Vaantaar was the leader of a group of Troukree refugees, who had escaped from their homeworld, when the planet had been threatened by Warlord Nuso Esva's troops before 0 ABY. Vaantaar had become connected with Imperial Senior Captain Thrawn and settled on Poln Major with his group, where he could act as an agent of Thrawn. In the Whitestone City, capital of Poln Major, Vaantaar met a group of five renegade stormtroopers known as the Hand of Judgment, who helped to solve a trade dispute between Vaantaar's Troukree and a group of Pineath.
When Esva's troops attacked Governor Bidor Ferrouz and Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade, placed the man under Hand of Judgment's protection in Whistling Wind tapcafe, the stormtroopers asked Vaantaar to bring them reinforcements. Vaantaar and four of his companions joined the stormtroopers in Governor's defense, loosing one of their number in the fight. After Esva's group had been beaten back by the stormtroopers, and another Troukree team, who had arrived to act as back-up outside the tapcafe, Vaantaar confronted the Hand of Judgment informing them that his master wanted to meet the renegades and that he was willing to use violence if necessary. Vaantaar brought his prisoners aboard Thrawn's command vessel, Admonitor, where he helped the Chiss to persuade the stormtroopers to join the Empire of the Hand.