Longest chapter to date 👀
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"You don't have to do this, Heda. We can send a team and they could give us the information about them. It's too risky, we don't know what they have planned," Titus said to the Commander while she trained. It was a week after the undergrounders have visited Polis. And now it was the grounders turn to visit the Underground. Lexa shook her head and spoke up while she was engaged in a sword fight with one of her warriors. "I won't do such thing, Titus. You know that's not how I do things," she said before kicking the warrior when he left an open space. He fell to the floor and she stopped, looking at Titus. "Make sure my things are ready, we leave in an hour," she turned back to the warrior who was now standing up and continued training.
*****
Back at the underground, Zalia was making sure everything was perfect. She had a week to prepare her people and she made sure everyone knows the protocol of what was gonna happen. She knew the Commander would be there in a few hours so she was going on the last tour through every work station making sure everyone was doing their job. Marian was a bit annoyed since Zalia had been more stressed than usual and that meant she put more work on her team. "You know she's gonna be impressed, either way, right? This is a technology that they've never seen before. Even if the hydro farm is at its hundred percent or at seventy-five percent it is still very impressive," Marian told Zalia while they walked out of the hydro farm, now going to the medical wing. Zalia nodded, "I know that. But we have to look impeccable. Our whole alliance depends on this," Zalia said while they walked in the medical wing.
***
Three hours later, Zalia hears T speaking through her comms, "They're here, Cap." Zalia gave the signal to Marian and headed over to the main gate to greet them. The main gate opened, and the gate guards were the first to welcome Lexa and her people. The grounders left the horses tied outside and walked down the main stairs following the two guards that greeted them at the gates. Once they reached the main elevator, one of the guards spoke up. "We have orders that only Heda, General Indra, and General Anya can keep their weapons," the guard said looking at the grounders. They didn't seem happy about it, but before they could protest Lexa nodded. "Do as he says," she spoke to her people. Lexa was accompanied by Indra, Anya, Gustus, and 10 more warriors.
Once they all got in the huge elevator, one of the guards pressed the U1 button and the elevator started moving. The grounders were pretty impressed with the fact that everything worked with electricity, but at the same time, it put them on edge knowing it was similar to the maunon's (mountain men's) system.
When the elevator doors opened, they were met by Zalia, Marian and Osias that were there waiting for them. The first thing that Lexa noticed was that the facility was indeed noticeably darker than the outside. "Welcome to the underground," Zalia spoke up first and looked at Lexa. "Heda, it's an honor to have you here. Thank you for accepting our invitation," Zalia said with a small smile. Lexa noticed she looked slightly nervous and she wondered why that could be. "This is Osias. He is my mentor and second in command," Zalia said and Osias nodded in respect. "It's an honor to finally meet you, Commander," Osias said looking at Lexa and she nodded in acknowledgment. Osias was a big man, he was buff, black, and he was about 45 years old. His left arm was a metal arm though. The grounders have never seen anything like it before, so it was very surprising for them.
"First we'd like to give you a small tour around the facility, and then we'll eat. Our cooks prepared a special meal for all of you. We don't usually eat a lot of meat, but our hunters worked very hard this week to have enough meat for today's dinner," Zalia explained briefly. "Well firstly, this is the main hall," Zalia spoke while she walked through the hall, Lexa walking beside her and the grounders following them. "Here is where kids play, people meet with each other and distract themselves from their jobs." They continued walking and Zalia guided them to the medical wing. "This is our medical wing," Zalia walked in first with Lexa, and the grounders followed inside. Lexa looked around and saw about twenty beds with lots of weird equipment beside each bed. There of them were occupied, and five people were walking around tending the patients. "That's our head doctor or healer, Dr. Martin. We have four other doctors helping him, and some assistants that are learning from them." Martin smiled at the grounders and nodded at the Commander in respect. "Heda, it's an honor meeting you," He said to Lexa and then nodded at the Captain with respect. Lexa seemed pretty impressed with the technology but still was a bit uneasy about it all.
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.
"This is our school. They spend most of their time here and at the main hall playing," Zalia explained while they walked through the hallway. "When they reach a certain age, they're tested and the ones that stand out are sent to training for possibly being the next Captain," Zalia said while they walked over to some stairs. They walked down the stairs and were met by some blue double doors. Zalia pushed the doors open and inside there was a huge training ground. Teenagers were running around through different circuits, and a few trainers could be heard yelling orders at them. "These are the candidates to be the next captain," Zalia said softly and looked at Lexa. "In our case, they don't wait until I'm dead. I could retire at any moment and our conclave would begin," Zalia spoke while they walked around the training ground. "And in our case the captain is chosen by various test and challenges. Varying from mental challenges, physical trials, and combat tests," Zalia explained as they walked closer to where the teens where.
The trainers blowed their whistle and the teenagers gathered. Zalia and Lexa walked closer and the teens bowed in respect. Zalia introduced them to the Commander and they seemed to be very amazed to be seeing her so up close. Zalia then guided Lexa to their engine room, trying to explain to her as simple as possible how their facility worked. After that they headed over to the Command Center and introduced her to the team. Through all this time Lexa looked thoughtful. She was assimilating every single piece of information that Zalia was giving her. And she was getting to see a completely different side of Zalia. Lexa was seeing Zalia being a lot more open, sweet, humble and inviting around her people. That was something she wasn't use to seeing in leaders.
