Captain Pearce was a human Imperial officer who served in the Galactic Empire's Imperial Navy, and was attached to its clandestine Advanced Science Division. Captain Pearce was in command of an Imperial Gozanti-class cruiser that was shuttling defected clone troopers to Mount Tantiss to be used in experiments. Pearce committed suicide using a suicide shocker after a resistance network of clones attacked the light cruiser and captured Pearce.
In 18 BBY, more than a year after the Galactic Empire's formation, Pearce was present on the planet of Balmorra to oversee the transportation of mutinous clone troopers from the planet's Imperial outpost to the planet of Wayland, where the Imperial Advanced Science Division had been conducting experiments on Mount Tantiss. As a group of TK stormtroopers and a clone commando ushered the mutinous clone prisoners aboard a Gozanti-class cruiser, Pearce ordered his troopers to hasten the process, as they had a schedule to keep.
As the Gozanti left Balmorra and prepared to jump to hyperspace, the cruiser was suddenly attacked by a shuttle belonging to a network of rogue clone troopers, which disabled its shields and weapons systems. Pearce ordered his pilots to notify Imperial command for support, and issued a warning to the cruiser's stormtrooper security team to be prepared for boarding. As the ship's stormtrooper crew was gradually overwhelmed by the insurgent clones, Pearce ordered his clone commando to erase the ship's databanks to prevent its information from falling into enemy hands.
Before this could be completed, the rogue clones entered the ship's bridge and dispatched the commando and Pearce's remaining troopers, and held the officer at gunpoint. As rogue clone Nemec attempted to interrogate Pearce and threatened violence to get information out of him, Pearce stared wordlessly at the clone before biting down on a suicide shocker, killing himself instantly. As the rogue clones left the Gozanti with the freed prisoners, a Venator-class Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace in response to Pearce's distress signal. The Star Destroyer deployed a squadron of V-wing starfighters to strafe Pearce's Gozanti in an effort to kill the rogue clones, but this ultimately failed and the clones managed to escape.
Pearce was a human male with light skin, blue eyes, and short blond hair that he kept neatly slicked back. Pearce was an impatient man, and urged his troopers to work faster in order to stay on time, and could be seen becoming increasingly angered as his troopers failed to hold off a small force of rogue clones. Pearce was visibly frightened when held at gunpoint by Nemec, but ultimately decided to take his own life rather than give up information to the enemy.
Pearce wore the standard-issue grey uniform of an Imperial officer with a rank insignia plaque pinned to his chest to denote his rank, and black gloves.