Curiosity, Thy Name is Hera

Seca-4-8 is a mining colony on a distant planet at the edge of known space. It is an unknown rock with little value to most. That’s just the way Katie Tower, the colony’s corporate administrator, likes it. She found a motherlode of Corium-15, a highly valuable isotope that’s vital in space travel, mining It for her own profit under the nose of her own company – Veritan Mining Concern.

Seca-4-8 is a front for her operation. Most of the people in the colony are unaware of what she’s doing. They’re there to mine veins of common ore for VMC. Those that are on her payroll are extracting the C-15 and shipping it through a shadow operation that will leave them all filthy rich.

Unknown to Katie and her miners, C-15 is highly toxic when exposed to the air. This exposure is starting to reach past the mining site and has entered the colony. Mysterious illnesses and strange animal deaths are becoming common.

Everyone would be doomed if it wasn’t for a curious and incessantly talkative android cat named Hera. She discovered the mine while exploring the wilds outside of the colony. Had she been quiet, Ms. Tower probably wouldn’t have noticed her. Unfortunately for Hera, Ms. Tower noticed a mumbling cat traipsing through her covert mining facility. The administrator attempted to capture her and was rewarded with a deep scratch to the face before the robotic feline escaped. With only a couple more years mining needed to cushion her nest egg, Katie must find Hera before she reveals the secret mine.

Will Katie’s plans be revealed to the colony? Will the colonists survive?