Remnant

A remnant is a biomechanical entity resembling a linen bandage or strip of cloth. Engineered on the planet Desolation by the locals at the "behest" of the Stenza (read: at gunpoint), remnants served two purposes. The first was hiding in piles of bandages meant for enemy wounded in order to kill them, and the second was to gather information about enemy plans and report back to the Stenza (this is where their intelligence comes in, which they have later turned toward taunting opponents with the information they have gathered telepathically). The espionage elements were later recycled into Gathering Coils, which were widely considered to be a lot less mouthy, as gathering coils cannot speak.
Remnants were among the weapons of war that survived The Burning of Desolation, along with the flesh-eating microbes which are bi-products of many of the experiments and had to be flushed as a result. With the planet rendered uninhabitable, the remnants fell into dormancy most of the time, only animating at night to roam the planet looking for the poor unfortunate souls who happen to find themselves there.
Ta'zhen is said to have encountered remnants during her Citizenship Trial, although she was likely too in shock by the injuries to her arm to remember much of the encounter.
During the final Rally of the Twelve Galaxies, Angstrom wounded a remnant that had snuck up on her competitor Epzo while he was injured and sleeping it off.

Utility

Remnants were intended for use as espionage and assassination tools, although the only conflict they have ever seen is The Burning of Desolation, during which many were destroyed and the rest were abandoned on the planet to fall into dormancy.
The Rally of the Twelve Galaxies founded by Ilin had given them a new lease on life. Desolation has served as a stop at various points on the rally, although usually as the final stop, and the remnants were a readily available obstacle to the competitors in order to help whittle down the number of contestants closer to one final winner.

Inventor(s)

Remnants were originally developed by the native inhabitants of the planet which would become Desolation, who were press-ganged into it by The Stenza.

Access & Availability

Remnants are no longer widely in use, although in theory one could obtain one, if one were willing to venture to Desolation and seek to capture one (provided it does not then try to kill its captor).