Austin Pierce was a Lieutenant General working with the US army in the early 21st century.
In September 2009, when the 456 came to Earth, Britain took control over the matter. The President of the United States wasn't happy with this, so he sent Pierce along with another general to show the President's utmost fury of the matter. Austin showed he wasn't happy in what was going on, especially when he found out that Britain dealt with the 456 before. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Three [+]Russell T Davies and James Moran, Torchwood series 3 (BBC One, 2009).) Austin, seeing the British government as responsible for the problem, took over the operation of handing over 10% of the world's children to the 456. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Four [+]John Fay, Torchwood series 3 (BBC One, 2009).)
Following the conclusion of the crisis, Pierce left Downing Street and saluted Prime Minister Brian Green. Green later considered Pierce's taking charge as "lucky", stating that as he took charge without United Nations ratification, the British government could blame America for the events of the crisis. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Five [+]Russell T Davies, Torchwood series 3 (BBC One, 2009).)
By the 2020s, he had joined UNIT and been promoted to General. He coined the name "homo aqua" to refer to the Sea Devils on seeing one's corpse. (TV: Homo Aqua) Pierce joined a diplomatic mission to venture into the Romanche Trench for peace talks with Homo Aqua. On arrival, he was the first to exit the submersible craft to make sure it was safe for the others. Pierce was killed alongside most of the other representatives when Ted Campbell detonated a sonic explosion during the talks. (TV: The Deep)
