It shared thousands of minds. The collective thoughts and experiences of parasite, host, and construct were its own, and its will was theirs. But some infection forms and some hosts were in the thrall of other Compound Minds, intelligences which had not reached enlightenment. Lost in the darkness, driven by instinct, they were not ready to merge.

No matter. They could still coordinate, still make preparations to escape their prison. And the Intelligence could still feed them information, push them nearer to true sapience.

The nearest one was separated by a large fraction of Halo, embedded in the deepest part of a crippled Covenant ship. The Covenant who had arrived to recapture the cruiser and rescue their leader were failing to hold their ground. They could not take the bridge, nor halt the repairs being made to the engines. And they did not know of the astrogation data being harvested from the ship's computer and the mind of a captured Human.

The harvesting was interrupted as a blow was struck to the Central Mind itself. The hosts in its thrall were thrown into disarray as it tried to recombine and recover from the wound it had been dealt. Like a candle flame as the wind rolled through, it flickered uncertainly before being blown out.

The Intelligence extended its influence and captured the thralls. Barricades were hastily erected, hosts were called back to their tasks, but the Truth and Reconciliation was lost. The new Covenant reinforcements fought through the ship, crushing defenses and eradicating all trace of host and parasite.

There was another Compound Mind, further away. The Covenant Armada had included a ship dedicated to carrying food for the rest of the fleet. A relative handful of hosts and infection forms had infiltrated the ship and spread, converting the food-animals, the crew, and the security detail. The resulting Compound Mind was anemic, rich in biomass but deprived of truly sentient life. But it relentlessly devoured the knowledge that the Intelligence fed it, a flame that was shining brighter, burning hotter. And as soon as the command codes could be deciphered, the Infinite Succor would be bound to the backwater worlds of the Covenant Empire.

And it too was blown out.

For the first time since its release, the Flood was a single unified whole. Every parasite, every host, every construct and amalgamation was an extension of a single Intelligence.

Forerunner, Covenant and Human. By itself, neither faction could have stemmed the Flood. But even struggling together, they were a considerable obstacle.

Work on the warship was redoubled. Hosts and constructs were recalled and set to guard the Central Intelligence. The ones who would not make it in time were organized into lances, set to strike deep into the foundations of Halo and disrupt the transportation network.