Rator III was an inhabited planet located on the Federation side of the Romulan Neutral Zone. In 2269, a Vendorian posing as Captain James T. Kirk ordered the USS Enterprise on a direct course to Rator III, at the request of Carter Winston, who urged the survival of the planet's entire population was dependent on the Enterprise's soonest possible arrival. According to the imposter Kirk, this course was the shortest route to the planet; however, the Enterprise would be traveling through the Romulan Neutral Zone.