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

“I know.” Conlan’s voice is muffled,


another word. They’re trapped in a tableau, frozen in time, Conlan


waiting for Ramsey to pass a judgment on him that never comes.


“What’s going on?” Dylan whispers. He tries to see around me but I


“Fuck,” Ramsey says again, softer this


time, defeated almost. Beaten by Conlan’s silence, his open


acceptance of what he did and why he did it. I don’t think Ramsey


“I’m not like you,” Conlan interrupts,


his voice just as soft. He raises his head, presses the heels of


his hands against his eyes, sighs and explains, “I can’t give up


hope, Ramsey. As long as there’s a chance—”


Ramsey laughs, disgusted. “So you just


believe whatever they say, is that it? Fuck the colony, right? What


Chapter 96