Dak Ralter was born on the prison planet of Kalist VI. His parents would frequently tell him stories of life before the Empire, and he hoped that the galaxy could be freed from the Empire's grip and restored to its former glory.

Together with another prisoner named Breg, the teenaged Ralter devised a plan to escape from Kalist VI. Although he wanted to take his parents with him, they insisted he go without them, believing it would be harder for four prisoners to escape than two. Dak and Breg hijacked an Imperial prison ship, and took it to a Rebel base on the planet Tierfon.

Breg had been a starfighter pilot for the Rebellion before his imprisonment, and Dak decided to follow in his footsteps. After completing his training, he was made a founding member of Rogue Squadron, serving in many of its early missions.

Along with the rest of Rogue Squadron, Dak was assigned to the newly created Echo Base on the planet Hoth. He served as the gunner in the snowspeeder designated "Rogue Leader," piloted by none other than Luke Skywalker. However, Ralter was killed by a single shot from an Imperial AT-AT walker.