PROLOGUE: A Song for Aram

For those who succeeded on the Science roll, you know that many Portal Builder artifacts are adorned with presumed alien writing known as portal glyphs. Despite immense efforts by the xeno-archaeological community, no one has yet been able to accurately decipher these glyphs. There are guesses as to what they mean, but no definitive answers.

What portal archaeologists have determined is that there are different styles of glyphs, and most glyphs fall into one of three broad historical periods based on lexigrammic similarities. They are "Early," "Middle," and "Late Era" glyphs. Stylistically, the glyph seems to be Early Era. Artifacts from the Early Era of the Portal Builders are estimated to be over 500,000 cycles old and from the early days of Portal Builder civilization. Artifacts from this period are usually more simplistic when compared to later artifacts. However, these "simplistic" artifacts still produce effects that are miraculous by human standards. Early Era artifacts are generally focused on travel, cartography, and communication.

You have a few options. You can purchase an exo-shell, which is a fully sealed space suit for use in vacuum and dangerous environments. It has 8 hours of built-in air, and the wearer gains a little protection (Armor 2). However, the exo-shell's bulkiness imposes a -2 penalty to Dexterity rolls. The exo-shell is not cheap (2,000 birr) but it's a good investment, since you will likely need it again in the future. So far, I believe only Brahim owns one, which makes sense as he's the ship engineer.

Alternately, instead of an exo-shell, you can buy a survival mask which covers your entire face. It provides one hour of oxygen in an oxygen-free environment. On a planet like Jina, which already has oxygen, it filters out harmful substances from the air for you. This means that on Jina you can wear it indefinitely. Costs 500 birr.

On Jina, as long as you at least have a survival mask/respirator, you can get away with not wearing an exo-shell. If you are only going outside for brief periods of time, you can simply layer yourself in regular clothes, making sure that none of your skin is exposed. Even if you have exposed skin, you'll be fine as long as you aren't outside for more than an hour of two. The sulfuric acid vapors in the air are mild enough that they don't cause immediate burns. Just make sure you don't expose your eyes or lungs to the vapors. Any exposed mucous membranes take damage immediately.

A thermostatic suit is also fully sealed from the environment but much thinner than a space suit. More like a form-fitting hazmat suit. Consequently, it doesn't give you the Dexterity penalty that an exo-shell does. However, it also doesn't provide its own air supply, so you'll have to wear it with a survival mask. A thermostatic suit costs 1,100 birr. Paired with a mask, that's 1,600 birr.

I'm going to keep this brief so as not to hold up the group.

Give me a Manipulation roll, Farouk.

Okay, so Tarek, Zahra, and Farouk run their errands and go back to the ship. Once everyone else chimes in, I'll get going with the next scene.

@Farouk, since you failed the Manipulation roll, he only gives you what you ask for. No extra information of particular import.

It's worth a shot, since you and Khadija are friends of a sort. Give me a Manipulation roll, but at -2 penalty because of Khadija's higher Reputation stat. If you've been reduced to zero dice, go ahead and roll 2D6.

You can definitely create a fake using the ship's fabricator and 3D printer. You'll just need to pick up some sedimentary stone. You can easily buy a piece of stonework in the Spice Plaza and cannabalize that.

However, the replica won't stand up to close archaeological scrutiny (i.e., chemical tests or imaging scan). But to human eyes and hands, the fake will be completely indistinguishable from the real artifact. It'll depend on how carefully the item gets tested.

It'll also depend on how well your TECHNOLOGY roll goes.