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  Invasion: California

  (Invasion America Series)

  by Vaughn Heppner

  “All war is based on deception.”

  -- From: The Art of War, by Sun Tzu (c. 544-496 B.C.)

  Copyright © 2012 by the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

  Preface

  Invasion: California is a story about disastrous events. It postulates a world teetering on the brink of starvation due to glacial cooling.

  It is a “what if” story. What if the farmable land in the world shrank dramatically, and what if American earth became one of the most precious commodities left? What if other countries—led by Greater China and its Pan-Asian Alliance—decided it was going to conquer U.S. soil? Lastly, what if America no longer dominated world affairs due to a sovereign debt depression and other, mostly self-inflicted, wounds?

  Interestingly, there is a historical precedent for continental-sized conquest fought with the latest technology. The Third Reich made the attempt a little over seventy years ago in World War II.

  At the start of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Germany set out to conquer European Russian. In terms of depth, the final objectives were just short of the Ural Mountains. In America, that would be the distance from the East Coast to Kansas City, Missouri.

  The Germans’ gigantic conquest began along a 1,720-mile front stretching from the Barents Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. Again, in American terms, that would be from the northern border of Maine all the way down to the southern tip of Florida.

  The Germans invaded with approximately three million soldiers, while the Russians defended in the theater with slightly fewer. By 1943, Germany fielded almost four million troops there, while Russia had put over 6.7 million soldiers in place. Incredible as it may seem, by war’s end, the Russians had lost 14.7 million military dead. Some people estimate that their total dead and missing—military and civilian—was 35 million. Those are horrifying numbers, beginning to sound like nuclear war casualties.

  What does any of that have to do with Invasion: California? In attempting to envision foreign powers invading North America, I used as one of my guides the titanic conflict of World War II, particularly between Germany and Soviet Russia. I suspect that in a future war of such scale, millions of soldiers would march to battle once again.

  Invasion: California is fiction about a future I hope none of us ever has to face. Nevertheless, if present trends continue…who knows what will happen by 2039.

  Timeline to War

  1997: The British return Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China.

  2011: China reviews its one-child per family policy begun in 1978 and decides to continue it. This increasingly creates an overabundance of boys as families abort a higher percentage of girls.

  2012: China carries much of the U.S. National Debt and continues to sell America a vast surplus of finished goods.

  2016: The American banking system and stock market crashes as the Chinese unload their U.S. Bonds. The ripple effect creates the Sovereign Debt Depression throughout the world.

  2017: Siberia secedes from a bankrupt Russia.

  2018: Scientists detect the beginning of a new glacial period that is similar to the chilly temperatures that occurred during the Black Death period of the Middle Ages.

  2019: The Marriage Act is passed. As the Chinese men greatly outnumber the women, special government permits are needed before a man is allowed to marry a woman.

  2020: Due to new glaciation, there are repeated low yields and crop failures in China and elsewhere. It brings severe political unrest to an already economically destabilized world.

  2021: An expansion-minded Socialist-Nationalist government emerges in China. It demands that Siberia return the Great Northeastern Area stolen during Tsarist times. It also renews calls for reunification with Taiwan.

  2022: The Sovereign Debt Depression—and an ongoing civil war in Mexico—create political turmoil in America, particularly in the Southwest. There is an increase in terrorism, secessionist movements and a plummeting Federal budget. All American military forces return home as the U.S. grows isolationist.

  2023: The Mukden Incident sparks the Sino-Siberian War. Chinese armies invade. The ailing Russian government ignores Siberian cries for military aid. America’s new isolationism prevents any overseas interference.

  Modernized equipment and an excessive pool of recruits eager to win marriage permits bring swift victory to Chinese arms over Siberia. It annexes the Great Northeastern Area. Siberia becomes a client state.

  2024: Aggressive posturing and long-range aircraft stationed on the Chinese coast cause the aging U.S. Fleet to retreat from Taiwan. China invades and captures Taiwan. Its navy now rivals the shrunken USN.

  2026: Newly discovered deep oilfields in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska prove among the world’s largest.

  2027: The civil war in Mexico worsens. The bulk of America’s Homeland Security Forces now stand guard on the Rio Grande.

  2028: The continuing modernization of the oil industry in Siberia, the Great Northeastern Area and in the South China Sea turns Greater China into the largest oil-producing nation in the world. China begins to dictate OPEC policies.

  2030: The cooling trend worsens, bringing record winter temperatures. New energy sources cannot keep pace with increasing demand. American energy hunger sweeps away the last environmental concerns. All possible energy sources are exploited.

  2031: Harsher weather patterns and growing world population causes greater food rationing in more countries. The main grain exporting nations—Canada, America, Argentina and Australia—form a union along similar lines as OPEC. China warns it may cut America off from all oil supplies unless it is given priority status for grain shipments.

