Carrier Form

When an Infection Form takes over a body that is unsuitable for combat, or once a infected form is damaged beyond usefulness, it becomes a Carrier Form. Eventually when a Combat Form has lived long enough, it too will mutate into a carrier, regardless of damage taken. Speculations indicate that Unggoy that are infected often become Carrier Forms. There is much question as to whether a Jackal can be infected by the Flood; some speculate their avian nature precludes hollow bones that lack the mass of Calcium a Flood Infection Form would need to take over the body of a Jackal.

Carrier Forms perpetuate the Flood species by acting as incubators for new Infection Forms and keeping them safe until they're fully developed. Once the Infection Forms are ready, the carrier simply explodes spontaneously, sending the new Infection Forms flying into the air. As soon as they are released, they begin searching for new hosts.

It should be noted that Carrier Forms will sometimes not wait until full maturation has occurred, and will simply get close to an enemy and explode, sending the Infection Forms flying at the unsuspecting and often damaged enemies. These should be considered dangerous even though they may not have any other means of inflicting damage.

Carrier Forms are usually considered slow and of little threat. However, one particularly dangerous trait of exploding Carrier Forms is the explosive chain reactions they can cause. A Carrier explosion will cause any other Carriers close enough to explode also. They also cause any nearby grenades to explode. This means a single Carrier can cause a massive explosion filling much of a room. This can be used to a soldier's advantage if there are Combat or Infection Forms surrounding the Carrier.