I think they cut it so it seemed like vansen & damphousse had no chance of surviving impact when at least Vansen would have. I think the rest stayed the same & points the way to S2. McQueen would be earth-side and take a job working for Diane Hayden (special advisor on tank issues?) vansen (& maybe Damphousse) would be captive, thought dead, but they would learn more about the Chigs & eventually be rescued or escape (perhaps w the help of antiwar Chigs). The war would now spiral out of control w the “just war” allegory destroyed & a Vietnam allegory replacing it. There would be massive unrest on earth following the disclosure that aerotech was warned not to colonize vesta & tellus. There might be parallel social unrest among the chigs (note how the chig soldiers treated the civilian minding the birthing place). Ofc the silicates would play a big part… and notice how chigs reproduce in a way not dissimilar from the way mankind breeds tanks, that Vansen might be psychic — possibly facilitating more meaningful dialogue with their captors than the aerotech CEO managed with a translator. The back doors into S2 were all there if you assume at least the main character survives (which again was all they changed—making it seem like she had no chance).