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

Conlan frowns at my pancakes and nods. “We could all get it this


time.” He nods again. “We could die.”


“You could,” he agrees. That’s not


exactly what I want to hear. With a wry grin, he adds, “This might


be the best place for you right now.”


“Not without Dylan,” I tell him, and


his smile fades. “Can’t you move him in here—”


I try to rein in my anger. “Not even to this


But Conlan shakes his head, adamant. “I


before I can stop myself I grab the pillow beside me, launch it


across the room at him. It falls miserably short, though, landing


in the middle of my cell. “Jesus, stop telling me to understand.


What the hell is it you want me to get? That I’m supposed to rot in


this damn cell until you think it’s safe to let my friends in to


save me? That I’m supposed to stay here alone? What happens if you


all die out—what happens to me then? To Dylan?”


Chapter 73