Exploration
A singing planet in the Tulip Nebula
Zenith observers picked up a signal from a gas giant deep in the nebula that repeats every 47 seconds. It sounds strikingly like an old lullaby.
For three weeks, the Envoy observation station in Z-2 Tulip Nebula has been recording regular radio pulses on the same frequency. The source is a giant gas planet hiding behind the nebula's violet veil, one that does not even have a name yet.
When station chief Dr. Selin Arkan turned the signal into sound, no one on the team could speak: seven rising and falling notes, almost identical to an old lullaby sung to children in the Zenith colonies. "Either this planet has been listening to us for centuries," Arkan said, "or we learned this lullaby from it."
The Zenith Republic is preparing to send a research fleet. Pirate raiders are reported to be following the signal into the nebula, so pilots passing through are advised to keep their shields full.