On the very edge of the outer rim, 9 miles beneath a long dead alien sea, a deep mining rig operated by the UPP marks over a century of constant operation. Novotny station was once heralded as a symbol of what the Union of Progressive People could accomplish.Now poorly maintained and starting to fail, a small crew of workers does everything it can to rotate back to the surface when someone goes missing on a routine deep-sea maintenance walk. Veteran Captain Olga Kramarenko is dispatched to investigate, and she finds much more than she bargained for.