Osted Alater was an officer in the Imperial Navy and captain of the Crusader's Shield. In the early days of the Galactic Empire, Alater was sent by Governor Paro Lanto to investigate the dealings of Planetary Safaris Inc., a business that specialized in providing challenging hunts across exotic worlds. On one such worlds, the planet Barab I, hunting parties were being routinely lost or decimated by the wild beasts on the planet. Under the Dangerous Species Act, it was legal for these beasts to be eliminated to prevent danger to Imperial occupation. However, when Alater began to observe these "wild beasts" he learned that they were actually a sentient race. Because the Dangerous Species Act did not apply to sentient beings, he had Planetary Safaris shut down for unscrupulous dealings.