The Republic of ARMY

3. New Project

Being back at Gigiri after such an amazing trip was a bit of a downer. Luckily, we spent the first day presenting what we had learnt to everyone in the office in a special CME* session.

The organization had given me two days to acclimate to the timezone, so my travel sickness wasn't too bad. I looked better than the ones who went out to drink after arriving in JKIA.

As always, Mercy blushed when my boss, Richard Sloane headed in our direction. He was young and attractive, and he was about two years older than me. I was the Environmental Health Officer in charge of research, while he supervised me and a bunch of other "senior juniors."

He was 6'1", with a toned body and tanned skin from all his years living under the Nairobi sun. He was a professor at twenty seven, and that was the reason I had quickly enrolled for, studied and graduated from my masters in record time. I was also wrapping up on my PhD thanks to him.

He always challenged me to make my days count, and not to count my days.

Good phrase.

His dark hair went well with his hazel eyes. Mercy lost the capacity to think straight whenever he looked her way, which he did often. She'd become jittery and confused and then i'd laugh at the poor girl's nerves before assuring her that she looked just right.

Back to the story though.

Richard approached us with a big smile on his face. It was his good news smile. "I have amazing news for you two!"

"Uh..."

"There's a new project that my boss wants you to undertake."

"What...?"

"Yes. He wants you to go see him with the rest of your department. It is linked to your thesis research. Everything has already been prepared."

"Is this a new trip...?"

"Well... Yes... But I am not at liberty to say where to."

"Oh... Okay..."

"The meeting is in an hour's time. Don't worry, i'll be there," here he threw a look at Mercy who almost swooned. Oh my, this girl had it bad!

"Thanks Rick," I said.

"By the way, good job out there. That was amazing. Your notes were really good. Down to the names of the projects and the presenters of each." He patted my back and told Mercy to learn a lot from me before turning on his heel and leaving.

Mercy told me that the photo bomber of my picture was definitely Kim Namjoon. She went ahead to list evidence that proved it was him, and it even involved photos the band's Twitter posted of their day in Guangzhou. Apparently, I was in two of them. One at a food stall three streets away from where I took my photo, and the other of me in the background, taking photos with the scenery in the background.

Namjoon seemed distracted both times.

I laughed it off in disbelief. It couldn't have been me... Right? I was stuffing my face when they took the one at the food stall. Though one couldn't see my face, they could still see my side profile.

And my cheeks were as round as a chipmunk.

I was humiliated. Mercy insisted it was cute though, so I chose to halfheartedly believe in that assumption.

The much awaited meeting came, and then the briefing happened. Dr. Li told me I was being sent on a new assignment to assist in the newest Green Corridor Event that sought to plant more trees between the Sahara and the Savannahs.

They were looking to start a similar one up in the North.

"How far North are we talking?" I cautiously asked. Dr. Li smiled, her eyes seeming to disappear. "Turkana? Marsabit? Mandera?"

"Try, much further north. Like, out of this country north."

"Khartoum?"

"Much further."

She quickly showed the next slide in her presentation. "This little place that is no man's land, but still requires one to seek permission from Egypt's military to get in."

"Don't tell me you're talking about..."

"Bir Tawil? Yes. Hala'ib Triangle? We tried to score that but it was not too easy. The project is still on the table though. If you can make something out of Bir Tawil, then both Sudan and Egypt might consider agreeing to us carrying out a project there."

"Wait... So, you want me to go there...?"

"Yes. This was your pet project after all, wasn't it? You turned a lot of places green Raina. The residents of Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, Tana River, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera are very thankful to you. It is time you upgraded your research portfolio."

"But... Is it safe...? That's literally no man's land...!"

"That is why you'll be going with UN Peacekeeping troops. I think you will find some amazing company within those ranks." Here she winked at her. "Part of your team will be joining you too, while the other part continues to assist from the home turf. You will regularly travel to other countries to meet with advisors who we think can help make this project a success."

"Whoa. You really thought this out."

"Raina... We feel blessed to have a woman like you on our team. Please say yes," Rick coaxed.

"Will you be coming too?" Mercy asked hopefully. Rick nodded, making the young girl grin and giggle.

"As we speak, an entire small village is being put up to hold all of you. Everything is in place to make this a success. All you need to do is work."

"Huh... Okay... I guess I really can't say no to this."

The team quietly cheered their brave leader. Even then, their hearts were filled with doubt. How could they not worry? Bir Tawil was not too far from Hala'ib which was a dispute region. Would they be safe?

"No one lives there...?"

Dr. Li smiled at Mercy gently. "You will probably be the first in modern times."

"Fudge, where the hell are you taking us?!"

*CME - Continuous Medical Education (ongoing weekly trainings that are similar to On-The-Job trainings)