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

Kid, as if he’s not the same age as my lover, but he acts so


damn childish sometimes, worse than Dylan in full pouting glory.


Glancing over the file, Johnson shrugs, noncommittal. “I’m not even


really sure what I’m looking at here,” he admits grudgingly.


I hold out a hand for the file, and I’m


surprised when he actually gives it to me. It’s about what I


expect, really—mostly hard clay, which makes the planet look red


from this height. Stunted grass, some shallow riverbeds, an almost


continuous rainy season, sixteen hour day/night cycle— “Sixteen


hours?” I say with a grin. “That’s going to take some getting used


Shanley nods at the file in my hands. “What


“I think it’s probably not going to


make a list of the best vacation spots in the galaxy,” I tell him,


and Vallery laughs. “Lots of clay, always rainy, probably not very


good for crops, if they’ve managed to grow any.” Browsing through


Chapter 35