Origins of the Pervading

At first glance, nothing … appears out of place. A planet like hundreds of others, found all over the galaxy. Nor is there any indication of where exactly the signal is coming from. There is no visible transmitter or piece of technology strong enough to have its call registered from systems away.

We continue our search.

After arriving on the surface, we soon discovered that the signal became stronger or weaker depending on our position. Following this simple pattern, we were led at last to a towering mountain range on the far side of the planet.

As we approached the looming mountains, the landscape grew ever more blasted, barren, ruined, as if a devastating force had ripped across this part of the world. Based on the damage pattern, we believe this place was at some point ravaged by a cosmic dust storm. However, if that were true, it would be logical to conclude the whole planet would be affected. Never before have we seen such concentrated destruction from such a tempest. To learn more, it will be necessary to scale the imposing peaks.

The ravaged mountain range consisted of many peaks and valleys, but one oddly shaped crater caught our attention very early on. The walls of the pit were smooth, and in its center a number of concentric rings were carved into the ground.

As we descended into the bowl, we began to feel the pull of a deeply compelling force, inescapable and unmistakably coming from the circle's origin point. Strands of flickering energy arose from the rings, some drifting so far off they eventually escaped the planet's atmosphere. This is the source of the signal.

Our … suggest analyzing the crater and its energy fluctuations in order to better understand what happened here.

Based on environmental data and detailed simulations, we can safely conclude that it was indeed a celestial dust storm which moved through these peaks. In fact, it formed in this very spot! As for why it did not swallow the entire planet in the process, our best guess is that it was simply too small - analysis describes a storm that was a fraction of the size of even an average tempest.

Based on the fact that the Inetian Traders referred the Sectoral Disturbance Depressors as 'a manipulation device', and that this specific storm's energy signal was stored within their databanks, it seems likely that they were attempting to control the cosmic storm. By calculating the path it took after leaving this place, we may learn much to our advantage.