Part 15: Rostov Detour, Mission A
Rostov Detour, Mission AWelcome to Rostov, folks. As I've said this is going to be an unofficial detour to show off these missions because they are quite cool to see. I won't be counting the kills or medals into the running total, but other than that these will be presented in the same way as usual.
Normally you get to Rostov after losing Kurasawa; but pretty much everybody does, so you could almost say that the canonical path to victory should be this one instead of straight from Kurasawa to Venice. One other notable fact about this is that, since we are almost at the bottom of the mission tree, losing Rostov means going to the Hell's Kitchen missions and there's no way to win from there! So it's quite important to win this to get back on track.
What will you find here? Well, first of all, lots of asteroids--this system is mostly one big asteroid belt (no idea how that's supposed to work in real life). Second, like I said, three fun missions to do--the level of frustration is surprisingly small considering... ASTEROIDS! Unlike most other losing series missions these are not of punishing difficulty--you are flying in a Raptor with Iceman after all.
And finally, and somewhat surprisingly, these three missions contain some of the best/funniest pre-mission dialogues (Shotglass in practically on fire in these missions!), including the two-part saga about how Maniac got temporarily grounded (this one is definitely worth the price of admission alone)!
Onwards and upwards, then.
So, Iceman and Hunter yet one more time. But first...
Her third planet's a jungle world, with a native race of primitive sentients. That means the Confederation won't colonize officially, except for scientific missions. Of course, that just leaves the planet open for unregulated settlement. Grey towns is what they call these unauthorized colonies. 
Eh... that sounds familiar?
Yes folks, it's a joke that keeps on giving!
If you go, tell Rita ol' Shotglass sent you... she'll look after you while you're there.
Wait, what happened to MAJOR?
Rostov System's full of asteroids... heavy mineral resources. Since the Confederation's never officially settled it 'cause of the native sentients... we're at a disadvantage defending against the Empire. That just makes Rostov more attractive to the Kilrathi. Minerals, jungle world, primitive race for slaves... 
Ever the rebel...
Let's see...
As you know, Rostov System has been off limits for authorized colonization... because of the presence of the native sentient species, the Mopoks. Yet the system contains a profusion of mineral-rich asteroids... attracting the attention of the Empire of Kilrah. The Mopoks were little guys with spears in last cutscene, by the way.
...so we're here to defend the system, its natives and its resources. We've received reports from our scientific missions on the third planet... indicating the presence of Kilrathi warships in the system. Our first job here is to recon the system, and locate all hostiles. Maverick, you'll lead the first patrol wing. 
Here's your mission plan.
Man, look at those asteroids!
We suspect the Kilrathi are running supplies near Nav 2 or 3... so be especially alert in those areas. And keep your eyes open for asteroids... there are several rather dense asteroid fields in the area. 
Your call, Blair. But if you decide to go for it, make sure you make it count. We can't allow the Kilrathi to establish a base in this system. 
So the mission doesn't sound too demanding, we need to intercept any Kilrathi transports we may find and destroy them (actually there is only one in the mission). What complicates things is a large number of asteroids, even the launch area itself is within a dense asteroid field, and if you're unlucky with the RNG you might plow into one straight after launch!
Well, no wonder in a system like this that we would encounter enemy within an asteroid field. It will happen in every mission in Rostov, so better get used to it now! The bigger issue is that the game has a limit on number of objects it can show at one time, so when there is a bunch of asteroids and a few ememies, it can't render... your gunshots! So you may find yourself unable to fire for a few moments even if your gun power is full! Or you will see maybe ONE of your guns firing instead of all four and stuff like that. Didn't happen in this mission, but I'll show it in one of the later two.
Otherwise, nothing in this mission that we haven't seen before. You can get a medal if you kill all enemies yourself, which, with Iceman around, can be difficult to achieve as he's quite aggressive as a wingman like I mentioned.
Next time on Rostov detour
More rocks and more capital ships... and: Maniac vs. Human Transporter, part one!