Ceres Station Calling by R. M. Bradley

SPSFC 2024

Heartbreak hurts, even in space. When it comes to love, Maeve’s luck has never been great. First, she followed her cheating boyfriend to a clandestine rendezvous, only to be abducted by aliens and sent to a mining colony on Ceres in the asteroid belt. Then, she accidentally fell in love with one of the aliens in her mining unit. It’s really too bad that his heart belongs to another biocarbon and he’s due to be released from Ceres Station. Not that Maeve should be obsessing over anyone. Distractions lead to death on Ceres. Between mining highly explosive ursadium while trigger happy, laser-wielding drones monitor her every move, and defending her unit’s mining position against violent poaching, unrequited love should be the least of her concerns. But the ache in her chest never ceases, and because of this, she’s willing to risk it all to escape Ceres and start a new life among the stars.