  2032: China experiences the worst rice harvest of the Twenty-first century. New rationing laws are instituted. Internal unrest rises to dangerous levels as Party officials seek new food sources. Invasion: Alaska. The Chinese attack in order to cut off America’s main oil source and force the U.S. into favorable food-for-oil trades.

  After the armistice, there is growing world furor over the nuclear-tipped torpedoes used in the Alaskan War. Greater China places harsh economic sanctions on the U.S. The German Dominion, the Brazilian-led South American Federation and the Iranian Hegemony soon follow suit.

  2033: The Mexican civil war reignites. The SNP—the Socialist-Nationalist Party—seeks Chinese help. Chinese military advisors arrive.

  Glacial cooling continues to devastate worldwide crop yields. Led by Brazil and backed by Greater China, the South American Federation declares war on Argentina, a Grain Union member.

  2034: Hostilities end with Buenos Aires’s capture by Brazilian forces. Argentina leaves the Grain Union and joins the South American Federation.

  Continuing sanctions cripple U.S. recovery efforts. Domestic terrorism and secessionist threats increase as political turmoil worsens—the Democrats and Republicans demonize each other, bringing gridlock.

  With increasing Chinese military support, the SNP rapidly gains ground in the Mexican Civil War.

  2035: Colonel Cesar Valdez seeks American assistance and safe havens for his Free Mexico Army. Mexican Pr
esident Felipe asks for greater Chinese assistance. China accelerates its troop buildup in Mexico.

  Continuing poor crop yields and increasing starvation leads to the creation of the Pan Asian Alliance (PAA). This includes Greater China and most of Southeast Asia. Military preparations are begun for an Australian Invasion.

  Hawaii now erupts with racial violence. The Hawaiian Nativist Party seeks independence from “supremacist” America.

  2036: China’s Thirteen Demands are read in the U.N. Amid the worsening glaciation, they find massive appeal. Demand # 1: America and its Grain Union allies must distribute their abundance equally throughout the world. Demand #2: America must accept third party nutrition inspectors at its granaries and warehouses.

  The Hawaiian rebel government seeks foreign help. China sends an invasion fleet. America sends its carriers. The Chinese launch a surprise attack on American satellites and other space assets, combining it with a massive cyber-assault on the U.S. Crippled by the cyber-attack on their datalinks, the American fleet is destroyed in the Battle of Oahu.

  General Sims—the former Joint Forces Commander in Alaska during the Chinese invasion—runs as an Independent and wins the Presidency. He signs the Non-Nuclear Use Treaty, pledging that America will never again use nuclear weapons first. He also agrees to begin food shipments through the Chinese-dominated U.N. Some economic sanctions against America are lifted. At the same time, the President declares a state of emergency and begins construction of the Rio Grande Defensive Line due to the 700,000 PAA troops in Mexico.

  2037: Seeking to escape forced induction into the South American Federation, the Cuban dictator asks for German Dominion military assistance. The first GD airmobile brigade arrives in Cuba.

  Terrorists detonate a low-yield nuclear weapon in Silicon Valley, destroying much of the critical American high-technology center. Evidence points to Chinese involvement.

  By the end of the year, the PAA’s Mexico-occupation troops number two and a half million. Free Mexico Army assassins kill Mexican President Felipe.

  2038: Claiming American provocations, China accelerates its troop buildup. Over four million soldiers occupy Mexico. The first South American Federation troops arrive.

  President Sims orders a preemptive satellite assault, using the strategic ABM lasers to knock out all foreign objects that enter American space. He cuts off all grain tribute to the U.N.

  The PAA, the SAF and the GD sign a secret accord against America.

  2039: Nearly six million PAA troops occupy Mexico, combined with three million SAF troops. The GD moves the bulk of its long-range hovers into Cuba.

  -1-

  The Stumble

  SAN JUAN BASE, MEXICO

  The stumble into war began in the bedroom of Colonel Peng of the Fifth Transport Division. He lay naked on top of Donna Cruz, a Mexican teenager with raven-colored hair and the sensual moves of a serpent. The moment of ecstasy quickly arrived and Peng cried out in release.

  He rolled off her, yawned and closed his eyes. No wonder soldiers volunteered for duty in Mexico. Yes, war loomed, but the abundance of willing and attractive females in this land was truly staggering. Peng had never won a marriage permit as Chinese law dictated. He wondered if that had been a mistake.

  “Colonel?” the girl asked. “Are you asleep?”

  He opened his eyes. She sat beside him. What marvelous breasts and such a flat stomach with its outie bellybutton. Oh. The flatness of the stomach was because she seldom had enough to eat.

  The rationing in Mexico was strict. The country’s painfully-grown crops first fed the “invited” soldiers protecting the Socialist-Nationalist Revolution. That meant nearly ten million mouths, ten million hungry foreigners. Afterward, the Mexican government employees took precedence, the Mexican Home Army and then munitions workers. Every Mexican possessed a ration card. Peng’s young temptress had a third class card, no doubt why she supplemented her lifestyle as his girlfriend.

