Bench Press Empire

## The Bench Press Empire

*"Brothers, Sisters, we have suffered for centuries. Our foes have diminished us, enslaved us, taken our chance to rise in this galaxy. However, theese times are over, now we dominate those who dominated, let the galaxy know, the Bench Press Empire is back! ~* Benchmaster Car Vara, addressing the Andromeda Panic.

Discovering FTL Travel in 2161, the Bench Press Empire began their aggressive expansion into the stars, after facing almost complete anhiliation from countless wars on their homeworld, Parimea. For the first twenty years, they thought the stars belonged to them, but in 2221, they established accidental first contact with the Axis Order. Due to multiple missunderstandings and bad planned actions from both sides, their first contact ended in the Bench Press Empire - Axis Order First Contact war After overwhelming their less advanced oponents, the Bench Press Empire entered a short lived Golden Age. During this age, their technological level skyrocketed and their military power grew exponentially. Since they couldn't find any notable oponents, they entered a deep isolation because they believed themselves to be the ultimate beings. Due to them cutting all ties to the galaxy and adapting an inward perfection lifestyle, they were unable to trade and share technologies, which led to them gradually falling behind in the galaxy. The Axis Order, filled with large hateriot towards the BPE, saw this and attacked the isolated state. The BPE Military was quickly overwhelmed and Parimea fell shortly after.

Unlike the now formed Enlightened Covenant expected, the Bench Press Empire didn't fall, Benchus Guerillia and Pirate forces kept diminishing the EC forces. Most notably were the actions of Rav Xarr, who nuked the newly established EC Council Headquarters on Alcanteria and led countless guerillia attacks on the EC military forces. Eventually the E.C retreated, taking many systems in the right part of the BPE territory. After the war finally ended, the BPE struggled to recover since virtually all of their planets and space stations were outdated and in ruined condition. Additionally, the Bench Press Empire became one of the hardest hit empires, by the Bunga Infestation. The following years, chaos ensued culminating in the return of the Church of the Mending god, which sought to Spiritualize the BPE and establish closer ties with the Axis Order. However, Benchmaster Car Vara led a brutal campaign against the Church, destroying their Base of Operation completely. Finally, peace was restored in the Bench Press Empire and their worst time was overcome and with aid form the Leftern Block, they began to slowly reintegrate themselves into the galactic community. By the end of the 24th Century, they were still far behind most states and completly irrelevant to the galactic politics, their only purpose was, it seemed, to be a buffer between the Leftern Block and Enlightened Covenant. However with the Andromeda Crisis, everything changed.

Following the Andromeda Crisis, most empires were in complete dissaray, except the Bench Press Empire. They took this advantage and used the now inflated prices of alloys to dramaticaly boost their economy, since alloy production was their only way of trade. The economic jump was marvelous, within just a decade they jumped from the lowest top ten to the highest top ten economies in the galaxy. In 2309, the BPE and Leftern Block launched a coordinated invasion into the Lote Domy Empire which ultimatley led to the Hot war. Their military was growing and in 2439, they were added into the G.C Security council. The Axis Order became increasingly afraid of the BPE, seeing them beeing slowly overtaken in terms of military power by the BPE. Their position in the Leftern Block Changed aswell, they became the De Facto leader, since the UBR had massive inner political and economical problems. A massive arms race, even putting the Stahal Influence Maginot Programm to shame occured between the Leftern Block and Enlightened Covenant. Eventually, in 2470 another conflict broke out between the LB and EC, but was fighting ceased shorty after, due to TOM threatening to conquer the galaxy.

In 2523, the Bench Press Empire remained as one of the last functioning empires and were among the leaders in negotiating the Galactic Peace with Tom. This Conflict also caused what remained of the Leftern Block and Enlightened Covenant to join forces and establish The Alliance, a Federation which focused on restoring order in all Empires. Nearing the middle of the century, the Galaxy would be facing a much more terrifying enemy which ended virtually all Empires.

## History

Evolving on the small desert World Parimea, the Benchus discovered technology with fire, and it was fire that they used to wage wars against one another.

### First Evidence of Civilization

The First Evidence of a Benchus Civilization goes back to over 10.000 B.R. This civilization lived in tribes and are believed to be responsible for the construction of the Revalle Stone Pillars.

