Quartz Christie

Quartz Christie (クォーツ・クリスティア, Kwōtsu Kurisutia), is both a fictional character and antagonists of the Bodacious Space Pirates series created by Yūichi Sasamoto. She is the captain and pilot of the Grand Cross, a giant, next-generation experimental battleship, and a pirate registered with the Galactic Empire, as well as a member of the imperial royal family. An Imperial Pirate, she battle tested the Grand Cross by destroying the space pirates of the frontier worlds, believing they no longer act like the pirates of old. It is only after the frontier pirates united under Marika's leadership that she is defeated. Quartz is hinted to be royalty due to the way Ironbeard talks to her and her relationship with the Empress of the Galactic Empire.

"."
 * —Quartz Christie.

Appearance & Biography

 * Voice actor: Genevieve Simmons (English), Yūko Sanpei (Japanese), Not Known (Albanian), Not Known (Arabic), Not Known (Basque), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (Cantonese), Not Known (Catalan), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (French), Not Known (Galician), Not Known (German), Not Known (Greek), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hong Kong), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Indonesian), Not Known (Isralian), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Mandarin), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Tagalog), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Turkish), Not Known (Valencian), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish)

Appearance
Quartz has pale skin, white hair and golden eyes. She wears light blue lipstick and dark blue eyeshadow. Her hair sometimes glows light blue when she is making use of technology such as the direct interface with the Grand Cross.

She wears a form-fitting full bodysuit, white with grey, and black gloves. The suit often has a number of squares sparkling over it, possibly a side-effect of the portable stealth technology. During her confrontation with the assembled captains at the Pirate's Nest, she also wears a black cloak with the gold skull that signifies an imperial pirate captain.


 * Hair Color: Silver
 * Skin Color: Pale
 * Eye Color: Golden
 * Age: Not Known
 * Birthday: Not Known
 * Height: Not Known
 * Weight: Not Known

Personality
Quartz is prideful, overconfident and arrogant. She doesn't like it when people steal her thunder and has a dislike for frontier pirates who to her are no longer true pirates. Ironbeard referred to her as a tomboy.

She has little reservation in taking the lives of anyone who she selects for "testing", as demonstrated by the attacks on the Silver Fox, Bentenmaru, and several other pirate ships. Quartz regards these pirates as unneeded relics of a past Golden Age, treating them little more than tools to be discarded.

Family

 * Utolamela Christie

Neutral

 * Ironbeard

Enemies

 * Marika Kato

Powers and Abilities
Quartz has access to a variety of advanced technologies such as the Grand Cross, android spies and portable stealth camouflage. However she tends to rely on technological supremacy to overwhelm her enemies and doesn't quite use the technology to its full potential. She also tends to rely on the same tactics in battle and doesn't change them to match different situations her ship faces.

Past
Quartz was born to Utolamela Christie, current Queen of the Galactic Empire, and met Gonzaemon Kato when she was a baby. As is traditional among members of the imperial royal family, Quartz embarked on a Grand Tour across space. She apparently became one of the imperial pioneers that journey into unknown space, as well as an imperial pirate.

At some point, pirate hunting caught her eye, and she became captain of the experimental battleship, Grand Cross, beginning training shortly before Gonzaemon Kato's 'death'. She performed field tests on the ship by attacking pirates in the frontier systems.

Pirate Hunter Arc
After making a successful series of attacks against various frontier pirate ships, Quartz attacked the Big Catch, its escort ships and the Bentenmaru with the Grand Cross. She smiled as her ship overwhelmed the Big Catch and its escorts, however before she could attack the Bentenmaru, the Parabellum arrived and fired a missile barrage which shook the Grand Cross, forcing her to retreat.

After the pirate's song was broadcast, Quartz ambushed the Bentenmaru as it was proceeding to the Pirate's Nest, having obtained the ship's course from an android spy planted onboard. Quartz was confident of success, but the Bentenmaru managed to escape from the Grand Cross, though it sustained heavy damage in the process.

Quartz later infiltrated the Pirate's Nest, appearing on an escalator, next to Marika's one, and was surprised by her reaction (or lack thereof). The two confronted one another in the council room, where Quartz revealed she was the captain of the Grand Cross, though she didn't reveal whose experimental ship it was. When questioned about why she was doing this, she explained her views on how the frontier pirates, only using their Letters of Marque to put on shows, were no longer true pirates and therefore unnecessary. After Marika said that they wouldn't stand for it and would fight, Quartz disappeared using her stealth technology, telling Marika not to let her down her.