  Does she have other “boyfriends?”

  “Colonel?” she asked again.

  It was atrocious Chinese, but at least she could speak it. Actually, it was much better than most Mexicans achieved.

  Peng yawned, idly wondering why he became so sleepy after doing it.

  “Do you have a present for me, Colonel?” she asked, smiling as she batted her eyelashes.

  “Yes. It’s in the third drawer, my dear. I have a package for you. Why don’t you get it?”

  She scooted off the bed. Peng raised his head to examine her wonderful butt. It swayed seductively as she padded across the floor. Only in Mexico could he have won such a beauty.

  She opened the third drawer and squealed with delight, taking out a large package wrapped in red paper.

  “It’s heavy,” she said.

  “I have sausages, whiskey for your father and other delicacies for you. There are also several hundred pesos within.”

  “You are kind to me.”

  He closed his eyes and lay back. Kindness had nothing to do with it. He was a supply officer and had learned a long time ago that spreading delicacies around solved many problems, including a loveless life. Let the fighters win glory on the battlefield. He would use his position to “buy” what he needed.

  “I can return four days from now,” she said. It was a long bicycle ride from Mexico City where she lived. He had been thinking about purchasing a room for her nearby. Many officers did that, but Peng had been saving his money, sending it to his aging mother in China.

  Peng smiled as he became increasingly sleepy. Four days from now and he would neigh like a stallion as he enjoyed another night with this amazing creature. Yes, four days and—he frowned.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked.

  Through the mattress, he felt her climb back onto the bed. Her warm hands rubbed his chest. She always told him how she loved his smooth skin. It wasn’t hairy like a gorilla.

  “I’m going to be busy four days from now,” Peng told her.

  “Oh,” she pouted, taking away her hands.

  Peng yawned. It was getting hard to stay awake. “I’m going to be very busy moving Blue Swan. Another shipment arrives, from Japan this time.”

  “Couldn’t you get away for just a little while?” she asked. “I really want to see you again, Colonel.”

  Peng smiled faintly. The girl was amazing in bed but otherwise unimaginative. She never seemed to understand he had tasks to perform.

  “No, my dear,” he mumbled, beginning to fade away. “I have to oversee everything.” She probably couldn’t understand that. “Blue Swan is critical,” he explained. “It is the can opener that will pry apart American defenses. It would be my death to slip away to see you, delightful as that would be. I…”

  Colonel Peng’s head tilted until his right cheek sank against the pillow. He drifted to sleep. Thus he never saw Donna Cruz stare at him in amazement.

  MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

  The next night, Daniel Cruz stared bleary-eyed at his teenaged daughter. She paraded through their tiny living room in a red dress. She was stunning, his daughter. It amazed Daniel that he had ever produced such a pretty girl with such long, raven hair.

  “Where did you find the money to buy that?” he asked.

  She frowned.

  It hurt Daniel’s heart to see that. He should have told her how beautiful she looked. It’s what he would have told his wife. She had died three years ago. Everything had gone sour afterward: his wife dying and his daughter learning to whore herself out to the Chinese. He knew where she’d “earned” the money to buy a red dress like that.

  Daniel picked up a glass, swirling the brown-colored whiskey at the bottom. He sipped, letting the alcohol slide down his throat. A moment later, the pleasant burn and the numbing in his mind began. This was good whiskey, better than he’d had in a long time.

  “You’re pretty,” he muttered.

  Donna swirled on her toes. She had such slender legs, perfectly muscled from all the bicycling she did. W
herever she rode, Daniel knew his daughter turned heads.

  “Do you sleep with them?” he asked bitterly.

  Anger flashed in her eyes. She strode to the nightstand and grabbed the whiskey bottle by the neck. “I brought you this! Drink it and drown your sorrows. But do not ask me what I do as if you’re a shocked priest. You work for them, Papa! I work for them! So do not judge me.”

  Daniel wanted to surge up and slap her across the face. He had bad knees, hobbling like an old man wherever he went. Bicycling to the office every day only made his knees worse. They popped and crackled horribly when he pedaled. He held out his glass to her, deciding silence would be his whip.

  She poured, slammed the bottle onto the nightstand and strode across the living room. Before leaving, she whirled around. “You should thank me and you should thank Colonel Peng for his generous gifts.”

  Daniel sipped whiskey, looking away. He would ignore her. She knew better; thus, he would let her own conscience whip her.

  “The colonel is an important man!” she declared.

  Daniel snorted. They were always important.

  “He’s in charge of Blue Swan,” Donna said.

  “Birds?” asked Daniel, letting his voice drip with mockery.

  “No! Blue Swan is the can opener that will pry apart the American defenses.”

  Daniel’s head swung around. With the whiskey in him, it felt like a long journey. He stared at Donna, standing there so fiery, with her fists on her hips.