Mel kept poking her head into the burial chamber throughout the night. She said nothing, not wanting to distract or interrupt the ongoing work, but checking to make sure everyone was all right and sticking to the schedule she had outlined.

When Vina rose from her rack time, the asari captain reluctantly went and turned in as well. Sleep was fast but brief, and it seemed she was opening her eyes only moments after closing them. Cleaning up a little, she suited up and stepped out of the prefab dome.

Dawn was less than an hour away. Even without looking at her chrono she could tell by the feel of the air, the faint light just hinting around the rim of the mountains. The lights were still on full blast in many sections of camp. She headed toward the burial chamber, noting that Nevil was up and doing final preparations on the submersible.

"How are we looking?" She called over.

"She looks solid. Just in the middle of the last checks before I'll clear her to launch. The two mechs are already cleared."

"Data compilation?"

"Lily's up and putting the last touches on it now, and the DNA analysis from the chamber."

"Good. Brief in forty minutes, then be ready to hit the water."

"Aye, ma'am."

As she entered the burial chamber she found Vina standing just inside the doorway, and both Sam and Liara within. She started to scowl, but Vina stopped it before it could gather steam.

"She slept," she said reassuringly. "We both got here about the same time, less than fifteen minutes ago."

"All right, good. We've got a full brief in forty and then we're heading in."

"Understood."

Melara moved further inside, stepping carefully around the cases of stacked and catalogued items. Both Sam and Liara were near the three burial mounds.

"Anything new to report?" she asked as she got near.

"I could spend a lifetime here," Liara said, rising to her feet, then shaking her head. "If I thought for a single moment the Ubuuta would authorize an official dig on this site-"

"Yeah, unlikely."

"Indeed, sadly. Lily was able to find some trace DNA both in the soil and on the artifacts on the burial mounds. She should be finishing the analysis on it now. At the very least it will hopefully tell us the species of those buried here. If the DNA has no match in our systems, then we know that it is our mysterious 'Detrak'."

"What do you think is likely?"

"I would be very surprised if the samples matched rakir. Everything here dates very close together and very consistently to 40,000 years. From signs in the doorway, I would say this chamber was sealed up with mud long before that landslide covered it- it kept the artifacts more or less secure from the elements, but still much is rotten away or broken. We are showing evidence not only of advanced stone carving techniques, but the development of written language, the beginnings of art and religion, the start of historical recording, and traces of fairly sophisticated leather and bead work. Everything here is at least between three and five thousand years more advanced than the contemporary rakir would have been."

"Gotcha. You said that there was the start of written language here. Anything we can translate?"

"Not really," Liara said. "There is an abstraction to some of the lines and artwork that show the beginnings of a hieroglyphic sort of writing. We know from the history of several species that the first forms of writing tend to be pictures, and slowly become more and more abstract until we end up with letters and symbols. Still there are hints here of that transition starting to take place. I mean, here…under the image where the rakir appears to be killing a Detrak. You can see from these smaller images below it that the artist was trying to get a particular concept across with simplified stick figures- but it reveals little more than the actual image did. Whatever the reason or the cause, the Detrak were being killed by rakir. The context of the surrounding images indicate some sort of battle between the two sparked by the landing Reaper. Perhaps both species wanted to claim the lake as sacred, believing the Reaper some sort of God. Perhaps the Detrak wanted to inhabit the area but the rakir thought it cursed- and believed if they if they did so, some huge calamity would befall them all. That would be in line with even their modern idea that this whole area is poisoned and taboo."

"And it's all really just speculation. There's a reason digs like this are examined and researched and studied for decades," Sam said from where she had been standing silently.

"Yes. Likely, we will never truly know- unless the Ubuuta allows it."

"All right. Well, you two have another half an hour in here, then I want you to load up what you have and get ready to go into that lake. We have a team brief in about forty minutes, to present all data we've learned up until now. Hopefully Lily will have the DNA and water sample analysis complete and we'll get a slightly better picture of what we're really dealing with."

"We shall be out soon. I am almost as eager to see those submerged statues and this Reaper as I am to stay here and continue learning what I can about our Detrak."

"I'll just be happy if we can get at least a few real answers to our many questions. I'll see you shortly."

The sun was just starting to brighten the halo around the mountains when the group gathered for the brief. Nevil and Daenys were the first to present what they'd compiled from the scan data so far.

"The drones have managed to capture almost every inch of our aquatic Reaper," Nevil said, displaying the 3D holographic image in front of them. "There are definite design differences between it and the Reaper destroyers encountered during the war, but for the most part, those differences seem to be minor. I still cannot say conclusively if this cabling is for the gathering of geothermal energy but I see no other viable reason for it being there."

"The Reaper couldn't have been looking for anything buried deeper beneath the lake?" Vina asked.

"Seems highly unlikely. This is a glacier lake. A hundred thousand years ago, the glacier that carved it managed to widen an already existing fault line…a big crack in the mountains. In fact, we're at the cusp of two major tectonic plates. One is pushing under the other right here. That activity formed this whole mountain chain. Half of the peaks you see are volcanos, some active. It's the reason the lake runs so deeply."

