            A Vision Betrayed: Count Von Ryan's Story
                   by Professor Realnid Osscar
            Author of the Best Seller "The Real War"


The Rise of Von Ryan

Little is known about the family of Colonel Von Ryan.  All we
know is that his earliest years were spent on a coreward mining
colony.  His father was one of those faceless men who spend their
lives doing back breaking labor to increase the profits for high
born dilettantes.  Von Ryan knew that the only escape for a man of
his class was the armed forces.  At 15 he lied about his age and
joined the Imperial Army.

Even at this young age he showed a talent for tactics and
leading men.  He rose quickly to NCO.  During an action in which
all officers in his company were killed, Von Ryan took command of
his company and led it to the completion of their mission.  At the
tender age of 18 he was sent to Officer Candidate School and became
a Lieutenant.  His leadership qualities and tactical brilliance
caused him to rise rapidly through the ranks.  Unfortunately also
drew the jealousy of many of the Titled officers who made up much
of the Imperial Officer Corps.  They could not forget his humble
origins.  At the same time Von Ryan was becoming discouraged with
the Army.  Many times the Army was brought in to put down revolts
by people who had been pushed too far by calloused Nobility.  At
age 33 he was one of the youngest Colonels in the Army.  He was
considering retirement when a cabal of "Lords" had him brought up
on false charges.  He resigned his commission and headed for the
frontier.

At the edges of the Empire he saw a need for trained soldiers
that could help where Imperial Authority was weak.  He contact some
of his comrades from the Army days and formed a Mercenary Unit
called "Dog Soldiers Inc.".  Those were hard days on the frontier.
The next wave of Imperial Expansion was a few years off.
Lawlessness was everywhere.  It was important for capable men to do
what they could.  Von Ryan prospered, in part because of the
loyalty he inspired.  His administrative skills were such that he
attracted the attention of Grand Duchess Lissa Dyana of the Duchy
of Trelyn.  She was seeking someone to unite the twelve worlds of
the new County of Yuen and administer them.  She sent for Von Ryan
to interview him for the job.

There is much that could be written about the meeting of these
two powerful personalities.  She was a beautiful noblewoman at the
height of her abilities.  The genetic disease that would destroy
her had not yet made its appearance.  She had been one of the most
successful rulers of the Duchy, already.  In Von Ryan she saw a
self-made man who had carved his own niche in the universe.  At 48
he still had the good looks and charm that made most single women
want to marry him.  It is probable that there was a physical
attraction.  What won the Duchess, however, was his plain speaking
and administrative ability.  The Duchess' advisors, all hereditary
nobles, opposed his appointment.  In spite of their efforts the
Duchess named Von Ryan Count of Yuen.

The Birth of a Vision

The County of Yuen was the perfect vehicle for the new Count
Von Ryan.  The resources of its High Tech worlds allowed new ideas
to develop.  Terraforming, never a popular idea in Imperial
Technical circles was tried and showed early success.  The Count
formed the "Council of Logic" in order put the best minds in the
county to work for the good of all.  Worlds rife with mismanagement
and corruption grew prosperous.  Trade flourished with the
Altarians.

As important as the material and technological success he
inspired, Von Ryan began a program to liberate the spirit of the
people of his County.  Throughout his administration men and women
were placed in positions of power without regard to Rank or birth
status.  People, long limited by who there ancestors were, now were
able do meaningful, challenging work.  Throughout the County the
effect was felt.  Young people could dream of new destinies.

It was in the Navy that Von Ryan had one of his most profound
effects.  Planetary and County Naval forces had gotten sloppy and
wasteful.  Many younger, more capable officers were promoted.
Older, less flexible officers were forced into retirement.  Supply
and Logistics were centralized and streamlined.  The scourge of
piracy almost disappeared.  One of Von Ryan's pet peeves about the
Imperial Navy had been its reliance on Battleships and
Dreadnoughts.  He felt these ships were a symbol of naval
inefficiency.  Too many officers commanded too many men to do jobs
that could be done better by smaller ships.  He used naval
architects to design high tech warships with the firepower of large
ships in smaller hulls with much smaller crews.  In spite of his
trials that showed the value of these ships, Duchy Naval Commanders
refused to accept his designs.

Trouble Begins

One cannot attempt to make the fundamental changes that Count
Von Ryan did without making enemies.  The Nobility saw their power
and control being lost to "commoners without breeding".  This was
particularly true in the Navy.  Many officers commanded because of
their title not their ability.  Von Ryan's broom swept these
officers into retirement or desk jobs.  The powerful Allarton
Corporation had followed the Imperial Flag into the county.  In
many places it had a strangle hold on local economies.  Von Ryan
opened more business to local firms and Allarton began to loss
money.  Finally, there always those who resist progress.  These
people are comfortable with things the way they are and lack the
imagination to see that things could be better.

Duchy Intelligence and Naval Intelligence kept a stream of
reports back to the Duchess about Von Ryan.  Disloyal slants were
put on these reports.  Sometimes reports were even distorted to
make the Count look bad.  His xenobiological research program
became an attempt grow a killer monster.  His naval research
program became an attempt to build a "super" warship.  His
centralization of the Armed Forces became an attempt to build a
personal Army.

