Serving the Jedi Order, the Crucible was a Paladin-class corvette. This starship transported Jedi younglings from Coruscant to Ilum, having been in operation from the days of the Old Republic through the Clone Wars. On Ilum, the younglings participated in The Gathering, a ritual where they located the kyber crystals needed for their initial lightsabers.
The Crucible, a Paladin-class corvette, contained a workspace with numerous storage drawers. Professor Huyang stored all essential components for lightsaber construction within these compartments, excluding the crucial kyber crystals. Huyang would often stand on crates to access the higher compartments when searching for specific parts.
During the Clone Wars era, the ship's interior doors still displayed the emblem used by the Jedi Order at the time of its construction.
Other sections of the vessel included a cargo hold, a training area, a filtration system, and extensive under-hallway ventilation. The ship also featured a backup power system.
Dating back to the days of the Old Republic, the Crucible transported Jedi younglings from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to the sacred world of Ilum. There, they underwent The Gathering to find their kyber crystals. Following the crystal retrieval, Huyang, an ancient droid, assisted the students in constructing their lightsabers.
During the Clone Wars period, six Jedi younglings—Petro, Ganodi, Byph, Katooni, Zatt, and Gungi—were chosen to travel aboard the Crucible to Ilum for The Gathering. Upon their return, Huyang aided them in determining the design of their individual lightsabers. The professor then located the appropriate hilt casings and other stylistic parts, as well as providing the internal mechanisms for assembly. A continuously displayed holographic diagram of an exploded lightsaber served as a blueprint, while Ahsoka Tano, the younglings' Jedi escort, and Huyang oversaw the construction. Huyang also conducted final inspections of the new lightsabers, informing the younglings if further work was needed.
When pirates attacked the ship, they captured Tano, leaving the younglings, Huyang, and R2-D2 on board. They pursued the pirates to the planet Florrum to rescue Tano. However, during their escape attempt, a pirate's WLO-5 battle tanks destroyed the Crucible. After the invasion of Florrum, Hondo Ohnaka and the surviving pirates salvaged the wreckage.
The ship's design drew inspiration from the ancient Jedi Defender-class Corellian ships featured in the Legends video game Star Wars: The Old Republic. According to concept artists David Le Merrer and Russell G. Chong, during its design phase, the Crucible was originally called the New Horizon. George Lucas conceived of the ship as the primary vessel for the younglings in a proposed The Clone Wars spin-off, shortly before Lucasfilm was sold to The Walt Disney Company.