Marooned - Christie Golden [72]
She followed him up the stairs and to the turbolift. He pressed the controls, and it began to rise. For a while, they were silent, then Kes asked, "I know you're tired, but I'd like to try the bath that Aren constructed for me. I don't suppose you'd let me go on my own?"
Dhad shook his head. "You'll have privacy in the room, of course, but someone will have to guard the door. And since I did such a poor job of guarding you just now, I think I'd better cheerfully volunteer for the duty." He paused and glanced over at her. "You, er, won't mention it to Aren? That I fell asleep at my post? What with the ships out-"
He closed his mouth with an audible click. "Ships out? Why?" asked Kes, instantly alert. "Nothing you need to worry about."
Suspicion flowered inside Kes. "What are the ships out for?" she pressed.
"There-there have been rumors of a Sshoush-shin uprising. Aren didn't want you to know -didn't want to frighten you." Dhad didn't meet her eyes.
The hope that had blossomed inside Kes died. From what she had read of the Sshoush-shin, they were a peaceable people. But she had also read about the harsh realities of living on Mishkara, and it was not difficult to believe that years of fighting to survive on this planet might have turned a race of peaceful people into violent nomads.
And it wasn't too much of a leap to think that they might focus their anger on the Ja'in.
But she had hoped that the ships were out fighting Voyager, and that Captain Janeway was trying, still, to find her.
The turbolift came to a halt with a squeak and a jolt. Time to come back to her reality.
Dhad, to his credit, didn't complain. He waited in patient silence for Kes to slip into a robe and gather the things she would need for her bath. He didn't even ogle her when she emerged from her rooms, merely led her to the hydroponics room, keyed open the door, and permitted her inside.
"I'll be out here if you need anything. Take your time," he said, and then the door hissed softly shut.
The light was muted in this room, but there was enough.for Kes to see. For a moment, though, she simply stood, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness, enjoying the smells and the sound of splashing water.
Though he hardly knew her at all, really, Aren knew her very well indeed. She shed fear and tension here in this room almost as easily as she shed the robe, letting it fall to the floor and stepping out of it. The air was warm on her body, the light soft, calming. All around her, plants went about their business of growing, content just to be.
Perhaps I need to learn from the plants, Kes thought as she reached to caress a large, green leaf with a waxy texture. They can't change what happens to them, so they just let it happen. Roots grow around the rocks,vines twine around the tree trunk With a last pat, Kes, smiling softly to herself, stepped toward the inviting pool.
And froze in midstride.
Aren was there, his back to her. He stood waist deep in the bubbling water, letting the waterfall cascade over his long black hair. He seemed completely oblivious to her presence. For an instant Kes suspected a trap, but immediately dismissed the thought. She hadn't known herself that she was coming to bathe, and Dhad wouldn't have had time to notify his master in the brief minutes that she had taken to prepare. No, far more likely Aren was merely enjoying the simple pleasure of bathing in a warm pool surrounded by the scents of growing things.
Kes didn't know what to do. She hugged the thick towels that had been provided for her to her body, concealing her nakedness as best she could, and wished she hadn't shed the robe quite so quickly. She was about to turn, as quietly as possible, and sneak back to her room when Aren gathered up his black hair. His naked back was revealed to her, and Kes's eyes went wide with utter surprise.
The back itself was broad and knotted with powerful muscles. That much, Kes had expected. What amazed her and