The fourth planet in the Kutumb System, Thanda is the home of the Unified People of Thanda. The surface of the planet is completely obscured by a thick cloud cover, composed of highly radioactive dust. The high radioactivity extends all the way to the surface of the planet. With no sunlight reaching the surface the temperatures should be very low, however because of the high amount of radiation the surface temperatures hover around the freezing point of water.

Because of the lack of sunlight, combined with the radiation and low temperatures, the surface of Thanda is devoid of life. The only exception to this are the six cities of the UPT. Outside the cities are a few small settlements underground.

Six Cities

The six cities are the only surface locations where people can live safely without having to wear protective suits. They are protected by large radiation shields that bare striking similarity to the atmospheric shields of Unity City. Each city is mostly self reliant and is divided into districts. There is travel and trade between the cities, though inhabitants tend to remain in their city of birth. Additionally each city has its own military education complex and both navy and army bases.

Jormungand

Jormungand is the second largest of the six cities. It holds Military Headquarters, the command post for the entire Military Caste, and the largest shipyards on Thanda. It serves as the capitol of the UPT.

Built partially into a mountain, Jormungand started out as one of the larger nuclear bomb shelters. Eventually it expanded outward. The inner city still has many interconnecting passageways from before the radiation shields were added.

Quetzacoatl

Quetzacoatl is the largest of the six cities. It holds several major production facilities, producing most of the Military Castes battledroids.

Quetzacoatl is the only city on Thanda located on the ocean shore. It started out as a military outpost, built to test various building techniques for moving back to the surface after the armagedon.

Ouroboro

Ouroboro is the second smallest of the six cities. The city is close to the largest mining operations on Thanda. Providing raw materials to many of the other cities.

Located in a crater, Ouroboro was built on top of the ruins of an old pre-armagedon city. The crater is located near several intense radiation zones and consequently has the highest radiation levels outside the shields of the six cities.

Orchi

Orchi is the third smallest of the six cities. It holds a exceptionally large Army contingent and is a hub of intercity trade and transport. Most goods, both to and from Thanda, pass through the city at one point or another.

Located near Thandas equator and at high elevation, Orchi became an ideal location for launching spacecraft when the UPT started going back into space. Even after more modern methods were developed, it remained an effective way-point because of excellent logistical planning.

Kulsedra

Kulsedra is the third largest of the six cities. It is a jack-of-all-trades city. It counts several mining and production facilities. In addition to a smaller shipyard.

Similar to Jormungand, Kulsedra is built partially into a mountain. Having grown out of a nuclear shelter. Unlike the capitol, however, it is built in a mountain range and has great variety in the elevation of different buildings.

Ydra

Ydra is the smallest of the six cities. It is home to most of the research and development facilities on Thanda. Most scientific research is also done here.

The youngest of the six cities, Ydra is located on a plane with particularly dense rock ground. Several scientific facilities were built underground to shield them from radiation. Included with these is a massive particle accelerator, though relatively low tech it is credited with several breakthroughs in hyperspace technology for the UPT

Radiation zones and storms

Though lethal without protection everywhere on the surface of Thanda, the radiation isn't spread equally over the entire surface. There are locations with more and less radiation. These often shift with changing wind currents.

Sometimes wind gathers radioactive ashes. This causes fluctuations in temperature of the atmosphere at these locations. Sometimes this causes storms of intense radiation, commonly called radiation storms. The levels these storms can have is several times higher than the regular average radiation levels. As such these storms are considered very dangerous to people travelling between the cities or working outside the cities. Particular heavy storms can disrupt the communication of a city. To deal with this the UPT has hardline communication between the cities.

In addition to the storms there are several areas on Thanda that have extreme amount of radiation. These radiation zones are instantly lethal regardless of protection worn. Even most droids fail under the massive levels of radiation. Technically larger starships, with sufficient shielding, should also be able to protect their crew from the radiation. Thus far no one has been willing to try. As such the exact cause of the radiation zones is unknown. The leading theory is that they zones are caused by exposed, pre-armagedon, nuclear reactors or undetonated warheads. These zones also are much warmer then the rest of the planet.