"A fault would be an ideal place to try and gather geothermal energy," Dae said. "Especially a major fault such as this one. Were you to dig from the lakebed, you would only have to go half a mile or so before reaching magma."

"Yes, and the surrounding landscape is all read by our deep earth scans as stone. No way for anything to be buried. While it is possible the Reaper could be looking for something that fell into the fault before it arrived, the evidence most strongly supports it was merely trying to gather energy."

Melara frowned. "If this is as active an area as you claim, and this lake is deep enough to nearly touch the magma chambers, then this lake-"

"Is safe enough for now," Liara told her. "There is no risk of an eruption any time soon…not in this part of the chain, that is. This lake is a weak spot, and at some point it is likely where we are standing will become a new volcano, but as it stands now there is enough off pressure from other release points to prevent that occurring. Deeper scans would be necessary of course but I would suggest an eruption here would be unlikely for at least another six thousand years."

"From our scan data, looks more like ten," Nevil nodded. "Lava flows under here but it does not chamber, and the pressure is nominal."

"As long as this area isn't about to dissolve under my feet, I'm happy enough," Melara said. Liara smiled.

"I know what you mean. I have had two close encounters with erupting volcanos. I think that is enough for anyone."

"Could that be the reason the water and surrounding area are all dead?" Sam asked. "Gasses and toxic substances from the underground magma layer leaking into the water?"

"No, the answer appears to be far more mysterious and quite a lot more interesting," Lily said. Melara nodded at her.

"Tell us."

"All of my examination of the water samples revealed something quite curious. This water is completely purified. Beyond some mineral content leached from the rocks surrounding it, it is essentially pure H2O. It contains no bacteria, no algae- no microorganisms of any kind."

"Is that even possible?" Dae asked, surprised.

"Before now I would have said no, but the data is conclusive," Lily told her. "Now, here is the most curious part. I did some of my water analysis on the shore, over there. Those analysis all came up with the sterile results I just shared. However, when I took the samples over here, to run some additional tests and see if I could discover why the water was so sterile, something odd happened. The analysis showed microorganisms."

"They just…appeared?"

"No, the initial containers were open. They had acquired microorganisms from the air. I did an air sample test here in camp and they match. The water became contaminated in the time it took me to carry it from the lakeside deeper into camp. To test my hypothesis, I took another sample and sealed it against atmosphere. The scan on that sample showed it remained sterile, but almost the moment I opened it over here, microorganisms began to contaminate from the air. I tested these samples every hour, and the organisms continue to thrive without harm. Now, here is where it gets strange-"

"Here is where it gets strange?" Dae asked.

"I took water samples of our own drinking water here in camp. I tested them in camp, then just for good measure, I went to the far end of the campline and added a little dirt near where I read increased amounts of organisms in the soil. I then carried the sample to the lakeside, and took another reading. In the time it took me to cross through camp and reach the lake, the sample had become sterile. All signs of life down to the atomic level had vanished."

Liara blinked. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but I spent a good portion of the night repeating my experiment. I used different samples of dirt from different locations. I carried them to different portions of the lakeshore. I even contaminated a few samples with my own biological samples-"

When Melara lifted her brow, Lily colored. "I…spit in the cup. There are thousands of species of bacteria and other-"

"I get it."

"Each time, the samples were sterilized when I approached the lake, and started becoming contaminated when I went away from it. I compiled all my scans and compared the data, and as a result, I found a very clear line of demarcation."

She activated a holographic image of the camp and lake. A slightly curved line appeared over the beach, about halfway between water and the nearest prefab.

"Calculating based on the degree of that curve, I extrapolated this."

She touched a command, and a perfect circle appeared, completely encompassing the entire lake.

"I would need to do much further testing, ideally from different points around as well as above the lake, but of course there is no time. Given what I have found, however, it appears there is a sort of field, or dome around this lake. It is of an unknown nature and our instruments cannot pick it up, however whatever it is made of, it completely wipes out simple organisms both plant and animal based, and sterilizes the water."

"But not us."

"The more complex the life form the less effect it seems to have," she said. "Or else it is tuned only to specific forms of life and we do not qualify. It does not seem to affect us at all, though from the anecdotal information we received, it does end up affecting the rakir on some level if they immerse themselves unprotected in the actual water. On a hunch, I superimposed the location of our aquatic Reaper with this data."

She touched another command, and a spot showing the location of the Reaper appeared. She nodded. "It is in the exact center of this circle. I do not think it is too far a leap of logic to conclude that whatever this mysterious field is-or whatever its purpose…"

"It is coming from that Reaper."

"Yes."

"You said it doesn't affect more complex life. So why no fish? Why won't animals bathe here, or birds fly overhead?" Vina asked.

