Pulling up right before them, nearly filling the corridor from side to side, was Boss Hog.
Guybrush had never been so happy to see it. "Wally!" he shouted.
A window on the front of Boss Hog slid open, and Wally poked his head out. "There you are!" he said. "I've been trying to find you for ages. There's some kind of battle going on outside!"
"I know," said Guybrush. "Now let's get out of here-"
Wally noticed Elaine. He peered at her. "Who's that?" he said.
"This?" said Guybrush. "This is Elaine Marley. She runs this place, I think."
"Hello there," said Wally.
Elaine's confusion returned. When she'd first seen the ship, Elaine had thought it was one of Upchuck's vessels, already inside her starbase. But this red-haired kid was surely too young to be a space pirate. And he was carrying on like he was at a tea party!
"Well, don't just stand there," said Wally. "We better get going. I don't think it's going to be very safe around here." He drew his head back in the window, which slid shut. A hatch opened in the base of Boss Hog, and a metal ladder came down to the floor.
As soon as she saw it, Elaine knew what Guybrush intended to do. But Guybrush was faster. He spun around and struck Elaine's hand, knocking the blaster free. Before she could reach for it, Guybrush ran for the ladder, dragging Elaine after him. Elaine pulled and strained, but she couldn't quite stop his forward progress.
Like two people in a tug-of-war, Guybrush and Elaine slowly moved across the floor. Guybrush's right hand grasped the edge of the metal ladder. He felt around until he found the retractor button on the side, and pressed it. The ladder began to rise. Elaine redoubled her struggles, now frantically pulling at the cuffs, doing her best to pull him off the ladder. Guybrush held on one-handed, his face going red.
Elaine's feet left the ground. She thrashed about in the air, and to Guybrush it felt like his arm was about to fall out. Then they were up in cargo bay. The square hatch below them shut, and gratefully Guybrush let go of the ladder.
He landed on Elaine. "Get off me!" she shouted, pushing at him. Guybrush rolled to one side, and Elaine sat up. "Well, thanks a lot," she said. "Now put me back down!"
The ship rumbled beneath them, as Wally got them moving again.
"Be glad to," said Guybrush. "Unlock these handcuffs and we can get going."
"That's not possible. One, I still don't think you're innocent. Two, I don't carry a key for these cuffs. You have to go to Security to get them unlocked."
Guybrush groaned. "Great. Guess we're stuck together, then. Wonderful."
Elaine looked around, and her eyes widened. "A red rock!"
Guybrush looked at her. "You know what this stuff is?"
Elaine frowned at him. "I used to have one of these on Chora Luna, until Upchuck stole it. No doubt you had something to do with it."
"Upchuck doesn't like me anymore," said Guybrush. "Tried to tell you that earlier. And I didn't get this from Chora Luna - I retrieved it from a wrecked space pirate vessel. Now will you get up? I want to get to the cockpit."
Elaine stood up. She didn't know what to believe anymore. One thing she could see, however, was that this wasn't her red rock. With all the tests she'd subjected the stuff to - all inconclusive - she'd come to recognise each little contour, hollow, and outcrop on the surface of the rock. This rock was completely different.
Guybrush was dragging her away. "Come on," he said.
Elaine was lost in thought, and she put up little resistance to Guybrush's tuggings. She couldn't be sure yet, but it looked like Guybrush was telling the truth. Which meant Upchuck didn't know he was here. So what was Upchuck after? It couldn't be as simple as a direct assault on Pael, could it?
She was still thinking this over when they entered the cockpit. "Great to see you, Wally," said Guybrush, giving his copilot a slap on the back. "Let's get out of here."
These words jolted Elaine back to life. "Hey, what are you talking about? You're not going anywhere! I'm needed here!"
Wally looked around, and did a double take. "Wow!" he blurted out. "What's she doing here?"
"It's a long story," said Guybrush.
Wally looked adoringly at Elaine. "You're beautiful!" he said.
"Oh, shut up," said Elaine.
Wally was still staring at her. Completely oblivious to the view out the front viewscreen, where a tiny black shape at the end of the passage was rapidly growing in magnitude. "Watch out!" shouted Guybrush, and leapt for the controls. Unfortunately, the handcuffs were too short, and he ended up on the floor instead.
Elaine took over. Seeing the oncoming threat, she leant forward over Guybrush and cut the throttle. They came to a dead halt.
Wally finally looked around. In the passage before them, blocking the way out, was a squat black ship. "Oh dear," said Wally.