Scott was as prepared as one could be for the nuclear detonation. Seeing the bright flash high above and behind, he instantly squeezed his eyes shut, fearing he'd seen the detonation of the bomb, or whatever it was. But when it wasn't immediately followed with eye-searing brightness or the slamming turbulence of a blastwave, he cautiously an curiously opened both eyes. Instead of the apocalyptic image of a mushroom cloud claiming Oured, there was instead a patchwork of contrails and tracers, and of wreckage falling to earth, glimmering in the sunlight.
Feeling the hand around his heart relax a little, he rechecked the radar-scope, and was relieved to see reinforcements had arrived. And moreover, they were [i]seriously[/i] clearing house. 
As he watched, the aircraft scythed hostiles out of the air, left right and center, before forming up around the Peace Sparrows' loose formation.

[QUOTE]"Peace Sparrow, this is Major Dustin Zondervan, of the Belkan Air Force, Seventh Air Division, Twenty-first Tactical Fighter Squadron "Templar", with Fortieth TFS "Wichianmat" and Tenth Interceptor Unit "Wolf", all under NUN orders. The airspace is secure, nuclear threat eliminated. We shall escort you to get refueled and we'll lead you to new basing. Can you refuel alright? We can land at the nearby CAC base if repairs are essential, but I'd prefer not to waste anytime. The new base is a bit far."[/QUOTE]

"Major, you're a welcome sight," replied Scott, with some relief in his voice. "Your squadron must have a good sense for dramatic pacing, too. Unfortunately, I gotta say that my bird is on her last legs. I'm losing fuel and hydraulic pressure, and my engine power is dropping. I'm either gonna need a local field to make an emergency landing, or a safe area to bail out. I hate to say it, but my Corsairs' had her last party".