Fernando Esparza

"This is UNSC Pelican Echo 216. Can you hear me?"

- Fernando Esparza tries to hail a friendly signal.

Fernando Esparza is a serviceman of the United Nations Space Command Armed Forces who piloted the Pelican Echo 216. In May 2560 he had a chance encounter with Spartan-II John-117 after being stranded in his dropship for some time around the shattered remains of the Halo Installation 07. He brought the Master Chief aboard his craft shortly before it came under attack. The two of them were later shot down by anti-aircraft cannons set up by the Banished, the occupying force on the broken ring.

Biography
"We lost. Lost everything. There's nothing left for us here. I don't even know where here is."

- The pilot lets the Chief know about their present situation.

At some point in early 2560 this pilot was asleep in the cockpit of his Pelican around Installation 07 when a shaking of the craft and repeated warnings suddenly woke him. Pressure was building in multiple lines but he managed to initiate a protocol which caused the warnings to cease. Just then, however, a piece of debris impacted Echo 216's rear, creating a breach. Her pilot rushed to seal it and was successful in doing so, but in the process, he slipped and fell from the box he had been standing on to reach it. When he hit the floor a recording device came out of his pocket and rolled away. This device—containing a recorded message from his wife and daughter—was a small comfort to him over the weeks which followed, during which time he remained stranded in the Pelican near the damaged ring.

Eventually, after repeated viewings of the same message his recording device lost power. It was almost immediately after this, however, that Echo 216 alerted him to the presence of a signal with a 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 his armor's survival mode had been triggered. To override it the pilot rerouted what little power remained to 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 that generated by the suit's fusion reactor. The pilot enthusiastically welcomed the Chief back after seeing that he'd reawakened. He also noticed that something appeared to be wrong with the 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 Echo 216's pilot 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 something which generated electrical discharges within it and enveloped it in bright light. Her pilot 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, instead stating that they needed to fight. At that point, the pilot sealed himself within the cockpit while the Spartan took up a position in the troop bay. The Chief told him to get ready right before the pilot opened the rear hatch so he could go on the offensive.

On May 28 the pilot found himself flying Echo 216 through a series of newly-created gorges—thanks to the breakup of the ring—whilst being fired at by anti-aircraft cannons constructed by the Banished. The Pelican took at least a hit each from two of cannons, forcing her pilot to make an emergency landing in a shallow stream. The final impact which stopped the dropship's forward momentum made knocked her pilot 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 the pilot 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 the pilot to remain put with the Pelican until he returned. Doubtful that he would be safe on his own, the pilot protested this. Before hitting the ground he'd spotted a number of Condors 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.

Personality and traits
"I'll be safe? Safe?! I haven't been "safe" since I found you! I found you, remember? You were out there on your own and you'd still be out there if it wasn't for me! I thought I was going home!"

- The pilot frustrated with Chief after their Pelican was shot down by anti-air cannons.

Echo 216's pilot cares deeply for his wife and daughter, both of whom he missed terribly during the prolonged period of isolation he experienced aboard his Pelican. Even then, at the lowest point in his life, he demonstrated extraordinary resilience. Despite being out of food and water, and being cold, isolated, over-exerted, and trapped, he did not give up. When he eventually discovered the Master Chief, he felt relief and triumph.

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



Production notes
"We're not talking a lot about the pilot at E3 this year. But he is a new character to the Halo universe and we're really taking our time to introduce the pilot and bring him in for players in a really careful way; where you get to learn about the pilot and emotionally connect with him throughout this piece. You'll be seeing the pilot more in Halo Infinite."

- 343 Industries studio head Chris Lee speaks to the pilot's introduction. Details of this pilot's character design, such as the UNSC logo on his flight suit, are meant to showcase the art direction pursued for Halo Infinite—one that draws significant inspiration from the most iconic and historic parts of the Halo franchise. Echo 216 and her pilot were first introduced in the 2019 Electronic Entertainment Expo trailer for Halo Infinite, dubbed "Discover Hope". According to 343 Industries, the pilot will be an important character within that game. In Discover Hope, his resuscitation of John-117 and the life and courage the Chief then brings him were meant to speak to the theme of rebirth. Both Mega Construx and Wicked Cool Toys have produced representations of the character that will become availiable for purchase. Wicked Cool Toys' figure will come armed with a BR75 battle rifle and an earthen base to stand on.

He will be voiced by Nicolas Roye, and the character was named by Roye himself, after his two best friends from childhood.

List of appearances

 * Discover Hope
 * Halo Infinite