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

“Lie down,” he hisses. He stays at the


corner of my cell, just out of sight of the camera. He doesn’t have


to say that no one’s supposed to know he’s here, Ellington’s


not supposed to know—it’s written all over his troubled face. “Just


Slowly, I lie back down. I prop my hands


behind my head, cross my ankles, stare at a spot just above the


sink. “I’m listening,” I tell him.


From the corner of my eye I watch as Conlan


leans back against the bars and sinks to the floor, hugs his knees


to chest. “Marie’s not doing too good,” he murmurs.


I start to sit up before I remember I’m


supposed to pretend he’s not here. “I’m sorry.” I don’t know what


else to say. “What’s wrong? She doesn’t have—”


emphasis. “She’s not showing any of the symptoms. Personally? I


don’t think it’s the bleed. It’s just a cold and Shauna’s in a bad


way right now so it just hit her pretty hard. The other girl,


Chapter 85