The X-Project

Thanks to a last minute technical volunteer in Callisto, Red-X travels to Sri Lanka and arrives at the Red Cross camp.



It wasn't as hot as they might have been expecting. The idea of India and Sri Lanka usually brought up images of sweltering heat, baking the ground into a hot cracked surface. But the jeeps they were in were bracketed by thick forests, and while the sun was certainly shining, it wasn't much hotter than an August day in New York. So very different than what could have been expected, and yet, there was still the feeling of danger in the air. The small signs like an overgrown hulk of a truck at the side of the road, obviously attacked an burned in years past, dark streaks of carbon on the runway at Mankulam, where they had landed, which was explained as rocket fire from the civil war; Sri Lanka was still very close to their past of all out conflict, and there was nothing that tempered that feeling.

The jeeps pulled off the dirt road, and as the forest broke, the Red Cross camp came into clear view. It had been perched near the edge of the forest area, on a wide, flat vista which following gentle swells and dips until being swallowed up by another long line of green vegetation, and then sharply cut off by jutting mountains. Across the field were a number of obviously well used footpaths and rut laced dirt roads, making the camp seem as a sort of crossroads in the area.

As they climbed from the jeeps, a man walked through the large, wide open gate in the chainlink fencing that surrounded the camp, dusting his hands. He was dressed in light khakis and wore an armband with the Red Cross symbol on it. It was something that normally was only worn during disaster relief, where aide workers would don vest, armbands and hats with the symbol to identify their organization. The dark haired man obviously wished to regularly be known as an aide worker, another hint to an unstable land.

"Ola! Hello!" He called out, as he reached the group. He was a small man, with a naturally dark face tanned even further by the sun, and etched with deep lines. He could have been a very weathered forty or a youthful sixty, it was hard to tell. But his greeting was warm, the Portuguese liquid with his accent. "You are the Red-X mutants, verdade? We've been expecting you. I'm Dr DiAlvito. Vasco Di Alvito. Welcome to Sri Lanka."

Even without the words spoken in Portuguese, the doctor's accent was unmistakable to Crystal, as she had born and raised on an island country off the coast of Portugal. "Agradecida," she replied with a nod and a smile. "I am Crystal Amaquelin. It is a pleasure to meet you, Dr. DiAlvito."

"Amaquelin, of Attilan, of course." He smiled back and looked over her shoulder at where Callisto had stepped out, taking in the scar and the slightly dangerous look of her. Bodyguard perhaps? "So, these are your charges. Hello, all of you."

Callisto looked up and caught his eye as he glanced at her, scowling, though it seemed more a default expression than any indication of malice or hostility. Apparently entirely unaffected by the moderate heat (though her bare shoulders and arms were already looking a little red) she sauntered without a word round to the back of the jeep to begin unloading equipment.

Climbing out of the jeep, Yvette took another drink from the water flask she had slung on a strap around her neck; while the heat wasn't fierce, her skin didn't sweat and regulating her temperature was something she had to keep an eye on. Glancing between Callisto and Dr. DiAlvito, she hesitated, natural shyness warring with her sense of responsibility. Responsibility won - she came forward and nodded, keeping her gloved hands carefully behind her back for safety's sake. "Hello, sir."

Laurie wasn't far behind Yvette, considering the two had been sitting together and she smiled at the doctor as Yvette said hello. It had been an interesting trip so far, Sri Lanka was somewhere she'd never been and so everything was new, even the things that seemed rather everyday.

Scrambling out of the back of the jeep, Angel looked around with some excitement. The trip had been tiring but now that they were there, she was starting to regain some of her energy. "Hello!" she said cheerfully, waving as she joined up with the group. "I'm Angel, sir, nice to meet you." She bounced on her toes as she stretched out her legs, working out the kinks.

"Please, all of you, follow me. Your supplies will be brought in, but for now, I think just a brief tour of the camp, I can answer any questions you might have, and we'll get you settled in." Di Alvito motioned them along through the gate.

Cessily kept to the back of the group, eyes wide as she took in the details of the new place. A full half her mind concentrated on not being noticed, but she couldn't help but stare. She never thought she'd end up halfway across the world. Her fascinated gaze took in every detail as they moved from the forested gate to the encampment.

Laurie had moved up to walk beside Dr. DiAlvito, wanting to make sure he'd be able to hear any questions she might think to ask. It was the first time she'd done anything like this with RedX, and the things needed for disaster relief were very different from those needed in a prolonged conflict. "How many people are you currently housing here, Doctor?"

"About eighty-five at present. This whole area has been in the crosshairs of potential civil war for three decades now, so especially outside of the cities, the infrastructure is very limited. We're the only stable medical facility in a twenty kilometre radius, and the sole source for immunization in this region." He waved to the tents and one of the dorm buildings. "We have two small surgeries in the first building, and house patients in the other two. Our regular staff are mostly housed above the surgical bays, but unfortunately, you'll have to be housed in tents to keep you together as a group. Our standing capacity is two hundred and fifteen beds, but with tents, we can expand to about four hundred patients. During the tsunami, we ran with just under that number."

Crystal listened as the doctor spoke, thinking about the number that had just been mentioned. The young woman also took looks around, observing the behaviors and reactions of the rest of their party, especially the younger set. She was the only responsible adult in the group, as right now there was no force on earth that could make her consider Callisto someone she and the others could rely on. It was one thing to not go out of your way to make friends, and another thing entirely to seem to purposely keep people at bay. Laurie and Angel seemed to be quite excited and eager to be here (and of course it was hard to imagine Angel being anything but bright and bouncy), Yvette didn't seem to be showing any problems, but Crystal made a mental note to keep an eye on Cessily.

"What sort of problems are you anticipating?" Laurie asked, continuing to walk with the doctor as he showed them through the compound.

"There was an incident yesterday involving the Tamil Eelam and the Indian Navy. One of their soldiers, a mutant, struck and sunk two Indian ships before being killed. The Sinhalese government of Sri Lanka has put the blame squarely on the backs of the Tamils, and there's been reports of intensified fighting between the two factions recently." Dr. DiAlvito shook his head. Even after almost a decade in the country, the quick and oft-brutal escalations to violence still never failed to surprise him. "We're far from the coast, and from the main Tamil population centres, so I don't anticipate any immediate danger, but if our perpetual civil war heats up again, this camp will be busy as we're the only medical facility in this area. It happens, from time to time.

After a cursory tour of the camp, the group were led to their 'quarters' - a set of newly erected tents - and Callisto disappeared back in the direction of the jeeps to help the staff who were moving their gear, shouldering the remainder of their bags and returning a few moments later.

"Where d'you want the water cleaning kit to be set-up?" she directed shortly at the Doctor on her return, her usually low, quiet tones rather louder than normal - the first words she'd spoken almost since they'd left the plane. The flight here had been less than pleasant for her, the constant roar of the engines leaving a nasty ringing in her ears that had rendered her grumpier even than usual, and it was taking some time for her hearing to return to normal.

"Paula will meet you at your jeeps. She is in charge of the physical plant here at the camp." Vasco said, lingering at the door flap of the tent. "Is there anything else you need? Otherwise, I'll leave you in the capable hands of my staff to get you squared away and to work."

Yvette shook her head. She'd been very quiet, absorbing everything around her, and she had her special bedding in her bag. "I think we are being ready and waiting, Doctor," she said, glancing around at the others for confirmation.

Crystal nodded to Yvette, took another quick look around, then looked back at Dr. DiAlvito. "Yes, we are ready. Thank you for your time, and for being here, both for us and for those in need."