THE UNDERGROUND / GXG (The 100)

10

Zalia guided them to another door and they got to the hydro farm. "This is our hydroponic farm, our main source of food. The plants don't need soil or sunlight to grow. They just need water, grow lamps," Zalia said and points to the lamps. "And special care, of course." She kept walking while she explained, and Lexa looked around in amazement. The farm was huge, there were hundreds of aisles that contained thousands of plants. The farm was divided by the plant species. Fruit plants in one area, vegetables in another area, and so on.

The farmers smiled and nodded to the captain and the grounders, looking thrilled because they were visiting. An older woman walked over and bowed to the Commander, telling her how happy she was to finally meet her. After that, she thanked Zalia for bringing the Heda to the underground and Zalia just smiled and nodded. The undergrounders were noticeably excited about seeing the Commander, and that made Zalia very happy.

Lexa noticed that the undergrounders were very happy with Zalia. Whenever she walked in a room they would smile and quickly give her updates of whatever job they were doing. Zalia seemed to be far more relaxed than she has ever seen her before. It was clear how comfortable she was around her people, and how much she cared about them. The undergrounders also seemed to know exactly who Lexa was. And she was slightly surprised. She didn't expect them to be so respectful towards her. It was like they didn't even consider her to be a threat. They were treating her with respect instead of fear. Something that she wasn't used to. Most of her people respected her with fear, but these people didn't seem to be scared, they looked happy, excited.

Zalia then guided them to the hangar. "This is where we keep our vehicles. As you can see, here are the bikes you already saw a few days ago," she pointed to the hoverbikes. "These are trucks and rovers. They can carry more people and equipment. Then we have aircraft vehicles which allow us to travel quickly to farther distances, and finally, we have amphibious and water vehicles. With them we can travel underwater," Zalia explained while she pointed to each category of vehicles. Lexa looked amazed at what Zalia was explaining, but she wasn't asking any questions. So Zalia wrapped up the tour and guided them to the dining area so they could finally eat. The main table was reserved for Zalia, Lexa and the grounders. So once they walked in the mess hall, the staff guided the grounders to the table while Zalia led Lexa to her chair. Once they were all seated, the staff brought each of them the plate of food. This system is completely different from what Lexa was used to since in her feast each person would take whatever they wanted.

***

The lunch went great. Zalia was proud that the food was delicious. It was slightly funny to see the grounders eating more veggies and fruits than meat. But she was glad that they thought it was delicious. When Zalia saw Lexa finishing up her food, she whispered to her "I wanna show you something." Lexa looked at her with curiosity and Zalia continued. "I left out a few things from the tour, they're secluded sectors of the facility. I'd like for you to see them. You can bring a few warriors if you want. But the ones that you trust the most," Zalia said quickly before standing up. Zalia's guards stood up as well but she motioned for them to stay. Lexa stood up as well and did the same. Zalia smiled softly at her, this was the first time Lexa trusted Zalia enough to be in her company alone. Zalia started walking towards a different elevator, Lexa following her.

"I still haven't shown you the brain and heart of the facility," Zalia said to Lexa when they got in the elevator. "You seem very proud of this place and your people," Lexa told her while she kept her eyes up front. Zalia nodded, "I am. I give them my all and they do the same for me. We all work really hard to keep this place going." Lexa smiled at that. It was the first time Zalia saw her smiling.

When the elevator doors opened they were met by a long hallway with gray doors. Zalia walked out first and guided Lexa to one of the doors. When Zalia opened the door they could hear children laughing and playing. Zalia walked in first and the kids ran over to her. "Captain!!" they screamed in excitement when they saw her. She laughed and crouched down to hug them. "Hello kiddos. Are you guys behaving?" They nodded softly and giggled. Zalia looked at the teacher and raised her eyebrow. He smiled and nodded as well. "They are, Captain," he responded her silent question. "Well that's good because I'm gonna introduce you to our Heda," she stood up and looked at Lexa who was standing by the door. "I want you all to say 'Monin, Heda'," (Welcome, Commander.) Zalia told the kids. They nodded and spoke up looking up at her "Monin, Heda," they said a bit shyly. Lexa smiled a bit and nodded. The kids went back to their teacher and Zalia said goodbye before walking out with Lexa.