Neal James is a space station navigator whose lover, Dylan Teague, left him for a starmapping mission. But when Dylan radios in a distant signal one night, Neal discovers that he hasn't managed to put the relationship behind him in the two months they've been apart. When he's one of the crew members sent to investigate the signal, he finds that his ex-lover feels the same.<br><br>The source of the signal is a lost colony ship. Only a handful of the original colonists remain, survivors of a deadly disease that killed most of their fellow shipmates twenty years ago. To keep the threat of disease to a minimum, the colony adheres to strict laws, including the prohibition of same-sex relationships.<br><br>When the same fatal virus seems to appear again, Neal and Dylan find themselves in the midst of an irrational panic and hate that threatens to destroy everything the colonists have worked so hard to attain.

Operation Starseed

The others are already crammed on the nav


deck when we show up—Vallery in her seat and Leena in mine, Shanley


and Johnson leaning against the wall on either side of the door. A


steady blip blip blipsignals an incoming transmission, but


they’re waiting for us to arrive before accepting it. All four crew


members turn as we enter, and Leena hops from my seat to Vallery’s


knee, where she perches, waiting. They’re all waiting. When I sink


into my chair, Dylan sits on the armrest and I flash Vallery a


tight grin. “Well,” I start, but I can’t think of anything else to


say so I turn to the control panel, watch the blinking light on the


“The fighters are patched in,” Vallery


tells me. I nod, that’s good, they’ll hear the transmission too,


but I have no clue what happens next. You hit the transmit,


a voice inside me whispers. You say hello. It’s not that hard,


No, not in theory. But who’s on the other


Chapter 28