Fernando Esparza
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Fernando Esparza | |
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Male[3] |
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180.3 centimeters (5 ft 11.0 in)[1] |
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86.2 kilograms (190 lb)[1] |
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Dark brown[3] |
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Brown[3] |
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Civilian contractor[1] |
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CC-434323[1] | |
- Fernando Esparza: "I'm not you. I'm not a pilot. I'm not even a soldier, a marine! I'm a fraud. I stole that Pelican. I stole it! You know why? Of course you don't. Have you ever been scared? So scared that you... I'm worthless. You should leave me here with the rest of the garbage."
- John-117: "We all fail. We all make mistakes. It's what makes us human."
- Fernando Esparza: "I'm sorry, Chief. But how have you ever failed?"
- John-117: "I should have protected Cortana. Stopped everything from going wrong. I failed her. I will not fail you."
- — Fernando Esparza's despondent outburst being met with John-117 revealing his failures.[4]
Fernando Esparza, nicknamed Echo 216 after the Pelican with the eponymous designation,[5] or simply The Pilot, is a civilian contractor who worked in engineering on the UNSC Infinity.[1][6]
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Fernando Esparza was born on Charybdis IX on May 7, 2518.[1] He has a wife and a young daughter, Iahlee Esparza.[3][Note 1] Esparza and his wife could not decide on their daughter's name until the day she was born.[2] Alitza's father operated a family-owned cantina and suggested that Esparza come work there, but Esparza instead aspired to be an engineer and eventually chose to volunteer with the UNSC as a civilian contractor.[7]
Although the Esparza family survived humanity's war with the Covenant, the emergence of Cortana and her faction, the Created, brought Guardians to the family's homeworld in late 2558. Esparza feared that his family was gone for good when the planet-killers subdued Earth's colonies, but remained hopeful that his wife and daughter miraculously survived.[8]
Battle for Zeta Halo[edit]
Escaping Infinity[edit]
On December 12, 2559, Esparza was onboard the UNSC Infinity when it was ambushed by Banished forces upon arrival at Installation 07.[9] Upon hearing that Master Chief John-117 was defeated, Esparza panicked and fled for Pelican Echo 216,[6] commandeering the craft and leaving the Infinity alone instead of trying to fill the dropship's troop bay with other evacuating personnel.[10] When looking back on it later, Esparza could not remember seeing anyone else in the hangar bay, but he could not be certain, and he deeply regretted not doing more to save others.[11] After fleeing the Infinity aboard Echo 216, he became stranded.[1][4] During his time adrift, Esparza left numerous personal audio messages for his wife inside Echo 216,[8] while using the message on a holorecorder from an unknown serviceman's wife and daughter for comfort as it reminded him of his own family.[10]
Finding Master Chief[edit]
- Main article: Battle for Zeta Halo
- "How long has it been since I met you? Six hours? Maybe seven. It's been... eventful. Six months on my own, surviving... barely. Seems like a dream now. This on the other hand... mostly feels like a nightmare. Mostly."
- — Esparza recounts his time at Zeta Halo to John-117.[6]
After being stranded in the dropship for six months, in May 2560,[12] he came across John-117 around the shattered remains of the Halo ring; the Spartan's armor had triggered survival mode, keeping him alive all that time. Esparza brought John-117 onboard Echo 216 and rerouted the Pelican's power to the Spartan's armor, awakening the Chief. Their introduction was brief, with Esparza revealing to the Master Chief that it's been nearly six months since the initial battle with the Banished over the ring. Then, without warning, Echo 216 was hit by the Ghost of Gbraakon's stasis beam; Esparza began to panic, but the Chief was resolved to fight, leaving the Pelican to infiltrate the warship. While Esparza recharged the Pelican's batteries, the Chief made his way to the dreadnought's bridge to shut down its stasis beam. However, the system was locked down, so the Spartan opted to scuttle the ship instead. Chief and Echo 216 narrowly escaped the dreadnought's destruction; Esparza piloted the dropship to pickup the Spartan shortly afterwards.[3]
Fighting Escharum's Banished[edit]
Esparza then reluctantly followed John-117's instruction to bring the Pelican to the subterranean section at the damaged portion of the ring. There, the Chief jumped out, in search of a UNSC signal.[13] The Spartan eventually emerged from the ring's surface, clearing out the garrison and landing pad at Outpost Tremonius for Echo 216 to land. Init