Vel Ardox was a female, Blubreen Jedi Knight from the Ploo sector during the Old Republic. With aqua skin, black hair, webbed hands and feet, Vel possessed the ability of all amphibious Blubreens to breathe underwater, an ability that the Jedi Knights found very useful. It was for these unique talents that Vel Ardox was chosen to be part of the team sent to Esseles to locate Jedi Master and Council member Adi Gallia, who became missing during a covert mission investigating droid starships being built there.

Traveling to Esseles with fellow Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn, his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Noro Zak, Vel and the team of Jedi made investigating the Trinkatta Starships Inc company their first priority in searching for Adi Gallia. When Vel and the Jedi arrived on Esseles, they came under attack by the company's droids, which had somehow gone berserk and overrun the factory workers. Vel and the Jedi decided to split up, with Qui-Gon continuing the search for Adi, and Vel, Noro, and Obi-Wan locating the central droid control room to try to deactivate all the threatening droids. However, the droid's defense prevented Vel or the Jedi from entering the factory, leaving Qui-Gon on his own to locate Adi and at the mercy of the droids.

As Vel and the Jedi fought the droids in an attempt to penetrate the factory, Qui-Gon managed to locate Adi as well as disable all the droids and find an escape vehicle, a skyhopper he claimed from two Bartokk assassins. Piloting the craft to pick up Vel, Noro, and Obi-Wan the trio joined Qui-Gon and Adi on the ship and got their first glimpse of how wounded Adi was in. Realizing that Adi needed immediate medical attention, the team resolved that Vel Ardox and Noro Zak would take Adi to the Jedi outpost on Rhinnal, while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan would stay on Esseles to investigate what or who was behind the recent events.