Coming to Corellia had several purposes.
First, and most obvious, the Corellia system was home to the most extensive shipyards in the Republic outside of Mon Calamari herself. 4th fleet needed refit badly. The Peaceful Current had gone from showpiece of the fleet to a carbon-scored mass of melted wiring and scorched electronics, and most of the other ships in the fleet required various repairs of their own, ranging from minor systems replacement and hull patching to complete environmental systems overhaul.
Second, and slightly less obvious, Corellia was a major shipping hub. 4th fleet had expended well over two thousand missiles and torpedoes during her brief but furious battle with the Imperial fleet. While her stores contained many more, they would need to be replaced before the fleet would be able to go out on extended maneuvers again. Also, additional supplies such a luxury goods could help to limit the damage already done to morale, and Corellia was renowned as being the source of some of the highest quality luxury goods in the galaxy.
Lastly, there was still the matter of the captured Victory-class Star Destroyer to deal with. Ardek had been careful to make sure that her systems had stayed down throughout the entire trip through judicious use of ion cannon fire, but she'd need to be taken at some point. The problem was that even on an elderly ship designed for use in the Clone Wars backup systems would allow them to hold out for months before they'd be forced to surrender. Simply starving them out wasn't much of an option.
He could take the ship with just the marines he had at his disposal, but the fight was going to be costly, and Ardek wasn't in that much of a hurry. Because he'd waited until he got to Corellia, he could ask for help from the system security forces to help take the ship, and possibly to replace whatever losses he took. Also, Corellia was home to another unique resource that could be invaluable for this kind of operation:
Selonians.
The stoat-like aliens lived in great underground warren-hives consisting of thousands of members. They had evolved to operate in large numbers and in the confines of tunnel complexes. Of all the aliens in the galaxy, few had the natural understanding of close-quarters combat that they did.
They were rarely seen outside their home system. In all of his years along the Corellian trade corridor as a young officer, Ardek himself had only seen one outside its home system, a young female with an nearly unheard of case of wanderlust. He'd been interested in her species, and so had made friends with her. He'd taken pains to keep in touch with her Clan over the years. They would be invaluable allies, IF he could convince them to help.
It took some negotiation, but less than a day after 4th Fleet had entered the system, Ardek had gotten Selonian support for taking the ship. It hadn't been easy. Bargaining with any alien was a dicey proposition at best since differing evolutionary paths tended to make for completely different motivation. Asking for help from an organization who owed you little and had little other reason to help you besides friendship would seem to be a bad idea under the circumstances.
Fortunately for him, the Selonians had little love for the Empire. Imperial authorities had tried to upset the racial balance of power that had existed in Corellia for centuries. The aggressively xenophobic Empire had attempted to subjugate all non-human races, including the Selonians, attempting to put humans fully and brutally in control. It hadn't worked in the Corellia system, largely because the human population distrusted the Empire as much as anyone else, but it had left an impression on the Selonians. They knew that the Empire was not in their best interests.
In addition, he was a friend. Selonian Clans had long memories. It had been more than a decade since he'd been on any of the Corellian worlds, but when he'd last been there it was as a friend and these things were not forgotten. When he made a holonet connection to ask for aid, he was greeted with an unfamiliar Selonian face that had still treated him as an honored ally of the clan. It had been very comforting.
The local system security force had pitched in as well, and he had even managed to get a bit of help from CorSec. It all culminated a mere 24 standard hours after 4th fleet first entered the system. System patrol craft, assault shuttles and various other vessels clustered in an amorphous cloud around the stricken star destroyer. They were all there for one reason, the capture of the Victory-class Star Destroyer Gauntlet. When the last ship moved into position, a timer began to count down as the first stages of an intricate plan to take the ship with as few casualties as possible moved into its initial stages.
"As per plan," Ardek ordered, "Sustained Ion fire on the target for two minutes, followed by the initial assault. Begin on my mark."
Onboard the flagship and every other ship participating in the operation, ion turrets swung into position, readying to shower a crippling lightning storm down on the Gauntlet.
"Open fire."