Gateways #5

Chapter 1

Chakotay sighed heavily. "I hate to say it, but I'm afraid it doesn't look good."

Captain Kathryn Janeway's blue gaze flickered to the face of her first officer. She didn't answer at once. When at last she spoke, her voice was heavy but resigned.

"I knew I could count on you to tell me the truth." Chakotay had only spoken aloud the suspicion that had been growing in her own gut.

Chakotay nodded solemnly. His unhappiness was plain on his handsome face. "It doesn't look good at all."

A smile crept onto Janeway's lips. "All right, no need to rub it in," she said. "Well, as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Grimly, she stepped forward and drew a cloth over the abysmal painting, hiding it from view. "Into the replicator it goes."

"You did have some interesting usage of color over in the upper right-hand corner," said Chakotay.

Her smile was a full-fledged grin now. "You're backpedaling. No, it was a pretty bad effort. I guess abstract is not for me."

"It wasn't for da Vinci, either," offered Chakotay.

"And now we segue into flat-out flattery," Janeway retorted, her hands on her hips. "Are ... read full excerpt from Star Trek Voyager: No Man's Land ebook