2. They wouldn't be bringing a whole lot of military equipment due to having no other forces to fight in the area. It's more like an outpost station where they do have enough to withstand pirates and such but not equipped for planetary bombing runs, that much for sure. A lot of the soldiers will also be rookies but a certain military organization will have sent some of it's members there as a home base to explore that sector of the galaxy. A freak cosmic storm will have off planet communications impossible and the main fleet in the sector just left so won't be back for a while. Basically, a perfect storm of bad luck.

6. Sounds like a good monster. I imagine it of King Kong intelligence.

7. Rocky and cold it is. There will be a really harsh tundra where they don't really go into and their main city is just chilly rather than frigid. The tree leaves could be blue. I shall call the planet...Oryu. Maybe a cool bounty hunter is on the planet and finds it a good idea to sabotage the UNT for reasons and the monster comes so he or she "teams up" with it.

8. The Threat could sort of win in the end but sort of not. It will be stopped at some point for sure unless it's goal is just living on the planet. Plus a lot of my favorite characters might survive anyways. Or not because it is it's own canon so they will still live in my main one.