### Early Civilization (~1000 B.R)

All Benchus are being taught the Legendary war between the Rijak Aak and the Vaduma Clans. This battle of rivalry lasted many centuries and was only ended by the Legendary Car Haen. A Benchus of incredible physical and mental superiority, who secured victory for the Vaduma Clan, by invading a major city on his own, known as the Battle of Yat Kun. He layed the foundation for the Benchus "Vaduma" themed Culture, which still upholds to this day. A century later, an asteroid struck Parimea. This event is now known as "The Flood of Monsters" in the Benchus history, since "Burning Water swept over the entirety of mother Parimea, leaving only the peaks of the highest mountains save". A millenia later, another important individual was born, Sarak Krasga.

Sarak Krasga was millenia ahead of his time, his thinking overwhelmed the most inteligent Benchus at the time. For Example, during this entire time, the Benchmasters were a Tier 1 civilization, but Sarak Krasga theorized that alien life could exist on other Planets. He had known how the universe works, while all Benchus believed Parimea to be a flat plane and the stars to be small animals, that light up the sky.

He Catapulted the Benchus to a Tier 3 level, since he invented antibiotics, and a Computer. It is theorized, that if he would have lived longer, he would have been able to construct a proto-AI out of his Computer. Following his death, the Benchus entered a constant stage of war and recession, which eventually brought them down to tier 2 for another millenia.

### Religious Revolutions (~1200 A.R)

Around 1200 A.R, a radical religious group known as The Illuminated, which would later become the Church of the Mending God, began to infiltrate all governments of the Benchus.

A global war followed, halfing the Benchus Population and turning their ethics into a spiritual direction. But the Benchus will couldn't accept somebody superior and thus, Alfus Raklj, a proud Knight, began a campaign against the Illuminated and their believ. He was eventually successfull, everybody began rejecting religion and most things were restored to old order. However the Illuminated remained hidden, manipulating the Benchus and wating to strike again one millenia later. The Benchus remained on tech tier 3 until 2000 A.R.

### Modern History (2000 A.R)

In 1999 A.R, the ancient Sarag Krasga Laboratory was discovered. It was at this point, where the Benchus truly learned what a talented individual he was. His teachings sparked an industrial revolution within the Benchus, which would catapult them to tier 5 in just 20 years. Around this time, Lirak Wamee, a Benchus Poet, published works which would spark a world war. She made the Benchus think that technology was evil, thus all states turned against Vaduma-Krasganarad, the most advanced and only state unwilling to slow technological development. After 50 years of a long brutal war, Vaduma-Krasganarad won due to their overwhelmingly superior technology. Afterwards a "Cold war" scenario ensued between Vaduma and Krasganarad, who split into two after the war and shared two halfes of Parimea. Despite them being tier 6 at the time, their enourmus weapons

could easily threaten a tier 8 civilization. Eventually the "Four Hour War" Broke out, causing the complete anihilation of the Krasnagrad State. While the Krasnagarad where able to fire some nuclear bombs onto Vaduma, the Vadumans used a Neutron ray to obliterate all life in Krasganarad. Thus in 2122, the Benchus, under the legendary Car Haen II, were finaly united and the Bench Press Empire was formaly declared. Their missuse of technology however, led to Parimea becoming more and more inhospitable, forcing the Benchus to heavily invest into space technology. By 2156, Predatoria, a planet around Car Haens Far Eye was colonized and in 2167, the Benchus invented the Hyperdrive.

## Biology

### Racial Differences

The Benchus are a race of variety. They can Generally be summed up into thre different phenotypes: The Benchus Mediumus, the most common Benchus being around 2.5m tall and weighing 180 Kg. The Benchus Minimus, they make up about 10% of the Population and have a slimmer statue, but are on average more agile and intelligent. Their average size hovers at around 2.3m and they weight 110Kg on average. The Rarest Race, the Benchus Maximus, only representing one of every 10000 individuals, are much stronger and intelligent on average. They are approx. 3m tall and weigh about 400Kg, while some individuals in very rare cases have been observed to grow as large as 5 meters and weigh over 1400Kg.

