The Legacy was unlike any other starship referred to in galactic records and while some of its parts appeared to be custom-made, others incorporated Corellian-style design elements. The ship was equipped with a hyperdrive of extremely efficient construction, making the Legacy very fast for its age.
Parts of the Legacy were constructed over two millennia before the waning years of the Galactic Republic and by the time of the Clone Wars, the vessel had been disassembled. During the Clone Wars, crates containing the starship's parts were shipped to Jedi Master Darrus Jeht from a departure point in the Taris system. Jeht and his associate Trilinae Untaire investigated the parts shipments in an attempt to find out who was sending the ship to Jeht and why, but they were unsuccessful at discovering the vessel's origins. Jeht began to re-assemble the ship and he found that some parts were missing, so he called in some favors and obtained the parts that he needed, allowing him to restore the ship to working order.
Jeht later kept the Legacy aboard his flagship, the Maelstrom. In 19 BBY, shortly after the declaration of Order 66, the Maelstrom engaged the Separatist warship Shadowblade in a battle in the Cularin system, and Jeht ordered Milinae Untaire—the sister of Trillinae—and the droid R-0 to take the Legacy and flee the battle to safety.