _ar.statusText);
+    _inject(_activeSection, await _ar.text());
+  } catch (e) {
+    var _ael = document.getElementById(_activeSection);
+    if (_ael) _ael.innerHTML =
+      '<p style="color:var(--red);padding:24px">Failed to load section <b>' +
+      _activeSection + '</b>: ' + e.message + '</p>';
+  }
+
+  // ── 2. Fetch remaining sections in background (parallel with JS loading) ──
+  // These run concurrently with utils + settings below. Because section HTML
+  // files are much smaller than JS, they finish before the feature-module batch
+  // needs them.
+  var _bgSections = Promise.all(
+    SECTIONS.filter(function (id) { return id !== _activeSection; })
+      .map(async function (id) {
+        try {
+          var res = await fetch('/static/sections/' + id + '.html?v=' + _ts);
+          if (!res.ok) throw new Error(res.status + ' ' + res.statusText);
+          _inject(id, await res.text());
+        } catch (e) {
+          var el = document.getElementById(id);
+          if (el) el.innerHTML =
+            '<p style="color:var(--red);padding:24px">Failed to load section <b>' +
+            id + '</b>: ' + e.message + '</p>';
+        }
+      })
+  );
+
+  // ── 3. Load JS in parallel batches ────────────────────────────────────────
   // Scripts with async=false are FETCHED in parallel but EXECUTED in DOM
   // insertion order — safe for modules that share a global scope.
-  //
-  // Batch order:
-  //   A) utils.js          — defines $, toast, escHtml; needed by everything
-  //   B) settings.js       — declares _appSettings; needed before features read it
-  //   C) Feature modules   — parallel fetch + ordered execute
-  //   D) init.js           — calls loadSettings() + initBenchmarkSampleControls()
-  //   E) Post-init modules — parallel fetch + ordered execute
-  //   F) nav.js            — navigation overrides; must be last
-
   function _load(src) {
     return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
       var s = document.createElement('script');
@@ -58,8 +76,6 @@
   }
 
   function _loadBatch(srcs) {
-    // Append all <script async=false> at once → browser fetches all in parallel
-    // and executes them in the order they were appended.
     return Promise.all(srcs.map(_load));
   }
 
@@ -67,6 +83,12 @@
   await _load('/static/js/utils.js');
   await _load('/static/js/settings.js');
 
+  // Wait for background sections BEFORE feature modules run.
+  // Feature modules set up event listeners on DOM elements; all section HTML
+  // must already be injected. On a local server the sections finish well before
+  // settings.js completes, so this await is typically instant.
+  await _bgSections;
+
   // C — feature modules (9 files fetched in parallel, executed in order)
   await _loadBatch([
     '/static/js/voice-inspector.js',