### General Physicality

They prefer desert climates. In terms of physical superiority, the Benchus are among the best players in the galaxy. Yet their endurance is terrible compared to others. This is due to their very fast metabolism, which they require for such a large body to posess quick reaction times. This trait has evolved because they were originally predators, hunting smaller, fast animals. They are also very fast sprinters but can uphold their incredible speeds of 70Km/h only for a very short time. In a 5km race against an Axis Cultist, the Benchus would no doubt dominate the first kilometer, but eventually loose because of their poor endurance. Their fast metabolism is also responsible for their massive diet, from which they require approx. 14.000Kcal a day. Their diet is mostly carnivouros but sometimes consists of plant based foods aswell. Their lifespans are on the upper medium level in the galaxy and last approx. 110 years. While most species spend 1/3 of their life succomming to the aging process, this only occurs during the final 10 years of a Benchus, they can stay very fit well into their 90s.

### Genders

Like Most races, the Benchus posses two genders Male and Female. The Average female is much smaller but more inteligent and sensible then the man. Females only get approx. 1.7 meters tall and weigh 60Kg, but they live twice as long as a man, approx. 200 years.

### Procreation

They Procreate by laying eggs, but only one at a time, meaning their behavior regarding offspring is closer to mamalians than reptiles, which lay dozends of eggs a time. Them having few children, led to a strong bond developing between the Parrents and the children. This Family bond is also reflected in the Benchus culture.

## Culture

### Family and Genders

The Benchus Culture is one embossed by honor, family and dominance. Benchus live in a family hierarchy, meaning that all families have to serve a larger one, for example a family of 18 serves the greater relative tree, consisting of up to 2000 individuals, which intern serve one grouping, that consists up to 1 million individuals. This Grouping serves eventually the leading family, mainly the greater relative tree of the ruling Benchmaster. A Family hierarchy consists of four generations and has multiple roles.

### Everyday Life

Male Benchus serve as the manual laborers of the Benchus, while women generally do less intensive work. During the childhood, most Benchus behave in a submissive manner, obeying older individuals. Crime is extremely rare at this age, since children are usually punished by death, because the Benchus believe that a soul cannot be saved. Children go to school from the age of four to the age of 22. Then they grow into adulthood, looking for partners and jobs. After giving birth to children, men are being forced into army service and women stay home to take care of the children. When they enter old age, they become extremely loyal to the family, protecting them at all cost.

Due to to the Benchus being fully integrated into the galaxy only approx. a century ago, they can still be sometimes akward towards other species, but most have let go of the belief that physical superiority is all that counts. Leading to many species migrating onto Benchus worlds, since their living conditions have advanced to become plesant to most races.

### Examples of Architecture

The Benchus architecture is truly astounding. Most buildings are made of advanced concreete and have very angular shapes. Due to them only recently becoming on par with the galaxy on a technological level, an interesting city scape is created, where few massive, modern buildings overshadow small, primitive buildings.

### Examples of modern Culture

There are few examples of modern culture from the Bench Press Empire, due to their not long existence within the galactic community. There are virtually no Benchus Celebrities, however, some war heroes and their works have found a place in the heart of the People of the Leftern Block civilizations.

is not your concern

## Bench Press Empire

### Military

548K Fleet Power, 53 Billion Military Personal

### Type

The Bench Press Empire's governing system can be associated with a Military dictatorship, but instead of political power, they value physical power. The government is led by a Benchmaster, the absolute leader of the Benchus. Guarding him is the Car Haen Guard, the most elite of the Benchus soliders. The Benchus is also being advised by admirals of the Military. There are countless governors, named Benchara, whom intern, automomously manage their respectable Homeworlds.

### Leader

Any Benchus can qualify themselves for becomming a leader. They only have to complete a thousand tests over the course of thirteen years. Then they could challange the current Benchmaster to a fight for the position. The Winner gets to keep or earn the position as Benchmaster and the looser either gets killed or surrenders and is forced to spend his life in prison because surrender is seen as a horrible act of shame in Benchus culture.

### Critique

The Bench Press Emprie's governing system is often critiqued as being primitive and inefficient by others. Mainly how the leader position is established. A fight for survival for the Leader Position is absurd and unable to reflect one's mental power. Despite this, simmilar leader elections like in the BPE, have been proposed in the Leftern Block.

