Editing Fernando Esparza

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'''Fernando Esparza''' is a civilian contractor who worked in engineering on the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}. During the attack on the ''Infinity'' by [[Banished]] forces, Esparza fled for [[Pelican]] ''[[Echo 216]]'', commandeering the craft and becoming stranded after the conflict. In [[2560#May|May 2560]] he had a chance encounter with [[Spartan-II]] [[John-117]] after being stranded in the [[dropship]] for 6 months around the shattered remains of the [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 07|ring]].<ref name="DH">''[[Discover Hope]]''</ref> He brought the Master Chief aboard the craft shortly before it came under attack. The two became inseparable as they both needed each other, albeit for different reasons.

Eventually, after repeated viewings of the same message his recording device lost power.{{Ref/Reuse|DH}} It was almost immediately after this, however, that ''Echo 216'' alerted him to the presence of a signal with a [[Identification friend or foe|friendly]] designation. He raced to the cockpit and hailed the signal, but before he could identify himself twice he wiped away frost on the cockpit window to reveal an armored [[Spartan]] floating nearby: [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]]. Bringing the hulking warrior aboard revealed that [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN3)|his armor]]'s survival mode had been triggered. To override it, Esparza rerouted what little power remained of ''Echo 216'' into the armor, and was thrilled when parts of the Pelican's interior which had gone dark from a lack of energy suddenly flared to life thanks to the suit's [[fusion reactor]] recharging the Pelican's depleted batteries. Esparza enthusiastically welcomed the Chief back after seeing that he'd reawakened. He also noticed that something appeared to be wrong with the [[Wikipedia:Servomechanism|servos]] the man's gauntleted hands, but before he could locate a tool to check his armor's diagnostics John approached him and asked for a status report. This caught Esparza off guard, but he then realized the Chief may not know about what had happened to the nearby ring and so turned his attention to the cockpit. As the Spartan laid eyes on what remained of it he explained that they had lost everything here—though he added that he didn't even know where "here" was. Then, without warning, ''Echo 216'' was hit by the ''[[Ghost of Gbraakon]]'' which generated electrical discharges within it and enveloped it in bright light. Esparza panicked at this and signaled to the Chief that he had witnessed this sort of attack before. He advised that they needed to flee, but John disagreed, insisting that he needed a weapon, being given a pistol with only a single bullet left. At that point, Esparza sealed himself within the cockpit while the Spartan took up a position in the troop bay. The Chief opened the rear hatch, lunging himself towards the warship and landing in one of it's many hangar bays.

Almost immediately after fleeing the Spire with the Chief in tow, ''Echo 216'' was shot several times by [[Kywasky Workshop Gorespike cannon|anti-aircraft cannon]]s, forcing Esparza to make an emergency landing in a shallow stream. The final impact which stopped the dropship's forward momentum knocked Esparza briefly unconscious, but when he came to panic and disbelief seized him immediately. The Master Chief attempted to calm him but with little success. Instead, being berated by Esparza for putting them both in their present predicament. The Spartan decided he needed to eliminate the cannons, of which he'd counted three, and instructed Esparza to remain put with the Pelican until he returned. Doubtful that he would be safe on his own, Esparza protested this. Before hitting the ground he'd spotted a number of [[Condor]]s and was determined to check whether any of them retained a working [[slipspace drive]] which they could use to flee the system. The Master Chief agreed to help him with such a search, but only after he'd first dealt with the cannons.

Later, while attempting to pick up the Chief and [[The Weapon]], Esparza was kidnapped by [[Blademaster]] [[Jega 'Rdomnai]] and taken to the [[House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning]], where he was tortured by [[War Chief]] [[Escharum]] in order to lure the Master Chief into a final confrontation. The Master Chief managed to kill both 'Rdomnai and Escharum and save Esparza. When the Master Chief showed respect to the fallen Escharum, Esparza was shocked and called Escharum a "monster". The Master Chief replied that in the end, Escharum was just a soldier who had died hoping that he'd done the right thing and questioning his choices.

Esparza later picked up the Chief and the Weapon three days after the defeat of The [[Harbinger]]. He expressed relief upon seeing them, thinking that they'd been killed, and greeted the Chief with a hug. Prompted by the Weapon, Esparza, who'd only been known as Echo-216 until then, revealed his real name to the pair. The trio then flew off in their Pelican, ready to finish the fight against the remainder of the Banished on the ring. {{Linkbox|quote=yes|gallery=yes}}

His patience is not unwavering, however. He can be seen snapping at the Master Chief multiple times, irritated that his and the Spartan's motivations do not align.

[[File:Nic.jpg|thumb|300px|Nicolas Roye.{{Ref/Reuse|DCHIDH}}]]

File:HINF FernandoFaceConcepts.jpg|More concept art of Fernando's face and hair styles.