The next day bugs streamed out of the ships and rampaged through numerous neighborhoods. They acted like crazed monsters. Though some carried a laser-based Directed Energy Weapon while rampaging in LA, those were seldom used, at least not at first. The bugs seemed to prefer a more direct form of attack.
It wasn’t long before police special tactical units responded. Armed citizens reacted. The tactical units had a version of the military squad rifles using high velocity 6.8s. Citizens brought out energetic hunting rifles. All that firepower finally prompted armed response from the bugs and use of their single seat fliers. The citizens of LA were forced to hide or flee. That seemed to be the overarching intent. The bugs were forcing people out of the greater Los Angeles area. Authorities decided to capitulate and began a general evacuation.
The bugs, in turn, spread out and set up fortified positions throughout the region. For reasons unknown, the bugs left the downtown core area intact. They commandeered and guarded grocery outlets. At the same time they destroyed entire neighborhoods. Soon, much of LA was burning, and a sickening smog of smoke blanketed the area.
The military quickly planned a counter offensive to the bug invasion of Los Angeles, dubbing it Angelic Response. It would involve a classic attack using the subterfuge of a false amphibious assault along with a show of incredible shock and awe. The primary attack would then come from another direction.
On day two of the invasion the 1Xth Marine Expeditionary Unit was flown to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, near San Diego. They boarded amphibious landing ships and moved out to sea along with the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group. It would be a very short trip to their first destination, Santa Catalina Island. There, the task force made a point of practicing landing operations on the beaches of Santa Catalina Island in plain view of Long Beach.
In the meantime, the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group was steaming to the area at flank speed from an origin point off the Washington coast.
Each strike group had destroyers equipped with EM rail gun systems; littoral combat ships equipped with laser weapon systems <LaWS>; guided missile destroyers with hypervelocity missiles. The forces linked systems via the 3rd Fleet’s Aegis Defender Ballistic Missile Defense system. The battle group had the capability of projecting their power even to low Earth orbit. It was a believable show of force.
By day four, hundreds of M1A2 and M1A3 tanks were forming up in the high desert northeast of LA. One in 10 was equipped with a LaWS. The rest were all of the upgraded series, capable of using the hyper velocity projectile. The tanks were soon joined by Paladin Integrated Management 155 mm mobile howitzers and a number of Brutus 155 mm howitzers. Most were equipped with the hyper velocity projectile super-bore. Some of the tank companies had the latest ramjet powered munitions. Lastly, the Multiple Ordnance Launch Roller Systems <MOLaRS> rolled in.
Most of the equipment arrived at the high desert staging area by rail from the Sierra Army Depot in Northern California. The weapon systems were framed and tarped to look like just so much cargo.
Aircraft were also moving to staging areas throughout the western states. B-21 Raider stealth bombers; B-1R missile truck aircraft carrying AIM 120D, LREW missiles, and hypervelocity missiles <hypes>; F22 Raptors; F35 Lightnings; AC-130U Spectre gunships; even some B-1B and B-2 bombers. There were two AWACS aircraft to oversee the operation. As a show of resolve, brand new 6th generation interdictor class aircraft with fiber laser shatter <FLaSh> systems were called up, their first use in actual combat. Those 6th-gen wonders would hopefully live up to their nickname, the BAD-Ones, Blocker Air Dominance - One.
Troops were moving in too. There would be a lot of them judging by the number of reactor trucks that arrived in the area, hauling reduced size Fusion Energized Reactor – Nuclear <RedFERNs>.
A shock and awe campaign started in the middle of the night. The air all around the alien craft glowed and shimmered as though an aurora borealis event was centered there. Military defense speculation raised during the missile attack that was launched as the invaders landed was confirmed. The ships had some sort of energetic shielding. Despite the apparent ineffectiveness the barrage of cruise missiles from numerous sites and air sorties from the carrier task force continued.
The display went on for hours as the armored equipment and ground forces moved into position preparing to pound the ships encircling LA. The ground assault group was designated ROLLING THUNDER.
The heavy equipment rolled in and separated into four sub-groups that took up positions using the cover of hilly terrain, one group for each ship. The maneuver protected the heavy guns from bug rail guns and laser cannons without compromising ballistic shelling.
As the ROLLING THUNDER groups settled in, the air force squadrons prepared for their initial attack runs. The air assault group was designated ANGEL WINGS. They divided into two command groups, North Group and East Group.
Just before dawn, as a grand finale before the start of the real event, two B-2s flew over the Long Beach ship. They each dropped an upsized MOABs right on top of the bug ship. The yield of each bomb was more than twice that of a traditional GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast. Those definitely got the attention of the bugs. Force field or not, they got slammed by the MOABs. It was apparent that nest ship shielding was effective in disbursing kinetic and thermal energy; the ship hulls sturdy, designed to dissipate energy. There are, of course, limitations to any shielding system.
The Long Beach ship soared straight up into low Earth orbit and destroyed all the local area military satellites watching over the operation. Only military satellites were destroyed. They seemed intent on retaining other satellites for their own use post invasion.
An entire Angel Wings squadron moved high to attack the ship. It was in low Earth orbit, still in