The Commanders were taught to be strong, distant, fearless, and arrogant. They were taught to be brave and not show emotions unless they were to instill fear in others. And here she was seeing Zalia being the complete opposite of that. Her people respected her even when she wasn't intimidating them. That caused Lexa to ask herself if Zalia was being naive or if Titus teachings were in fact wrong. Zalia always captured Lexa's attention, ever since the moment she was brought to her when she was captured. And today was no exception, Lexa was certainly paying attention.
The last place Zalia wanted to show Lexa was right outside of the top entrance of the underground. Zalia guided Lexa to another elevator and she pressed the button T2. When the elevator doors opened they were met by a huge metal door that was very similar to the main gate. Zalia typed a number on a keypad and the door opened, leading them to a cave. Zalia walked out first and Lexa walked behind her, a bit hesitant to walk out since it seemed slightly strange. Lexa kept her hand on the hilt of her knife while she followed Zalia. Water could be heard through the cave, like there was a waterfall nearby. Zalia continued walking and it appeared they were walking out the cave, cause the more they walked, the brighter it got. Finally, Zalia turned to Lexa and smiled wide "Are you ready?" she said to Lexa. Lexa nodded and smiled a bit, finding it amusing that Zalia was this happy.
They walked around a corner and were met by the most beautiful sight they have ever seen. The cave opening was like a huge window. You could see a valley with rivers and mountains in the distance. The view was breathtaking. And in the middle of the cave opening, you could see the water falling down the cliff. Zalia had definitely saved the best for last.
She turned to look at Lexa and smiled. "So? What do you think?" Zalia asked with a smirk. She knew Lexa was loving the view by how amazed she looked. Zalia knew Lexa didn't show her emotions a lot, but this was definitely an exception. Lexa looked at Zalia and smiled. "This is incredible, Zalia. Thank you for sharing it with me," Lexa said honestly. Zalia chuckles a bit and nods softly. "You're very welcome, Lexa. I'm happy you're here," Zalia said boldly. It was the first time she had called Lexa by her name, and it caused Lexa to look at her with slightly pink cheeks. Lexa was grateful it was still slightly dark so Zalia couldn't see her blushing. Lexa was finally understanding Zalia. Before coming to the Underground Lexa was wondering why Zalia wasn't afraid of her. She was respectful but not scared. Which was something Lexa didn't see often. She have learned that the way to gain respect was to intimidate people. To make them see you're more powerful. And she thought Zalia was acting dumb for not doing the same. But now seeing how the underground people reacted to Zalia, how they looked at her filled with hope and admiration, how they trusted her... Now she understood. Zalia was the wisest and bravest leader Lexa have met. And she definitely could feel the attraction towards Zalia. She noticed she was feeling something for the Underground captain, but she wasn't sure until now. Zalia was a new kind of leader Lexa have never seen before. And that was really attractive to Lexa. It all made sense. She had been so respectful since the first time Lexa saw her, and it was all for the good of her people. It wasn't weakness. It was strength like she had never seen before. Zalia has the equipment and the technology to kill Lexa and the grounders, yet she chooses not to. All because she was merciful and patient. That was incredibly amazing to Lexa. And she really liked that.
Zalia got worried when she saw that Lexa didn't respond. She thought that maybe she had fucked up and Lexa had gotten mad because she called her by her name. "Shit, I'm sorry Heda," Zalia looked at Lexa with worry in her eyes. "I don't know what got into me-" Lexa was looking at the valley, still thinking about her feelings. But when she heard Zalia apologizing she turned to her with a small smile and simply kissed her. Wrapping her arms around Zalia's waist. Zalia's eyes widened for a second, but when she realized what was happening she kissed back.
Zalia was as inexperienced as someone could be. She had never been in a relationship, or even gone on a date for that matter. Ever since she was a kid she was an outcast. She mostly had guy friends and they always saw her as one of the guys. She never payed attention to her love life because she was chosen to be captain when she was 18. So because of all the training and preparing for the conclave, she never had a chance to look for a partner. And now as captain she was incredibly busy and no one dared to even flirt with her. So this was Zalia's first kiss, and it showed.
After a few seconds, Lexa pulled back gently and smiled when she saw Zalia still with her eyes closed. Zalia opened her eyes and looked at Lexa, still a bit shocked. She was about to speak but Lexa beat her to it. "So, Captain... for you, what is the purpose of this alliance?" Lexa went back to Heda mode and started walking back inside. Zalia was entirely confused, but nonetheless she caught up to Lexa and spoke up. "Well.. Heda, I want to put at your disposal all of our resources with the condition that we are welcomed into the coalition... as the 13th clan," Zalia said in all seriousness. Lexa nodded and stayed silent for a few seconds while the elevator went back down.
"I'll have to think about that. But the clans will want you to prove yourselves before you can become a clan. I am sure you'll be a great addition to the coalition but they won't take my word for it. They have to see proof. Real and tangible proof," Lexa finished as they walked out the elevator. Zalia nodded "That is why I wanted to suggest that we unite to defeat the mountain." Lexa stopped and looked at Zalia. "You've caught my interest," Lexa said and continued to walk back towards the main hall. "I know that the mountain's tech is what's stopping you from retaliating. They've taken hundreds of your people. Many to never see again, and the ones who are seen again are turned into monsters.. the reapers. So I propose that we unite and defeat them," Zalia explained. Lexa stopped and looked at her with her stoic expression. "You have a deal," Lexa told her. Zalia offered her hand and Lexa grabbed her forearm as a sign of respect and agreement. "We are officially allies, Captain. And defeating the mountain shall be enough proof for the clans to take you in."
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*clears throat* 👀 So? Nice view, right?