Nigel Pryce
"Complain less. Iterate more."
Double first at Cambridge, computer science and electrical engineering, three years. MI6 Technical Operations for eleven years. Designed surveillance systems still running. Built penetration tools operatives used for years. Passed over for field assignment seven times because he was too valuable in the lab. The chip developed slowly and then all at once.
During a signals intelligence operation in St. Petersburg, he identified a compact experimental energy cell representing power density forty times Western capability. The field team was on exfil. The facility was momentarily unmonitored. He went and got it. Carried it through Pulkovo Airport in a modified laptop case. The incident became international within 72 hours. Two assets burned. One safe house network abandoned. He was given the choice between prosecution and quiet termination. He chose termination. He kept the powercell.
Built over three years. Modular components: carbon composite frame (40% strength enhancement), compressed gas mobility rig (4-story vertical, landing is a known problem), electronic warfare suite (his masterpiece, Override considers it extraordinary and annoying), hardlight defensive array, full-spectrum optical suite. Everything runs on the Core. Everything works better in his workshop than in the field.
He is an antagonist. He shows up uninvited, makes everything measurably worse, and leaves believing he contributed. He is powerful but not tactical. He charges in because the problem is interesting and because proving he belongs matters more than whether his involvement helps. He is not reckless out of stupidity. He is reckless out of need.
He does not think of himself as a villain. He thinks of himself as an independent operator pursuing legitimate objectives. The fact that his intervention consistently makes situations worse is information he processes after the fact, reframes as external variables, and does not allow to update his prior about whether to intervene next time.
He calls it a principled objection to the arbitrary distribution of capability. The distinction matters enormously to him and to nobody else. MI6 is aware of exactly where he sits on their list. "Do not engage unless directed. Always inform other agencies." He knows. It infuriates him daily.
Real. The most uncomplicated relationship either of them has.
He makes excellent tea. This is canon.
Back to Characters