Lin’La’Se

Linea is a singular sovereign nation devoted almost entirely to the Linshi order of monks who believe that the Linean Nebula is a gateway for their god, Linea. In lieu of piercing the nebula, the Linshi attempt to commune with their god by shaping their bodies and minds through martial arts.

They are a generally peaceful people, welcoming all who seek enlightenment to their world. However, they are fierce warriors when provoked and won’t hesitate to defend themselves from hostile forces.

Physiology
Naming themselves after the nebula they worship, Lineans largely resemble baseline Humans with one important difference: they have no mouths.

To better connect with their god, the first Lineans to settle on the planet voluntarily underwent a genetic program to remove their mouths as a sign of their devotion to Linea, for only those who could communicate telepathically were deemed worthy of communion with the god. After a few generations, the unworthy were bred out of the Linean gene pool, allowing the Lineans to concentrate more fully on developing their powers of telepathy.

While they are often considered to be some of the most powerful telepaths in the Lapsarian Sector, their devotion to the mind does come at a price. In order to sustain their bodies, they must inject themselves with nutrients once a day to survive since they no longer have an orifice to feed themselves. Their bodies have become so reliant on these nutrient injections that any serious deviation from the formula will be incompatible with their systems.

Seeking to be pure of spirit by being pure of body and mind, Lineans reject any kind of mechanical augmentation to their bodies, seeing it as a corruption of the bodies the god Linea gifted them with.

Lineans will never strike first, preferring to react in response to aggression. This doesn’t necessary mean that they will wait to be attacked. They will strike at whatever they perceive to be a threat to them, be it physical or some other method. They will, however, always try diplomacy first before resorting to violence.

Culture
Linea is a very open culture, willing to share their knowledge and worldview with any who come asking so long as those outsiders respect their beliefs. For this reason, although Lineans are the most numerous race on the planet, there are also settlements belonging to a number of other races too. These settlements are almost always dedicated to the Linean religion of Linshi.

Linshi
The Linshi are an order of monks that practice the Linean religion. They are the leaders and guardians of Linea. They preach that a strong body and mind is the only way to achieve the inner-peace necessary to speak with the god Linea. To facilitate this, they have developed their own style of martial arts that they practice as a way of mediation.

The key to Linshi combat is anticipating what an opponent will do before they do it. Only those with telepathic abilities are able to fully master this martial art as it incorporates telepathy with the art of reading body language to give the monks an air of clairvoyance. The greatest masters can make it seem as though their fight has been staged by the way they can masterfully outmaneuver their enemies.

The Linshi is an open society, so along with Lineans, there are members of other races as well. Although they don’t require outsiders to be telepaths to become a Linshi, only those who do have the gift have any hope of rising to the highest levels within the organization.

The Linshi are also known for sending emissaries out into the Lapsarian Sector to preach the word of Linea. These emissaries typically use their telepathy to judge whether someone is willing to listen to them or not, giving them a very high recruiting rate.

The God Linea
Linea is often visualized in Linean culture as an enormous bird. His likeness can be seen everywhere on the planet, from the official emblem of Linea to the smallest adornments worn by the monks.

It is taught by the Linshi that once the veil of the Linean Nebula is pieced, Linea will guide them to a new galaxy that will be filled with wonders beyond comprehension.

Trade
Linea will welcome trade with anyone who comes to their world as long as they don’t try to deceive them. With such a high ratio of telepaths on the planet, very few are foolish enough to attempt such deception.

Cultural/Distinctive Exports
In addition to the Linshi monks that spread their religion throughout the sector, Linea has a few other notable exports.

Their starfighter technology is some of the most advanced in the sector. The Lineans see starfighters as one of the ultimate forms of personally communing with the god Linea and so have divested a serious focus on developing the best craft they can to impress him.

Linea is also known for its advanced sensor technologies since they are continually trying to improve it to peer inside the Linean Nebula.

Imports
Linea generally imports weapons technology to make sure they’re well defended since they are not geared towards creating tools of war. In particular, they import clean thermonuclear missiles as they don’t have the proper infrastructure to make their own.

Otherwise, Linea is very self-sufficient since they avoid ostentatious lifestyles and military conquests.

Holdings
Linea: The capital world of the sovereign nation of Linea, centuries of habitation by the Linshi monks have shaped the land into a virtual paradise. It is a pilgrimage destination for many who practice Linshi off of Linea.

Aen: Used by the Linshi to mine for resources, Aen is so far the only other planet claimed by Linea.

Linshi Hypergate: Located by Aen, the Linshi Hypergate is closely watched by Linea's navy. It currently remains the only way to gain access to Linea.

Military
Linea doesn’t have a formal military, instead the Linshi monks are considered the first and last line of defense against incursions from other powers. In addition to their formidable hand-to-hand fighting skills, the Linshi are also excellent pilots, focusing largely on starfighter craft.

They only have one battlecruiser, the Deliverance, which is largely used to house their fighters and provide some means of intimidation against other nations.

Navy

 * 1 Deliverance-class Battlecruiser: Deliverance
 * 9 Chosen-class Fighters
 * 9 Chosen-class Bombers

Army
The Linshi monks comprise a large percentage of the population of Linea. There are some 80 million people who actively practice the Linshi way on Linea, however they lack the means for rapid mobilization. They rely instead on dividing the planet up into protectorates, the Linshi monks within those protectorates are then tasked with guarding the planet inside their own borders.

The only exception are the naval forces of Linea, which are not beholden to any one protectorate and act for the good of the planet.

History
Linea was founded soon after hypergate technology was perfected and was selected due to its close proximity to the Linean Nebula. The original group to settle the planet were religious outcasts from a nearby government. Their history has been largely unremarkable since then due in part to their intentional isolation and commitment to peaceful cohabitation with their neighbors.