Making matters worse the Grand Duchess was beginning to feel
the effects of the genetic blood disease that had killed so many
members of her family.  It has never been established if this
sickness effected her mentally.  It is known, however, that this
robust women grew weaker until many of her duties fell to her
advisors.  These were the same men who had opposed Von Ryan in the
beginning.  The anti-Ryan clique grew in power and numbers.  They
poisoned the Duchess' feelings about the Count.

Von Ryan realized what was going on.  He made several attempts
to meet with the Duchess in person.  He was put off or never
allowed to talk to her in private until their fateful meeting at
his villa on Yuen.  By this time her advisors had done their work.
She had been convinced that Von Ryan planned rebellion.  There were
also unconfirmed reports that doctor, now part of the plot, had
given her drugs that increased her paranoia.  She issued ultimatums
that would have undone his good work in the County and made him a
figurehead to a Noble "advisor".  Too many good people believed in
what he was doing.  He could not accept the terms.  The meeting
ended ominously.

The Battle of Churchward

Count Von Ryan learned that the Duchy's Navy had assembled a
battle fleet at the Churchward System.  Included with the warships
were transports and assault troops.  The implication was clear; war
was being forced upon him.  He could wait for the enemy to attack
at the time and location of their choice or he could strike at
their fleet first.  After agonizing over the decision for days he
chose to strike first.

Using several of his new "Pocket Battleships", ships using a
configuration similar to system defense boats but with much greater
power, Von Ryan's Admiral Torgusson attacked the Duchy battle
fleet.  A bloody engagement followed.  The Duchy Fleet was defeated
with heavy casualties.  An Imperial Battleship, in orbit over the
naval base on Churchward, lost power and crashed down onto the
base, killing thousands.

Von Ryan knew that the die was now cast.  Peace without victory by
one side was no longer possible.  He ordered his small fleet to
strike the heart of Duchy as rapidly as possible.  Only a quick
victory could prevent massive loss of life.

The Battle of Varren's Planet

The "Liberation Fleet" as the Yuen forces were now called,
struck at the strategically important Varren's Planet System.
However, Von Ryan's navy had a worm in its guts.  Captain Arlis
Camton was Chief Engineer of the Yuen Navy.  He was also in the pay
of the Duchy Intelligence Services.  He had rigged the four of the
Yuen ships so that during the battle they suffered massive drive
failures.  He was later caught and executed but the sabotage was
hushed up to avoid damaging moral.

The battle itself was a tactical victory for Rebels as they
inflicted massive damage on the Duchy fleet.  However, it was a
strategic victory for the Imperials.  Von Ryan's fleet had taken
small but irreplaceable losses.  Also, the strain of two major
fleet actions without repair or refits, strained men and machines
to the breaking point.

Von Ryan could now see that the odds were turning against them.
He called a meeting of all officers and offered to surrender
himself to the Duchess' forces in exchange for amnesty for his
men.  In an emotional scene every man swore he would prefer to risk
death than have their leader surrender himself.

The Battle of Trelyn Vrra

The only tactic that any chance of victory was an attack on
the Ducal Headquarters on Trelyn Vrra.  And the attack had to made
immediately.  Only jury rig repairs could be made.  The battle
seemed to start well for the Rebels as the Imperial Flagship was
caught without enough escorts and destroyed.  Unfortunately,
command of the Duchy ships fell on Senior Captain Nichlas Kellar.
He had spotted the poor condition of the Rebel ships.  He pulled
his resources together and fought a running battle that taxed all
the ships to their limits.  Systems began to fail on the rebel
ships.  The tide changed.  Crippled ships were forced to surrender
or picked off at will. Even the Rebel flagship apparently lost
control of weapons system.  It turned on its white globe generator
and disappeared.

There are several stories about what happen to Count Von Ryan's
ship.  Some say that the anti-matter generator failed and the
ship was destroyed.  Some say that the ship tried to jump too
deep in the gravity well and misjumped to parts unknown.  There are
those that say that Von Ryan scuttled his own ship to avoid capture
and trial.  Of course, the official explanation is that Von Ryan
abandoned his fleet and fled.  All that can be certain is that no
sign of him or his crew has been found since then.

Aftermath

The Grand Duchess lived just long enough to see her victory.
Then the sickness that led to her isolation claimed her.  All her
direct heirs were dead.  The fleet was decimated.  The
disappearance of Von Ryan threw the Yuen worlds into chaos.  For
almost a year there were pitched battles between various that had
worked together only as long as Von Ryan had been in charge.  Trade
was reduced and pirates reemerged more powerful than ever.  The
Altarians severed communications.

Eventually the Congress Forces under President Kellar moved in
and reestablished order.  Leaders under Von Ryan were purged.  The
irony is that the Nobility that had acted to destroy Von Ryan never
did return to real power.  The reforms of the Congress robbed them
of their traditional "powers" under law.  Many still retain
positions of authority there is no guarantee that their children
will inherit more than a title.

The Von Ryan years were a kind of golden age for Yuen and her
neighbors.  The potential seemed to unlimited as the twin engines
of high technology and equality drove our people great heights.
Young people, in this materialistic era, should learn the lessons
of that time.

(reproduced by permission of Chuck Kallenbach II)
