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

Behind us, Parker asks, “You about finished


pissed, and I pull away from Dylan reluctantly, wipe tears


from my eyes, take deep, hitching breaths and try to stifle my


laughter. Ellington and Henry exchange a worried glance that sobers


me up. “I’m sorry,” I say again, louder this time, and I shrug


Dylan’s arm off as I step away from him. “It just struck me as


Dylan’s giggles taper off and I nudge him


with an elbow. “Me too,” he mumbles. “Sorry, guys. Jesus.”


Ellington gives us a withering look that


diffuses any laughter still within me, then turns and starts down


the corridor at a quick pace, Parker right behind him. Henry


watches us, waiting, but I turn slightly and whisper to Dylan, “I


chuckle and he covers his mouth with the back of his hand as if to


Chapter 50