Brilliant Gift

The Brilliant Gift was a Covenant Spirit dropship that crashed in the swamps near a Flood Containment Facility in 343 Guilty Spark; while it doesn't pose a threat when you see it and won't attack you, the Covenant survivors will.

The Flood somehow managed to retrieve the ship and put it back in working condition in order to board the Infinite Succor and escape the ring.

It is to be noted that the Flood were infected Human Combat forms armed with human weapons and NOT Covenant. They were likely members of the former Fire Team Charlie who, along with Captain Jacob Keyes, were attacked by the Flood.

Despite the command crew's orders to the contrary, the dropship crash landed into the Infinite Succor's hanger and was irreparably damaged, killing some of the Covenant crewmen stationed there. However, it ultimately did not matter since the Flood killed most of the witnesses and soon spread throughout the Infinite Succor, infecting the entire crew and the creatures in the hunting ground except for the Legate. One of the most notable combatants in the battle was Rtas 'Vadumee, Spec Ops Commander and later Fleetmaster.