I think the tone of the post might've been a bit too on the nose. It reads like smug propaganda rather than a cold blooded technical assessment of how tinpot petro-dictatorships typically roll. The Hegemony has a slight tendency to huff its own farts in the name of solidarity and reclaiming the Domain's legacy - but they're a massive military bureaucracy first and foremost, there's no shortage of stone faced analysts seriously examining enemy weaponry with no trace of factional bias.
That said the conclusions are hilariously on point. Pretty paint for the parades! Shiny weapons for firing range demonstrations! Surprisingly little actual bottom-up initiative, despite the leader's founding myth and personal history, because military coups are cyclic and the Hegemony's spies and saboteurs are everywhere.
Everywhere.overall characterization of the man and the government, and why Clownshoes Fascist is suddenly imposed as the Only True Interpretation. I'd always seen it as a Space Napoleon situation - competent military man put into an impossible situation by his superiors' bureaucratic maneuvers says "to hell with this", cuts the Gordian knot, and finds himself riding a tiger of subsequent events. You could take that any direction, entirely depending on player inclination. But apparently shades of gray aren't allowed.
If the Great Man theory of history appeals to you, you need to internalize that dictatorships are successful despite the rot. The rot is unavoidable.
Yes the secret weapons program is Tri-Tach dumping their bad ideas to spite the Hegemony. Yes the upper ranks are full of yes men while the middle ranks are watched closely for undue foreign influence. ("What? Refit our cruisers for SO assault to exploit our secret weapon's kinetic E-slot advantage? Have you been reading the drivel out of Pather pamphlets?!")
None of that matters. Sindria is an ideal and a myth and it's holding strong with Andrada's white knuckle grip on the controls.
Even noticing the clouds on the horizon, even thinking about succession and long-term stability, that puts
you in danger. True adherents focus on the upsides and don't fret about potential downsides. They have faith in the people's will to follow their leader's glorious vision.
If you see shades of gray you've already lost sight of that glorious vision and I pity you.
