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

So I set one foot in front of the other,


careful, and then Conlan steps in front of me to lead the way. When


his eyes meet mine I can see the hope in them, the hope I put


there. If Shanley has it, he can come here,I want to say.


There’s no reason he can’t. No reason Marie has to lose this


Ellington’s hand on my back, pushing me after him, and the only


thing I’m thinking about right this second is Dylan.


corridor from mine, on the left. There’s a small keypad set into


the wall, and I watch as he punches in a code, 23—that’s as


much as I see before Ellington shoves in front of me, cutting off


my view. “Jeremy, watch it,” he growls as the bars slide apart.


Someone behind me pushes me through the open door.


corridor. I force myself to walk naturally, fight against the voice


inside my mind that wants me to run down the corridor and peer into


Chapter 81