Fernando Esparza
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Fernando Esparza | |
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Male[3] |
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Height: |
180.3 centimeters (5 ft 11.0 in)[1] |
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86.2 kilograms (190 lb)[1] |
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Hair color: |
Dark brown[3] |
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Eye color: |
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]