Ral Vekta joined the Republic Navy at an early age. As corruption spread through the government of the Republic, so too did it spread through the once-idealistic Vekta. When Senator Palpatine seized power and declared himself Emperor, Vekta swore loyalty to the new ruler.

Like many other young officers, Vekta performed his duties admirably, going where he was assigned. Fifteen years before the Battle of Yavin, Lieutenant Vekta was assigned to an Imperial outpost on the planet Rigadoré. The outpost on Rigadoré was involved in research into a rapid-terraforming project. Rabin Dreadstar, a Jedi on the run from the Empire, arrived on Rigadoré and, upon learning of the destructive nature of the terraforming project, set out to shut it down. He succeeded in making it to the testing control room, where he was confronted by Lieutenant Vekta. In the ensuing battle, the terraforming apparatus was activated and could not be shut down. Vekta and Dreadstar barely escaped the planet alive, but all other life on the planet was destroyed. While Dreadstar went into hiding, Vekta was commended for his work and promoted to Captain.

Several years later, Vekta was promoted to Admiral. As the first Death Star was being constructed, Vekta proposed development of a large battle platform to supplement the Death Star, able to destroy capital ships in a heartbeat, but smaller and more numerous that the Death Star. The plan was approved, and Vekta was put in charge of the Starbreaker project.

When the existence of Wraith Task Force was confirmed and the Empire gained the assistance of former Wraith Jon Talbain, Vekta – the officer most often thwarted by the Task Force – was assigned to organize Operation: Exorcist to eliminate the Wraiths.