"It may be that it is specifically attuned only to affect life native to Nakira," she said. "However I do not believe this is the case. It is my hypothesis that this field can be felt on some level by animals and other wildlife. This area simply makes them uncomfortable, or interferes with their natural navigation. They 'sense' it is wrong, and so simply stay away. As for the fish- if microorganisms cannot survive here then the more complex forms of life that rely on them cannot either. The plants would have died as the nutrients in the soil or surrounding water vanished. The smaller fish would have starved with no plants to sustain them. Then the larger fish, and so on. This phenomenon does not just affect the water. I took soil samples at the lakeside too…they are similarly sterile."

"So that Reaper lands, starts hunting for geothermal energy, then puts out a field that wipes out all simple life under its influence," Melara said, brows knit. "We know the rakir have specialized eyesight and an extremely sensitive sense of smell. Perhaps when they entered the water-maybe just curious or alarmed at what had landed in it, or after a good old fashioned drink- the field interfered with those senses in such a way as to terrify or completely disorient them."

"Like suddenly being stricken blind, deaf, and dumb- and having all spacial awareness erased," Nevil said.

"Perhaps…" Liara shook her head. "But we were told they didn't just become confused-they lost all sense of reason, ability of speech. And it endured even after they left the lakeside. The effect was so dramatic many of them went into what sounds like full neurologic seizures and died in a very short amount of time."

"If entire areas of their brain ceased to function, or function properly, because of this field, that would happen," Lily said. "It may even be that these 'Detrak' you discovered had the same thing happen when they went into the water as well. In fact, it may very well happen if one of us goes into the water, if the water somehow concentrates this field or acts as a conduit to introduce whatever it is directly into the nervous system. None of us have tried it or come into contact with the water without protective gear."

"And none of us are going to test that hypothesis," Melara said sternly. "No one goes over this 'line' that Lily found without a full suit of protective gear from this moment forward, and certainly no one so much as touches a drop of that water without hazmat precautions. Treat it as if it were the most deadly acid. I want no accidents."

She looked around the group as they agreed, then folded her arms. "We already know that the mechs themselves provide adequate protection, and the submersible is even more suited along those lines, so we shouldn't have any issue proceeding with this mission so long as we are conscious of the danger. What did your DNA analysis from the burial site find?"

"Conclusive," Lily said. "While the samples were very old and badly degraded, I got enough to determine they are not rakir, nor do they match the biological signature of any other known sentient species in the greater galaxy. Whoever is buried in that cave, it is no sentient alien life known to us."

"More proof that the rakir were at one time sharing this world," Liara said.

"I will have to speak with the matron and the researchers at the base to see if they think it's a good idea to share this new information with the Ubuuta," Melara said. "But that is something that is secondary to our current concerns. Right now we have to focus on what's immediately in front of us. At minimum our mission today is to thoroughly scan the Reaper from close proximity- and its surrounding area. We need to try and determine if that artifact signature is coming from the Reaper itself, somewhere inside it, or somewhere in its close proximity. We need to determine if we can the exact nature of those cables and if they are in fact intended to gather geothermal energy. And- if we can determine there is no danger of indoctrination and relatively little other danger inherent in the action-we will find an access port and board that ship."

"Given the scans I compiled last night, there are at least two access points that look like workable airlocks, here…at either side of the Reaper," Nevil said. "I suggest we aim for this one here- it is more readily accessible and looks to provide the type of locking mechanism we'd need to latch on with the submersible."

"Then we will aim for that one, but I want full confidence you can lock into it with no leaks before we even attempt it. Every inch of this mission must be taken with as much caution as possible. Rush nothing, assume nothing. We cannot eliminate all risk but I want it as minimal as is feasible. If I am not convinced we can proceed with relative security I will put an immediate halt on activities and order everyone out of the lake. If I do so…you go. No arguing, no going back, no waiting for someone else in a different transport. Secure yourselves back in camp first- then rescue or aid efforts can be assessed here if necessary, and we can decide if the risks can be ameliorated or if this mission needs to be fully reassessed. Any questions?"

Silence fell. She let it stretch for a moment before nodding. "Very well. With the needed equipment we only have transport room in the submersible and mechs for six. Lily, I want you to stay here in camp. You will be coordinating all scans and communications. That way if someone is injured and in serious need of medical attention we won't have to worry about evacing you back to camp along with them to get to the appropriate equipment, or evac them back to the Normandy."

"I understand," Lily said, though she looked a little crestfallen. Clearly, the idea of going aboard the aquatic Reaper was a hard lure to resist.

"Lily, I have Glyph," Liara said. "I can link him up to the camp feeds and activate him once we are on board…if we make it that far. You will be able to see and hear everything that he does. It is not quite the same, I admit, but it is better than just remote scans and audio feeds."

Lily smiled. "Thank you."

"All right. If there are no further concerns then we need to get underway. Dae, I want you piloting the submersible. Nevil, you're her navigator. Vina and I will take the mechs again and be security escort and scout surveillance, clearing the path for the submersible. If the equipment is all loaded let's get final checks underway and get in the water."