An Ancient Trap — Paul E. Cooley

Engineer Jordan and the crew of the mining vessel Kirkland traveled a year to reach the MacReady system.Following a lead from a prospecting satellite, the Kirkland deploys its mining operations on one of the system's three planets.From the moment they begin drilling through MacReady's rocky surface and into the veins of precious metals, everything changes. Miners disappear, a disaster threatens the Kirkland, and Jordan finds himself fighting to save both his ship and the miners trapped on the surface of a planet that isn't a planet.