The Tangle, Nessus

Failsafe: Captain, friendly Ghost? I have been wondering, recently, what became of two members of the Exodus Black crew. They left on their own, a looong time ago. Never came back.

Ghost: Um, sure, Failsafe. Where do we start?

Failsafe: The local Vex will have the data I need to begin the search.

Ghost collects data chips from destroyed Vex

Failsafe: The Vex noted two humans passing through this region ages ago. Beings from Earth were a rare occurrence back then. I've located a Conflux with more information.

Ghost: Failsafe… you're not expecting your crew mates to still be alive, are you?

Failsafe: No, they are very dead. But I want to know what happened.

Ghost: The missing crew. What were they like?

Failsafe: One was a scientist and philosopher. The other an engineer.

Ghost: If they are out there, we'll find them.

Ghost hacks the conflux while the Guardian protects them.

Failsafe: Captain, follow these coordinates. The Vex are testing you, and have created a holographic placard for our convenience. Presumably, my missing crew were forced to take part in a similar experiment.

On top of one of the blocks

Ghost: If I'm reading this right, when the Vex first installed them, there were over two hundred of these here. But as the conversion process went along they all got… absorbed.

The Guardian follows the hologram to a series of platforms

Failsafe: The test demands we reach three data modules.

Ghost: This test was meant for humans?

Failsafe: The contents have been calibrated to challenge a Guardian, though they dont refer to you by that title.

Ghost: What do they call us?

Failsafe: "Those who wield that which we cannot simulate."

Ghost: Huh, catchy.

The Guardian interacts with the three Vex data cores.

Ghost: Your missing crew, how did they get separated?

Failsafe: They disagreed with Captain Jacobson's decisions and they… departed. My conflict resolution software was unable to amend the situation. So, I gave them what provisions I could, more than the requisite amount. I knew they would be… more vulnerable in the wild. But I could not change their fate.

The Guardian continues to follow the Vex hologram

Ghost: Still no sign of your crew, Failsafe. We'll keep looking.

Failsafe: I appreciate your efforts Captain, friendly Ghost.

The Guardian destroys a Vex ambush

Ghost: I'm reading a very feint distress signal. It's ancient

Ghost scans a very small Vex gate

Ghost: Okay, so this gate is too small for a Hydra to fit through. But according to this, dozens of Hydra passed through it before it broke down. So, either the Gate got smaller at some point, or there are hundreds of tiny Hydras out there somewhere.

Over by a rock, The Guardian discovers two human bodies in environmental suits.

Ghost: Um, Failsafe?

Failsafe: The bodies are outside my sensor range, but I can detect them through your scan.

Ghost: I'm sorry. It must have been hard to lose them. I dont know what I would do if… never mind. Were they a good crew?

Failsafe: Yes, friendly Ghost. The memory of what happened to them will live forever in me. And so, in a way, they will never die.