And what is the best way to spend these next two days?

Continuing to build things...

...and planning. They do very much still need a plan that's not just "stay here and hope for the best" with a side of "mind-attack everyone who gets anywhere close."

Building things is important. But how about further exploration of the mysterious ruins? Ideally before two days come to pass.

Was there anything more they needed to explore there?

Well, there is a vast complex of spatially distorted structures in there. Who knows what they could find? Or the magic principles that they could rediscover?

Can't they get that information from the little not-quite-sapient protocols in there, instead of going exploring?

That could work too.

(Temperance really wanted to explore the ancient magical ruins.)

Yes, well, kid, unless the ancient magical ruins have lots of resources they can actually use they're a curiosity at best.

Temperance keeps contributing to the good of the colony.

So does Isra.

Contributing's fine, but they still need a plan.

They mentioned a portal down there...

Possibly just one of the many interesting things they can find.

But following the aboleths sounds like a terrible idea. Granted, they could aim the portal to somewhere else. Assuming they could find somewhere habitable to escape.

Why, terrible idea?

Well, what are the odds that they would gladly welcome with open tentacles the weird aliens from the home planet that they wrote off as doomed? Why risk when they can just shoot everything that goes through the portal?

That makes sense.

But they don't really know how to even make portals like that.

True, and people should go research that.

Temperance is totally going to be part of the team that is going to research the ruins themselves for important clues, that is totally thing they could and should do.

Yes, but that's a resource and they need an actual plan before committing to getting it. Are they fleeing the system with the flayers? No grand stand against their tyrannical fist?

Well, maybe they have weapons down there? Or war-based applications for portals.

Is it safe for the Federation to know that kind of magic is even possible? She guesses if they evacuate they could pretend some weird accident killed everyone and destroyed all the new mysterious magic...?

That's a possible solution, what with everyone thinking the flayers are actually evil and terribly powerful.

It all depends on what they can find and salvage from both the not-quite-sapient protocols and the ruins, though. How are the efforts with the former going?

They're mostly not. Protocols are still behind the Perception barrier, and after the mini-flayers contacted the main population and reported back, nothing new happened.