## Military

### General

The Benchus Military has recently proven itself to being one of the strongest military powers in the galaxy, scoring incredible victories against the Enlightened Covenant and even TOM. A massive reform, which was supposed to give the Bench Press Empire an entirely new military was planned. However, due to the war with TOM, theese reformes have been only recently inacted. There are countless ranks in the Benchus Military ranging from Servant to Lord of Admirals. Military is valued the highest in the Bench Press Empire, since over 20% of the economy being dedicated towards military spending. There is a mandatory military service, where men have to serve 40 years in the Army. During this time they may rank up if they desire. Military service in the higher ranks is generally considered the best source of wealth income, admirals may earn up to 20.000 energy credits during their lifetime.

### Numbers

The Benchus host the third largest fleet in the Galacic Commonwealth, just behind the Axis Order. However, their numbers regarding smaller craft are very lacklester. They make this gap up by equiping most of their ships with Fighters. Their Fleetpover Hovers at around 548K. Countless Armies make up the Bench Press Empire Military. Out of their 53 Billion Serving military personal, 10 Billion are offensive armies

 Battleships
 Cruisers
 Destroyers
 Corvettes
 Other Ships
1 Numistic Order Cruiser (8K)

The Bench Press Empire Space fleet is divided into eight different fleets

### Technology

The Technological state of the Bench Press Empire's Military is one plagued by great divide. While on paper, the Bench Press Empire seems to be one formidable force,

only 30% of their fleet is in a relativly modern state while only 5% can be called advanced. The Rest of the fleet is old and many of theese ships have maintinance problems. However, this downside does not really matter to the Bench Press Empire, since it mostly affects the smaller ship Classes. Because of some Corvettes and destroyers still relying on the first hyperdrive engines, the movement of BPE fleets can be very slow sometimes, making them vonurable if attacked. They try to counteract this by constructing massive Citadels along their Borders in order to shield them selfs from foreign agression.

The Bench Press Empire has resented the idea of smaller spaceships during the last century,

The Strongest Aspect of the Bench Press Empire military would be their Titans and Fighters, which are considered to be the best in the Galaxy.

There is a rumour that the Bench Press Empire has turned a moon into a massive combat ship. Looking at how aggressive the Bench Press Empire attempts to silence this rumor, one can confirm that it is indeed real. Experts estimate it's sole power within the 100-400K range, which would put the Bench Press Empire easily above even the Herr Pilz Republic

#### Ground Forces

Their ground forces are among the best equipped in the galaxy. Since the reforms, the Benchus have completely adapted Ion based weapons in favour of Kinetic projectile firing weapons.

Where their ground forces tend to fall behind is land based vechicles. Some divisions within the army still make use of vechicles from the 21st century. But in terms of weapon technology, their forces could be considered to be on par with the Axis Order. Handheld ion based weaponary of the Benchus is very popular within other states and usually used as stationary defense weapons.

The most feared part of the Benchus Groundforces however, are the Haen Marchers (HR). They are a select few individuals of the Benchus Maximus Primus Race, who are not only geneticaly enhanced, but also trained from a very young age. Their lifespans were artificially increased to 220 years. However they are threatened by extinction, since they were created approx. 200 Years ago in response to the Long Boi Shock Troopers, since theese absolutely anihilated the Benchmaster Forces during the Crussade. There are a maximum of 20 individuals within the HR believed to exist.

### Conflicts

**Axis Order - Bench Press Empire First Contact War (2221 - 2226)**

**Enlightened Covenant Crussade (2282-2317)**

**BPE-Bunga Conflict (Muss Entschieden werden)**

**Cleansing of the Church (2341 - 2368)**

**Lote Domy Invasion (2429 - 2433)**

**Block-Covenant Escalation (2470 - 2470)**

**Tom Containment Conflict (2473 - 2524)**

## Notable Benchmasters

* Car Haen (Pre Historic)
* Sarak Krasga (Pre Historic)
* Car Haen II
* Arch Commander Rav Xarr
* Benchmaster Jar Hadaa
* Benchmaster Uldas Ver
* Benchmaster Car Vara
* Admiral Perrek
* Supreeme Commander Xera Ripamee
* Supreeme Commander Rimus Artrus