The Flood: Battle of High Charity

Due to the fatigue of battle and the chaotic defense and retreat of the outpost, no one noticed the single infection form that stowed aboard. Currently hiding in one of the storage boxes taken from the LZ, the infection form waits patiently as it waits for the right time to move. The Flood can't hope to get out of the quarantine zone and off Installation 05 on its own. It needs intelligence, bodies, and war material and while the battle down below is turning to their favor they need to do something drastic to achieve its goals of spreading across the galaxy. It needs a ship capable of slip space travel. It needs High Charity. The infection form onboard is to begin the process of taking the battle into orbit above the installation and give the Flood the opportunity to capture as many jump capable ships as possible.

The phantom has come to a stop in the hangar, and the infection form hears the phantom’s passengers move out of the troop transport’s bays. It waits a few minutes, listening to the commotion going on outside the walls of the container it hides in, waiting for an opportune time to move. Then it cracks the lid of the container just large enough to slip out into the bay, and moves into the hangar. Skittering behind piles of various supplies waiting to be taken to the battle below, it takes in its new surroundings. The bay itself is quite large, being able to hold multiple phantoms and spirits on multiple floors. The banging and whirring of advanced machinery, the war cries of holy warriors ready to serve their cause and the pained cries of wounded soldiers returning from the front, the sound of commotion and conversation in many tongues and the sound of transports moving in and out of the hangar bombard the auditory senses of the infection form. It has to take a few moments in its new hiding spot to adjust to everything happening around it and get back to the task at hand. From its concealed position, it can see Covenant troops of all kinds are busily performing their tasks, preparing tansports to go back to the quarantine zone, applying aid to wounded warriors and removing the dead, stocking supplies such as food and weapons and readying them for use on the front, repairing and moving all sorts of vehicles in varying conditions of readiness and disrepair. As it continues to gather information about its surroundings the phantom it hid in began to lift off and leave, its bay once again filled with Covenant troops ready to fight.

The infection form, after some time to consider its options and how to best do them, finally decides to act and begins its course of action.