Crucible


 * For the play of the same name, see The Crucible.

The Crucible was the flagship/superweapon of the Dalek Fleet of the New Dalek Empire at the centre of the Medusa Cascade. It was a mostly spherical space station, the size of a planet, with numerous docking ports on the outside. It also had a unique core of Z-Neutrino energy which powered the Reality Bomb.

During the War in the Medusa Cascade when the New Dalek Empire invaded the captured Earth, the Crucible was at 90% efficiency. (DW: The Stolen Earth) Human prisoners were taken there for the testing of the reality bomb.

The Crucible was to be the staging post for the deployment of the Reality Bomb, which would have destroyed all of the universe except for the inhabitants of the station. It was destroyed, along with the Daleks, by the Doctor's clone. (DW: Journey's End)

Description
The Crucible was a huge sphere. It was split into two halves by an equatorial rim, from which extended at least four (probably six or eight) arms. At the ends of these arms there were large docking stations for Dalek saucers.

The exterior of the station also contained large circles which would appear to have been part of the reality bomb. Long, unexplained lines lay on the hull. Beneath the surface, various concentrations of light could be seen. The hull contained at least one circular shaft leading to the bridge. The TARDIS, immobilised by a temporal prison, was pulled from Earth to the Crucible and along this shaft to the bridge.

The interior of the Crucible contained the familiar colonnades present in Dalek saucers. The bridge consisted of a metallic platform and a large door resembling a blast door which opened into another section of the station where the Supreme Dalek seemed to reside. This door opened out onto some sort of raised platform on the bridge from which the Supreme Dalek could address the Daleks. The bridge would seem to have been directly above the Vault, as the Supreme Dalek could descend straight from his "throne" down into the Vault. However, it would also appear that the bridge was directly above a shaft leading to the Crucible's core; it is possible that this shaft also passed through the Vault. The shaft was covered by a trap-door-like mechanism which could be opened to deposit objects into the core. The bridge platform was located inside a larger chamber where at least dozens of Daleks could hover.

The Vault was a chamber which housed Davros and Dalek Caan. It contained at least three holding cells.

Elsewhere on the Crucible was a section apparently constructed from some sort of ceramic material. A group of human prisoners were brought here for the testing of the reality bomb.

The Daleks disposed of waste on the Crucible through incineration in a circular drawer. The Crucible contained at least 2 miles of ventilation shafts. (DW: Journey's End)

Technology

 * Dalek holding cell
 * Reality bomb
 * Crucible energy core

Behind the Scenes
The Crucible resembles the Death Star from Star Wars in size and shape.