The Vedala are the oldest living spacefaring race known to humanity in the 23rd century. They are a sapient mammalianoid species, similar to a human-sized civet with a bipedal but curved posture.
When the ancient religious artifact known as the Soul of the Skorr was stolen, the Vedala feared a jihad of galactic scale would be triggered and; in order to prevent such occurrence; tracked down the location of the planet where the device was hidden and assembled four consecutive expeditions to retrieve it, of which the first three failed, but the fourth succeeded. The expeditions consisted of different species, since the Vedala themselves are physically unable to survive on the (seemingly M-class) planet where the Soul of the Skorr was hidden. The fourth expedition consisted of: Sord (a Gnalish), M3 Green (a Nasat), Lara (of an unnamed humanoid species), James T. Kirk (a Human), Spock (a Vulcan) and Tchar, the Skorr prince who believed himself to be the rightful owner of the artifact.
The Vedala also possess technology to erase memories and claim the ability to cure insanity.