Linebeck

Linebeck (ラインバック, Rainbakku), or Linebeck Senior as he is refered to in Spirit Tracks, is a character featured in the game Phantom Hourglass. He is the captain of the steamboat, the S. S. Linebeck, which Link uses to travel the Great Sea for the full course of the game. Linebeck travels the world seeking treasure, which seems to be his driving force in everything he does, including accompanying Link. People on the islands he visited seem to have a respect or admiration for him, calling him brave and wishing to travel the seas like him. However, Link and Ciela, while journeying, see a different side of him, different from the persona he puts up as a brave adventurer (at one point he claims to go through two dungeons a day before breakfast, though nobody seems to believe him). Instead Linebeck shows himself to be for the most part a coward, running away from trouble and staying with his boat instead of going into the dungeons with Link.

Because he traveled with Linebeck, Link met Jolene, a pirate girl (described as "crazy" by Linebeck) who travels the seas to get revenge on him. When she spots the S. S. Linebeck she immediately attacks and ambushes it, fighting Link while Linebeck hides in a crate to watch, rewarding Link after he wins. Eventually Linebeck told Link how he met Jolene. At one point in the past, he had accidentally saved her from a monster that he was trying to escape. Because of this he and Jolene became friends and sailed together for a while, until Linebeck stole some of her treasure and ran away, which caused Jolene to seek revenge. Linebeck said it "wasn't even a good treasure" and Jolene still sought revenge, even, after the final match, saying that Link had "eyes like the man who captivated" her and told Linebeck to "take notes", which hints at an unrequited emotional attachment she holds for Linebeck.

Ciela and Linebeck constantly fight throughout the course of the game. The two rarely call each other by their real names, instead using insulting nicknames, and are almost cruel to each other at points. However, by the end of the game, they have reluctantly gained respect for each other.

History
Link met Linebeck in the Temple of the Ocean King on Mercay Island early in his journey. He was told about Linebeck by Oshus, an old man living on the island, who told him to go to the port to see him. While the S. S. Linebeck was docked there, its captain was gone, presumably to the nearby Milk Bar. However, upon entering it, Link discovered that Linebeck had left to the temple for treasure.

Linebeck was found on the first floor of the temple, trapped by spikes, and he asked Link to help him, saying that he hurt his ankle and couldn't do it himself. After being rescued he ran off, telling Link to find the chart he was looking for inside, then left. Link's fairy, Ciela, described him as a coward, which Linebeck tried to dispute.

Eventually Link and Linebeck agreed to work together, sailing onwards to the Ghost Ship, Link to rescue his friend, Tetra, and Linebeck to investigate the rumors of treasure on it.

After it was revealed that the treasure of the Ghost Ship didn't exist, Linebeck decided to no longer allow Link to use his ship. However, Oshus, later revealed to be the Ocean King, promised to grant him one wish if he continued to help Link. Linebeck had an immediate change of heart when faced with the fact that he could have any treasure in the world, and quickly moved out to continue the journey.



Near the end of the game, Linebeck and Link board the Ghost Ship after attacking it, though the S. S. Linebeck was sunken in the fight. Suddenly, Link was captured by Bellum, the monster who controlled the Ghost Ship and was behind the petrification of Tetra. A terrified Linebeck used the Phantom Sword dropped by Link to stab the weakened Bellum in one of his tentacles, freeing Link. However, though Bellum was injured, he managed to attack Linebeck and possessed him, turning him into a monstrous knight akin to a Phantom, and forced Link to fight him as the final boss. Link eventually triumphed, defeating Bellum without injuring Linebeck, freeing him. Linebeck seemed disgusted with himself for attacking Link, even though he had the excuse of being possessed. However, Link and Ciela forgave him.

At the conclusion of the game, Oshus, in his true form as the Ocean King, asked Linebeck to tell him what his promised wish was. Instead of treasure as the others were expecting, Linebeck's only wish was to have his previously sunken boat fixed. This shocked the others, but his wish was granted, and the S. S. Linebeck restored.

Oshus opened the door to Link and Tetra's world, and soon the heroes found themselves on the deck of the Ghost Ship. Tetra's pirates found them and said that they were only on the Ghost Ship for about ten minutes and that their entire adventure was just a dream. Tetra tried to convince the pirates otherwise, while Link spotted something on the sea and happily ran to the side of the boat. The final scene of the game is of Linebeck's boat sailing away and tooting its horn, proving that the adventure was not a dream after all.

His grave later appears in Spirit Tracks in the re-established kingdom of Hyrule, revealing that he, too, came to the new land and made a family there (his grandson, Linebeck III, appears in the game as the spitting image of his grandfather) before his death.

Linebeck's past
In the Phantom Hourglass manga by Akira Himekawa, Linebeck was part of an investigation of the ghost ship. His crew-mates were busy celebrating over the treasure they found, which was really an illusion. One by one the crew was disintegrated, leaving Linebeck, who fled in the life-boat.

Trivia

 * Linebeck's possession and transformation into a Phantom-like knight by Bellum can be compared to Nabooru's brainwash and transformation into an Iron Knuckle by the Twinrova in Ocarina of Time.