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 says the Semper Fi’s set down. We need to get


Shanley in here, he’s got to help Marie and the infected women, if


Dylan slips his hand into mine, lets me tug


him through the darkness in the direction of the guardroom. At


least, I hopewe’re headed the right way, I thinkwe


are. “Is it the bleed?” he asks, walking so close, our hands are


caught between our bodies and his chest is pressed against my arm,


like he’s afraid of losing my touch. His step falters, pulling me


back against him. “Wait, Neal, no. If it’s spreading—”


“Conlan says it isn’t,” I assure him.


A part of me knows Conlan hasn’t really said that in so many words,


but he’s not sick, is he? They have the girls quarantined, we


“Motherfucker!” someone curses, and glass shatters in the


darkness. It’s Maclin’s voice and I stop in midstep, they’re here,


the others, they’re here.“Look what the fuck you did,


Chapter 90