| Never No More | |
|---|---|
| Season 1, Episode 14 | |
| |
| Air date | February 4, 1996 |
| Written by | Glen Morgan and James Wong |
| Directed by | Jim Charleston |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Level of Necessity |
Next The Angriest Angel |
Never No More is the fourteenth episode of Season 1 of Space: Above and Beyond.
The episode aired February 4, 1996 on the Fox Network.
Several fighter squadrons gather upon the USS Saratoga in preparation for a rumored future offensive. Vansen meets a former boyfriend, who is now the captain in the 35th Squadron, The Flying Faithful. A single enemy fighter ace, nicknamed Chiggy von Richthofen, is rumored to be hunting and destroying entire squadrons. Earth Forces leaders decide that all knowledge about Chiggy von Richthofen has to be suppressed and officially denied by all high-ranking officers for the sake of morale. A spy satellite has to be deployed for the planned invasion; the 35th gets the assignment and Vansen decides to transfer to the 35th to support the mission. McQueen, risking a court-martial, gives her a warning to be extremely cautious.
Summary[]
While on the way to the USS Saratoga, the pilots of 42nd Squadron and their spacecraft are destroyed by a mysterious new alien space fighter, which is flying solo.
In the Tun Tavern aboard the Saratoga, Hawkes, West, and McQueen are taking part in a poker game at one table, while Vansen, Damphousse, and Winslow have a discussion at another table. Then Captain Oakes walks in, and Vansen goes over to console him over the loss of LT Brandt. Meanwhile, Sullivan of the 35th Squadron talks about the new alien fighter, dubbed Chiggy von Richthofen, at the poker table.
Commodore Ross sends two pilots out to deploy a MIRG satellite, and denies the rumors about Chiggy von Richthofen, but the pilots are attacked and destroyed by the alien pilot.
In a subsequent briefing, Ross requests a squadron to volunteer for a classified mission to deploy another satellite. Captain Oakes and Vansen vie for the job, then when the 35th is assigned to it, Vansen volunteers to fill in their vacant slot.
She then experiences a flashback of Oakes and her walking along the beach at her high school graduation party, where he proposes to her. She refuses, saying she wants to wait and see.
After the briefing, McQueen questions the Earth Forces senior leaders in the conference room about Chiggy von Richthofen, and about revealing its existence. Leadership wants to keep the alien pilot a secret, and talk about how it would effect the planned attack on the Chig home world.
As the 35th are preparing their planes for the upcoming mission, Oakes talks strategy with Vansen, and about why she volunteered to accompany him. Later, as she is preparing to leave, Hawkes gets upset and confronts her about her seeming change of loyalty. As she is settling into her cockpit, McQueen risks a court-martial to tell her secretly about Chiggy von Richthofen, while Hawkes and West watch her leave from an observation bay. The 35th launch and travel to Helios to deploy the satellite. Vansen sees her lidar glitch up, and then the shadow of Chiggy von Richthofen in the cloud-tops. Chiggy von Richthofen takes out most of the 35th, while Vansen tries to warn the others. She nicks the Chig with a missile, buying enough time for herself and the remaining members of the 35th to escape.
When they get back to the Saratoga, Vansen and Oakes argue about what went wrong, and McQueen breaks it up, and drags Shane off to make a report to senior leadership. She describes Chiggy von Richthofen to them.
Back in the Tun Tavern, Shane leaves a poker game to talk with Oakes. They discuss the mission, their past relationship, and they dance to the title song.
Ross briefs the squadrons stationed on the Saratoga on Chiggy von Richthofen, and sends them all out to take the alien out of his sky. Oakes flies out with the 58th this time, as 15 squadrons leave the Saratoga en masse. The Fighting Finns are attacked first. Then the 58th, the next nearest squadron, engage Chiggy von Richthofen. Oakes gets clipped, but not killed, as the 58th engage the enemy, but as Chiggy von Richthofen locks on to Vansen, Oakes rams him. Both planes then spiral into the clouds below.
Later, in the now-quiet Tun Tavern, McQueen has to inform Vansen that the Search and Rescue teams found no remains of Chiggy von Richthofen, and hands her official notification of Oakes' death. The last scene mirrors the first, with Vansen staring out the tavern window at the moon.
Cast & Characters[]
Main Cast[]
- Morgan Weisser as 1LT Nathan West
- Kristen Cloke as 1LT Shane Vansen
- Rodney Rowland as 1LT Cooper Hawkes
- Joel de la Fuente as 1LT Paul Wang
- Lanei Chapman as 1LT Vanessa Damphousse
- James Morrison as LTC Tyrus Cassius "T.C." McQueen
Recurring Cast[]
- Tucker Smallwood as Commodore Ross
- Tasia Valenza as 1LT Kelly Anne Winslow
- David St. James as Admiral Broden
- David Jean Thomas as General Alcott
- Rob Elk as Mr. Saber
- Randy Stone as Spud
Additional Cast[]
- Michael Raynor as LT Hall
- Jay Montalvo (as Xavier Montalvo) as Sullivan
- Jonathan Williams as Burnett
- Will Schaub as Paterno
- Heinrich James as Fenris
- Jacquelyn Houston as Hadden
- Ashley Smock as Curran
- Michelle Clunie as Jennifer Brandt
- Jules Douglas (as Julio Dolce Vita) as Ensign
- Michael Reilly Burke as CPT John Oakes
Crew[]
Director[]
Writers[]
Executive Producers[]
- Glen Morgan (executive producer)
- James Wong (executive producer)
- Stephen Zito (co-executive producer)
Producers[]
- Tim McHugh (producer)
- D. Howard Grigsby (producer)
- Herb Adelman (co-producer)
- Ken Dennis (associate producer)
Music[]
- Shirley Walker