[quote]The Stars would've obliterated the Flood[/quote]And destroy resources, and bring about the extinction of millions of species. The speed at which the Flood spread means you need to cause the sun to go supernova as soon as they arrive in system so they don't grab a new ship and leave with more Flood. Additionally, what happens when the Flood detect this strategy? All they'd need to do is jump past the stars and exit slipspace at core Forerunner worlds, or the Capitol itself. Then what? Or what happens when the Precursor architecture begins reactivating and join the Flood ranks? It's an effective strategy, but not one they can use short term or on a large scale.

[quote]And destroy resources, and bring about the extinction of millions of species. [/quote] This is pretty much the only arguable part of your post. I mean it could work temporarily, but sacrificing millions of species is much more affordable than perishing every life form in the known galaxy

Except the difference is that all of them were cataloged. For a moment of utter desolation, life was preserved. So that was my only arguable point? Hell, we don't even know what it takes to artificially cause a sun to go supernova. When the Flood realize what the Forerunners are doing, what happens when they bypass the majority of the Ecumene and head right to the core worlds and capitol? Are the Forerunners just going to cause those stars to go supernova too? Destroy their critical and crucial systems and locations? What then when the Precursor Architecture reactivates? How the hell are suns going supernova (mind you one of the functions of the Star Roads was to move suns, and alter their density) going to stop objects that can only be destroyed by technology that disrupts neural pathways? Additionally, the effects of causing a massive amount of suns going supernova might be even more disruptive than the Halo Array. The Forerunner homeworld, Ghibalb, is still uninhabitable after the Forerunners caused a series of suns in the Orion Complex to go supernova after a stellar accident. Lastly: [i]"[u][b]After exhausting every other strategic option[/b][/u], my creators activated the rings. They, and all additional sentient life within three radii of the galactic center, died, as planned." -Cutscene, The Great Journey, Halo 2[/i]