Cressid - Environment: Cressid orbits near the edge of its star's habitable range, and is a frigid world as a consequence. It also has a remarkably low amount of surface water, most of which is concentrated as ice in the planet's small polar caps. Most of the remainder of the planet is a windswept desert.Powerful cyclonic windstorms regularly sweep across these barren regions, dramatically shifting the planet's sand and exposing hidden portions of bedrock. Watch Station Cressid has recorded wind speeds in excess of 500 kilometres per hour, and they seldom drop beneath 100 kph.The powerful storms have worn the surface of the planet virtually flat; there are no mountains and very few hills of any note. This factor undoubtedly contributes to the severity of the storms, as there are few surface elements to break them up.The changing geography also makes surface navigation extremely challenging. The watch station is the only feature on the planet that Imperial forces can consistently locate because of its triggered vox response. Often, even it is buried beneath hundreds of metres of sand.Other landmarks on the planet are most easily located based upon their position relative to the watch station.The hostile conditions have left little opportunity for native life. Flora consists largely of fine scrub plants, which are as capable of growing while held aloft by the winds as they are when settled on Cressid's surface. During rare moments of calm, the plants settle to the ground and litter the surface of the endless desert.When the windstorms come, they are often blown and hurled by the sand. When the scrub becomes shredded by the storms, each part is capable of eventually growing into another plant. This adaptability has enabled them to become the world's dominant life forms.Confirmed reports on native animal life recount little more than a variety of slow-moving insect and other arthopod analogues, which dwell within the sand dunes. These feed upon the fragments of scrub as well as one another. In principle, they could threaten the reserves of any Humans, but they are extremely slow-moving and not known to swarm.Any stockpiled goods are far more likely to be lost to windstorm than they are to these small creatures. Visitors have little to fear from the predators -- a rare mercy, given how deadly the weather conditions can be.The planet's deep mines, however, represent a substantially different ecology from its surface. The environment remains absolutely frigid, but it is at least isolated from the scouring winds. Most of the passages were constructed millennia ago during the height of the Jericho Sector.Some of these interconnect with natural passages that are millions of Terran years old. A variety of fungal life forms have taken root within these regions, taking advantage of the comparatively favourable conditions, though even these must function with very limited amounts of water.Cressid's unusual concentration of heavy metals dictates that the fungus-like growths have a biochemistry that is extremely toxic to Humans. For Humans to survive, even within the mines, they must have some means to synthesise food that is not dependent upon local agriculture.Anecdotal reports suggest that there may be some larger fauna that dwell within the mine shafts. However, none of these reports are confirmed. This might represent a native life form that developed during a time when the world's surface had more favourable conditions or indicate that the planet's depths have a completely distinct ecology.Alternatively, due to the region's previous Human habitation, these might be descendants of some organism that Humanity inadvertently introduced during the mine construction.