  We survey NV absorption in the afterglow spectra of long-duration gamma-ray
bursts (GRBs) with the intent to study highly ionized gas in the galaxies
hosting these events. We identify a high incidence (6/7) of spectra exhibiting
NV gas with z~z_GRB and the majority show large column densities NV > 10^14
cm^-2. With one exception, the observed line-profiles are kinematically `cold',
i.e. they are narrow and have small velocity offset (Dv < 20 km/s) from
absorption lines associated with neutral gas. In addition, the NV absorption
has similar velocity as the UV-pumped fine-structure lines indicating these
high ions are located within ~1kpc of the GRB afterglow. These characteristics
are unlike those for NV gas detected in the halo/disk of the Milky Way or along
sightlines through high z damped Lya systems but resemble the narrow absorption
line systems associated with quasars and some high z starbursts. We demonstrate
that GRB afterglows photoionize nitrogen to NV at r~10pc. This process can
produce NV absorption with characteristics resembling the majority of our
sample and and we argue it is the principal mechanism for NV along GRB
sightlines. Therefore, the observations provide a snapshot of the physical
conditions at this distance. In this scenario, the observations imply the
progenitor's stellar wind is confined to r<10pc which suggests the GRB
progenitors occur within dense (n > 10^3 cm^-3) environments, typical of
molecular clouds. The observations, therefore, primarily constrain the physical
conditions -- metallicity, density, velocity fields -- of the gas within the
(former) molecular cloud region surrounding the GRB.
