Technobeast

"Maggot of metal, rust, and rot. Sith life draws breath, old life does not."

- Sith mechu-deru vitae incantation

Technobeasts, also known as Metanecrons, were Sithspawn created by the Dark Lord Belia Darzu, and were considered the most frightening aspect of the Sictis Wars. Using a variation of mechu-deru, known as mechu-deru vitae, Darzu was able to develop a technovirus that immediately began to turn the organic creature into a droid hybrid.

The frontal lobes of the victims' brains were lobotimized by the virus, making them incapable of higher thought, by which point the process was irreversible. While Technobeasts were never alike, they often had sharp protrusions on their arms, by which they could infect others. Some were even designed to release a cloud of the technovirus in combat.

For the twenty years of Darzu's rule, the Technobeasts were considered one of the worst horrors unleashed. Only one person, a Jedi, was able to retain their identity, becoming the Technobeast Jedi. The Technobeasts saw limited use after Darzu was murdered by the Mecrosa Order in 1,230 BBY, but they would not be fully eliminated until the destruction of the Brotherhood of Darkness at Ruusan.

Behind the scenes
The Technobeasts and a virus which turns its victims into cyborgs is a similar idea to the Borg of the Star Trek Universe.