"What?!? Are you serious?" cried Jo in total shock and surprise. Her eyes were wide and you could almost hear the clunk as her jaw hit the table top.
"I'm afraid so," replied Carter. "The orders came in fifteen minutes ago." She held forth the PADD containing the communiqué from Starfleet as proof of the unusual turn of events.
"Does the message say why we're being recalled to Earth?" asked Max, ever the practical one. She was sitting in her chair with arms folded across her chest, and had taken the news stoically.
"Nope, not a hint," said Carter, frowning. She didn't like being in the dark.
"I can't believe it," ventured Sam quietly. "We're going home...?"
"I only just unpacked!" complained Alex. "This is only my second briefing with you guys!"
"At least you remembered to get dressed this time," ribbed Jo, referring to their last briefing, Alex's first. She was so excited she'd forgotten her combadge, her boots and even to comb her hair!
Carter broke in before Alex had a chance to retaliate. "As much as I enjoy these little arguments, we don't have time. We're scheduled to rendezvous with the Yorktown in under an hour."
"What?!? Are you serious?" cried Jo again. She wasn't taking the news at all well. "We're supposed to pack up all our stuff in less than an hour? And then leave? Just like that?!? It's an outrage! An outrage I tell you!"
Max leaned over in her chair towards Jo. "Don't make me slug you...." Jo immediately simmered down. She knew enough to treat any threat from Max seriously. Satisfied, Max leaned back and turned to Carter. "You may continue, boss."
"Right. Captain Sharpe is sending down a bunch of cargo specialists to help us. Keep in mind it doesn't have to be neat. Just throw your stuff in a box and have the crewmen haul it off to the shuttlebay. We'll be piloting our Banshees over to the Yorktown ourselves, and our belongings will be ferried over in a shuttle." Carter paused for a moment and looked around the table at her friends. "I know this has come as a shock to you all -- I can hardly believe it myself -- but let's just concentrate on getting the job done."
Seeing that that was the end of Carter's speech, Max stood and said brusquely, "All right everyone, let's go. You too, kid." The last comment was directed at Alex, who had also learned quickly not to argue with Max.
Carter watched as her team filed out of the room behind her second-in-command. She sighed, and went over to the wall where the Banshee Squadron banner hung. Taking it down and carefully rolling it up, she tucked it under her arm and left the now-empty room.
Despite Jo's continued grumbling objections that it couldn't be done, packing went quickly. Their many years of service had taught them all to travel light, so together with the veritable battalion of cargo handlers assigned to help them, everything was boxed up and stowed onboard the shuttle with plenty of time to spare.
The five Banshees gathered in the Hornet's forward lounge for one last drink while they waited for their launch time. Carter raised her glass of Saurian brandy and made a toast. "To the Hornet, and the missions we flew for her. May her crew continue to fight for truth and justice, and always find their way home again." They all clinked their glasses together and drank.
Just then, the lounge's double doors hissed open and Johnny Chee stepped through. He spotted the Banshees and headed over. "I heard you were shipping out," he said to Carter.
"That's right," she answered, then proffered the half-empty bottle of Saurian brandy. When Chee smiled and nodded his assent, she poured a glass and handed it to him.
From her spot where she was leaning with one elbow on the bar, Max said, "Too bad we'll never have a chance to go hunting for that hidden moonshine still, Commander."
"Well, when I find it, I'll save you a jug and ship it to you. How's that?"
"It's a deal."
Carter looked at the clock on the wall behind the bar, then said, "Time to go, ladies." She set her empty glass down on the counter and turned back to Chee. "It's been a pleasure, Commander. Please say goodbye to your wife for us."
"I will. Take care."
Their five Banshee fighters had already been lined up neatly in a row and prepped for launch when Carter and company arrived in the shuttlebay. Captain Sharpe was standing just inside the door, and Carter stopped in front of him. "I didn't serve with you and your squadron for very long, Commander," he said, "but I think I speak for everyone when I say you'll be missed."
"Thank you, sir," replied Carter. "I know I speak for my team when I say that we'll all miss the crew of the Hornet."
Sharpe nodded, then, having nothing left to say and not being one for sentimental goodbyes, said simply, "Better get going. The Yorktown will be at the rendezvous point shortly."
"Aye sir."
Sharpe turned and exited the shuttlebay, while the Banshees each went to her own plane and climbed in. Deck crews buttoned them in and signaled everything was a 'go'. One by one, the small fighters lifted off the deck and slipped through the atmospheric shielding at the mouth of the hangar and into the cold of space. Lastly, the shuttle carrying their personal effects departed, and the Banshees were gone.