Quattro Bajeena
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 Lt. Quattro Bajeena with his trademark golden mobile suit, the Hyaku Shiki. | |
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Lieutenant Quattro Bajeena (aka Lt. Quattro) is one of the main protagonists of Zeta Gundam He serves as a mobile suit pilot for the Anti-Earth United Government (A.E.U.G.), and it one of that group's founding members. He most often serves aboard the A.E.U.G. cruiser Argama. He displays a strong distain for the Titans, an elite unit of the Earth Federation Forces and the chief group of antagonists in Zeta. Lt. Quattro views that organization as an oppressive force on all those who live in space colonies, and fights to suppress their influence out of his deep, selfless yet unexplainable affection for all Spacenoids.
Contents
Personal
Background
Very little is known about Quattro's past before events of Zeta Gundam, but the audience can safely assume that he was a rank-and-file mobile suit pilot for the Republic of Zeon during the One Year War. His military record during the OYW was apparently of no long-term importance, as it is not mentioned in Zeta. However, his wingmen on the Argama's Rick Dias team, look up to Quattro as not just a superior officer and accomplished mobile suit pilot, but as something of a folk hero (for reasons Zeta's writing staff neglected to explain to the audience). For instance, out of admiration for Lieutenant Quattro, his wingmen often call him "Captain" or "Commander," but never in front of the other crew as so not to offend the captain of the Argama, Bright Noa.
Aside from these sparse hints about Quattro's past, we do know that before joining the A.E.U.G., he lived in obscurity on the space asteroid Axis, where he developed a special affinity for enormous black sunglasses. Later, he made the odd decision to join the Earth Federation Forces' mobile suit corps on Earth. However, he seems to have immediately regretted his decision, as he quickly joined a group of disgruntled former EFF members to help start the Anti-Earth Union Group.
Mentor Figure
During the events of Zeta Gundam, Quattro acts as a mentor to Kamille. Not only does he help the young ace hone his skills as a rookie mobile suit pilot and giving the young boy advice on life and love as a man who seems to know something about loving and and losing in the past in an event that the audience is never told about. In a particularly memorable and heartfelt scene on board the Argama after Kamille's mother is killed and he is forced to take up arms against his father in an ambush by the Titans, Quattro asks Kamille if he has ever heard of a man named Char Aznable (a famous Zeon pilot), who Quattro admits he once knew, but never specifically divuldes the nature of their connection. Obviously, Kamille knows of the famous hero of Zeon, and states that he "highly respects" Char Aznable (who everybody but diehard conspiracy theorists believes died in the battle of A Bao A Qu on New Year's Eve 0079). Using their mutual knowledge of this great figure, Lt. Quattro surprises Kamille with the touching story of how that former icon of Zeon lost his parents at a young age just as Kamille did and also had to overcome heartbreak and tragedy as a young man to achieve such great things in his short life, which ended only after Char Aznable died for a noble cause he believed in.
After this exchange, Char Aznable is never again mentioned in Zeta Gundam.
Distinguishing Characteristics
Most Important
Lt. Quattro's most notable visual feature is his affinity for black mirrored sunglasses, which he wears even in places one typically does not find individuals wearing sunglasses, such as indoors or in the dark. This, there is a great deal of fan speculation surrounding Quattro's reasons for the wearing trademark black shades so frequently. A large percentage of the Gundam fanbase believes Quattro is simply highly sun-conscious and appreciates the UV blocking properties of sunglasses as a means of avoiding the sun's harmful rays.* Solar radiation is especially punishing in space as, unlike on Earth, there is no atmosphere to filter out UV rays. In this respect, sunglasses could be a basic survival tool for a space-based mobile suit pilot such as Quattro, as dazzling or temporary blindness caused by sudden glint of sunlight could leave a a pilot disorientated and thus highly vulnerable to enemy attack. Note that another ace pilot, Amuro Ray, is also seen donning sunglasses in episodes of Zeta Gundam, giving additional weight to this theory. Thus, this is the only plausible reason.
Other
Aside from the ever-present sunglasses, Quattro's appearance is not remarkable or peculiar in any way.
Mecha
Piloting Ability
Along with Kamille Bidan and Amuro Ray, Quattro is one of the best pilots in the A.E.U.G., or anywhere else. His prowess on the battlefield has caused many to invoke the imagery of a crimson meteor streaking across the sky to describe his fighting style. He scores dozens of confirmed kills over the course of the series. The A.E.U.G. frequently relies on Quattro to engage enemy aces and advanced enemy units, be they from the Titans, the Earth Federation Forces itself, or later from Neo-Zeon. He exhibits lower-level Newtype abilities in battle.
Mobile Suits
RMS-099 Rick Dias
Early in the series, Quattro pilots an oddly colored Rick Dias. There are no figures on his individual suit's performance capability. Thus, we can assume is in exact 1:1 parity with other Rick Dias units.
MSN-0100 Hyaku Shiki
Lt. Quattro later pilots the Hyaku Shiki, a formidable prototype suit notable for its golden beam-resistant coating.
Post-Zeta Notoriety
After the events in Zeta, Quattro falls from prevalence along with fellow Zeta protagonist Kamille Bidan. There is no reference to Lt. Quattro or his accomplishments after Zeta's conclusion. It is possible that Lt. Quattro chose to retire and disappear into obscurity after growing tired of war and wanting to eschew the fame he achieved as an A.E.U.G. pilot. A very small handful of dedicated fans further speculate that Quattro took the unprecedented step of assuming a false identity in order to live out his remaining days in a well-earned peace, but Gundam cannon offers no support for such a theory.
footnotes = *Others believe Quattro is simply quite shy, especially around recent acquaintances, and thus frequently wears his glasses around strangers due to crippling social anxiety.
