OK, I'll keep it in mind when assembling the next sorties and posts for later - We'll just assume Farid has just gone very quiet and is tagging along and has done his bit during the mission. 

I was planning on making the next sortie, after we've had a bit of time to interact, a bit shorter than the first one and linked directly into the one after. Once those two are done, I might open up the first round of new aircraft for possible upgrades, linking in with story events.