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, Tobin blubbers, “I didn’t mean


anything, really! Just talking shit, that’s all. Ramsey—”


Something pops in the ceiling and Ellington


curses as a shower of sparks erupts around him, rains down. Tobin


twists in Ramsey’s grip. “Let me up!” he cries, trying to shield


his eyes from the sparks. “Ramsey, let me go! I didn’t mean


staggers away from the ladder, stumbles to one knee, gasping for


breath and rubbing his neck. “I didn’t mean it,” he sighs. “Jesus.


“Then watch what the fuck you say,”


Ramsey warns him, stationing himself in the doorway


another pop, followed by a sizzle and more of Ellington’s low


curses. “What are you doingup there?” Maclin wants to


Before Ellington can reply, the flash slips


from his hand, splashing light on the walls, the men’s faces, the


Chapter 92