Roger Jameson Ashford is an English spy and operative for the British Secret Intelligence Service. Born and raised in Oxfordshire, he has worked as an undercover operative for the SIS for a significant part of his life under a number of different false identities. His most notable false identity is that of Arthur Russell, a Canadian from Vancouver who became a banker after leaving military service; as Russell, he entered the Canadian Resistance to rile up the Canadian populace against the Americans.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Roger was born in the Ashford estate in County Oxfordshire, England, to Jameson and Annette Ashford as the youngest of three children. His upbringing was uneventful and lavish, though the wealth of the Ashfords in England diminished when the European Commonwealth fragmented in 2060 after the conclusion of the Euro-Middle Eastern War. That same year, Roger entered service in the Royal Marines of the British Armed Forces. He served in 42 Commando for just over three years. By the time he left the military, he was a Colour Sergeant.
Working for SIS[]
When Roger got out of the Royal Marines in 2063, he was approached by the Secret Intelligence Service, who offered him a position as an operative thanks to his impressive track record in the military. Subsequently, he underwent extensive training to ensure he could perfectly immerse himself into his assigned identities; a multitude of acting and linguistics programs were involved. This training took place in an internalised SIS facility, where he was subjected to a schedule that took up his every waking hour. After two years, he was deemed ready, and was promoted to an active field agent. Over the next decade or so, Roger was sent to various places in the world under various identities to infiltrate various organisations, ranging from arms dealing operations in South America to radical political cells in the United States.
In 2074, Roger was dispatched to Canada. With the American annexation, the British had lost a crown territory, and this would not go unanswered. Therefore, among other SIS operatives, Roger was to infiltrate the Canadian Resistance and escalate the situation in Canada. The name he took on was Arthur Russell; the background he was provided with was that of a man born and raised in Vancouver, who served in the Canadian Army as a First Lieutenant for six years before retiring after the annexation and becoming a successful banker in his home city, until his bank went bankrupt. With that identity, he entered Ottawa and mingled into society, finding employ in a high position at one of the local banks while also joining the Resistance as tasked.
Personality and traits[]
Roger's true personality is hard to uncover. He has spent so much time being other people, that his own being has become somewhat buried underneath many layers of fiction and falsehood. It can be said with certainty, however, that he is a fervent patriot, willing to go to great lengths in service of crown and country. He is also a bit of a hardass, owing to his couple of years in the Royal Marines, though this is mixed in with a healthy dose of charm and refinement that he was imbued with by his upper class upbringing.
Trivia[]
- Roger is part of the same family as Timothy Ashford; Roger's uncle Kenneth migrated to the United States in the 2040s, and is Timothy's direct ancestor. This makes Roger Timothy's great-great-great-great-great-granduncle.