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

We race down another corridor, one I vaguely


remember, heading for the med lab. It’s just the four of us


again—the crew from the Semper Fi—and Ellington, with Conlan


leading the way. Shanley keeps Conlan’s frantic pace while the rest


of us fall back, clustered together, almost afraid. Even Ramsey and


Maclin are gone, back to the quarters with the others, and I can’t


help but wonder just what we’re rushing headlong into here. If no


one else follows us… how contagious isthis disease? Why


hasn’t Shanley gotten it yet? And, more importantly, will we


Marie’s room and Conlan sprints ahead, runs up to the door, presses


against it impatiently while it opens, too slow for him, he slips


through before the cycle’s complete. “Marie,” he sighs, rushing to


her side. We pile in behind him, my hand seeking Dylan’s, a small


comfort but something, at least. One glance at Conlan’s face,


Chapter 106