Nunc - Environment: Nunc's average daily surface temperature in its temperate zones exceeds 40 degrees centigrade. Nearer the equator can be significantly warmer.The world's orbit approaches the inner boundary of habitable systems for its star. Its atmosphere's upper layers are also surprisingly thin in gasses that would protect it from cosmic radiation.Because of this, the world's surface is often struck by massive blasts of energy and particles that descend from the void and devastate its surface. This has left the world bathed in a level of background radiation that pervades all who dwell upon its surface.Virtually all life is subject to frequent and unstable levels of mutation. In order for Humans to survive, anti-radiation drugs are a necessity -- one which the unprepared Human colonists lacked.The amount of water available upon the planet's surface is also extremely low. The small polar caps actually hold the majority of Nunc's surface water. There are no significant rivers or streams.The few small oases among Nunc's endless deserts are extremely high in arsenic salts. These contaminants make them toxic to Humans, though most of the native flora and fauna are capable of processing them -- which also leaves these same life forms unsuitable for Human consumption.The sole accessible resource for water is the one that the Human colonists eventually came to depend upon. Much of Nunc's surface is spotted with jagged mountains that break up the vast deserts.These irregular, bedrock structures jut from the planet at sharp angles, forming passages that often only concentrate the world's powerful winds. The cliff-faces of many of these mountains are dotted with caves of uncertain origin. Many of these caves extend for kilometres into the mountains and extend deep into the planet's crust.Far from the dry atmosphere, many of these hold pools of stagnant water. A few even connect to underground lakes and rivers, beyond the reach of the heat and the daylight.Most of the caverns appear to be of natural origin -- likely formed at a time when there might have been much more water flowing across Nunc's surface. Others seem to be extremely regular, as if some ancient species had constructed or modified them for its own purpose.The more regular tunnels often feature complex geometric depictions, even near the entrances. These symbols would likely have drawn significant attention from any researchers who might have visited the world during the height of the ancient Jericho Sector.Nunc's wildlife is quite limited. The vast majority of life forms dwell either within a few metres of the world's limited oases or among caves. The largest of these are lizard analogues, which grow to roughly ten centimetres in length.They feed upon the small insect analogues, which also live near the water sources. The lizards within the caverns are often edible, though their appearance is extremely similar to the specimens found nearest the oases, which are toxic.The only plant life is found near the oases. These are mostly small scrub brushes that are capable of persevering through the planet's milder sandstorms.Under more severe conditions, these same plants are often uprooted and tumble with the winds. As the plants are covered in thorns, they can represent an additional minor hazard for anyone caught unprotected in a sandstorm.Many fungal analogues grow among the world's cave networks. Some of these are mildly chemi-luminescent. Because of this, those who travel through the cave network often have just enough light to proceed through the tunnels.Some of these are also safe for Human consumption. While they are hardly appetising, they did represent the primary food source for the Humans who dwelt upon Nunc.Nunc's bedrock has a surprisingly high concentration of metal ores. If a serious effort were made to mine these, the many mountains could be converted to raw materials in a fairly straightforward manner.The largest expense of such an endeavour would be providing survivable conditions for any Human workers and, of course, defending them against the newly emergent xenos.