Quartz later appeared before the assembled pirate captains in the council room, wearing the gold skull and cape that signified that she was an imperial pirate. She kept a smirk on her face as the other pirates pointed their weapons at her after revealing that she was the pirate hunter, intending to take advantage of their hostility, but was surprised when Marika reminded the pirates of the no-killing rule in the Pirate's Nest and challenged her to a fair fight. She was slightly irritated by the stagelights that accompanied the challenge, briefly stepping away from them, while telling Marika she would win and asking if she was sure about challenging her. Ironbeard then arrived to retrieve her, on orders from the Galactic Empire's queen.

As Ironbeard escorted her, Quartz admitted that she was surprised at his appearance. She expressed annoyance at coming there to get the drop on the pirates while having Marika as well as Ironbeard hogging the spotlight. When Koja and his crew attempted to kill her, ignoring the no-killing rule, Quartz remarked on how frontier pirates were cowards. After the assassination attempt was thwarted and Ironbeard spoke with Misa, Quartz turned away as he praised Marika. When the pirates broadcast Marika and Chiaki's rendition of the pirate's song with the time and location for the battle, she responded with her own mocking rendition.

As the frontier pirates reached the chosen place for the battle, Quartz arrived with three Grand Crosses, initiating electronic warfare on touchdown. She was impressed at how her enemies had linked their ships together to match her electronic attack, but remained confident of her victory. After firing on the pirates for some time, she had Grand Cross β zigzag towards the El Santo, intending to destroy them one ship at a time. However the pirates had predicted the zigzag in advance and forewarned, the El Santo's escorts self-destructed and caught Grand Cross β in a chaff field, blocking Quartz's remote sensors. Grand Cross β was then fired upon and soon succumbed to the heavy bombardment, angering Quartz.

When Grand Cross γ was caught in another chaff field, Quartz brought the ship out of the field, only to be surprised by the Barbaroosa which intercepted and destroyed it. The pirates then focused their fire on Grand Cross α. Noticing the Bentenmaru among the ships firing on her, Quartz angrily yelled Marika's name as she had the Grand Cross zigzag towards, intending to take out her enemy.

As the Bentenmaru dodged her laser barrage, the Grand Cross was shaken by a large impact. Wondering what had happened, Quartz soon saw that the Shangri-La had rammed her and that the pirates were boarding her ship. When Marika reached the control room, Quartz revealed herself to her, welcoming her to the Grand Cross. As Marika thanked her for coming to see her, mentioning that she'd thought the ship would be deserted, Quartz said that she wouldn't run or hide before noting the flashiness of Marika's outfit. Marika then continued their conversation from earlier, about how the frontier pirates weren't true pirates anymore, and gave Quartz her own answer.

After Marika had finished, Schnitzer held Quartz at gunpoint, intending to take her prisoner, but Quartz escaped through the roof of the control room. She warned Marika that the ship would soon self-destruct and also invited her to a vaster sea, saying there was someone who desired that. Later, while escaping in a Silent Whisper, Quartz thought aloud about how she'd got the experimental data and destroyed the evidence, but her pride was demolished. She then smiled, saying that she would meet Marika again.

Fever Mouretsu Pirates (Game-Only)
Quartz and the Grand Cross appear as opponents for Marika and the Bentenmaru in the game's eighth Galaxy Episode. Depending on circumstances, the two face each other either in a swordfight or ship-to-ship, with the outcome resting on the player's actions. The frontier pirates' battle against the Grand Cross is also featured as a regular pirate mission.

Etymology

 * Quartz's given name is that of a silicate mineral, formed from a framework of SiO2 and the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Christie is a surname of Scottish origin, originally meaning "son of Christian/Christopher".

Notes & Trivia

 * Unlike most pirate captains, her crew consists only of machines.
 * In several scenes, Quartz's last name is spoken as Christia instead of Christie.
 * Quartz's position as a member of the imperial royal family wasn't stated outright within the anime itself, however Ironbeard's interactions with her appeared to indicate it. It was confirmed in the short story On Her Majesty's Space Pirates that she is the daughter of Queen Utolamela Christie.