The Ward Cestari

When the colonists that settled Lens originally traveled to the planet, one of the more sophisticated devices they brought with them were portable artificial intelligence devices known as Ward Cestari. Attached to the back of the hand, Cestari take their name from an ancient battlefield tool called a “Ward Cestus.” Gladiators in Roman times would sometimes have metal strapped or even grafted to the back of one hand, providing them an opportunity to parry blows with a kind of miniature shield.
The Cestari were assigned to senior crew and served as everything from communication devices to technological interface media to tools of self-defense. The modern Ward Cestari can not only parry blows, doing so through the creation of a small force field, but also enable mind-to-mind communication between users, provide advice, warn of nearby danger and exert some influence over nearby sophisticated machines (provided they can find a way to interface).
Since the crash landing that stranded the colonists on Lens, most of the Cestari have become lost or scattered, and virtually all of them are either damaged or in a state of low power, isolated from the sophisticated systems aboard the ship that would charge and maintain the miniature supercomputers. This is especially unfortunate for those few remaining colonists who remember their original purpose in coming to Lens and seek to regain access to what few parts of the ship remain intact, as the Cestari acted as digital keys, allowing their users past most basic security doors and the powerful guardians of what have become sanctuaries for lost technological wonders.
Cestari are bonded to individuals based on their DNA, and rarely choose to reorient themselves to a new user who doesn’t already possess the requisite genetic code. They recognize descendants of their original users, however, and locating the correct cestari for a user or user for a cestari can be an adventure in and of itself. Because they respond to so few people, a few cestari remain in circulation as curiosities or artifacts of the age of the fall whose purpose is still unknown.
After attaching to a host, a cestari would still need to be repowered by a station on the main ship before it could activate its full functionality, such as its consciousness and ability to communicate directly with its user. Some minor functions might still be operational however, such as its ability to sense danger, digital key signature and some modest defensive abilities.
Characters who find themselves with a Cestari have a long journey ahead of them to learn what it is they are carrying, and may find themselves in incredible danger from the few but powerful entities who still remember the crash landing and know just how much potential power one of these devices could provide to someone who could get it working.

Item type

Tool