"Who is that?" said Guybrush. "It doesn't look like one of Upchuck's fighters. Does Pael have ships like this?"
"No," said Elaine. They were all staring at the black ship, which had not yet moved.
Then the comm link flickered, which meant the ship was about to communicate with them. A face appeared on the screen, and as they saw it Elaine and Guybrush began to speak at once.
"That's the man that stole my red rock!" said Elaine indignantly. "He-"
"That's Marko Bent!" exclaimed Guybrush. "He's one of Upchuck's guys-"
"-the fighters must be inside Pael! Upchuck's already got his men-"
"-they're after me! Marko never liked me-"
They both shut up, because Marko had begun talking. "Guybrush Threepwood," he said, in an even voice. "I'll keep this short and simple. I know you've got Elaine Marley on your ship. Hi there, Governess," he added for Elaine's benefit, his voice not changing at all. "Put her down on the floor of this passage, then fly off, and I'll pick her up. You have precisely one minute to do this. If you don't do as I say, you get blasted into tiny hot bits. All understood?"
Elaine leant forward over the comms equipment. "You bastard," she said. "Upchuck's sent you to get my second rock, did he? What'd you do with the first?"
Marko paled momentarily at the mention of Upchuck, then he laughed. "Oh no, this has nothing to do with Upchuck. Strictly freelance."
"I wouldn't try anything, Marko," warned Guybrush. "We've got you out-powered and outgunned."
Marko laughed again. "You never did know how to bluff, Guybrush. Remember. One minute." Then he shut off the link.
Immediately, Elaine turned to Guybrush and an urgent discussion began.
"How fast can this thing go?" said Elaine.
"Normally - quite fast," said Guybrush. Seeing Elaine's face he added, "At the moment, not very fast at all."
"So there's no chance of outrunning them?"
"Until we get a chance to repair, I wouldn't trust this ship to turn around safely."
"What about firepower?"
"Fifty seconds left," announced Wally.
"Ummm... well, we don't have much of it."
"Right. So you're basically saying we're sitting ducks."
"Ummm... yeah."
Elaine thought. "Maybe if I was to get off the ship, run underneath their ship, and sabotage it somehow..."
"Forty seconds."
"They'd be watching," said Guybrush. "Besides, you're still handcuffed to me."
"Don't remind me," said Elaine bitterly. She could feel the seconds ticking away, not just the seconds on Marko's minute, but the seconds as Upchuck's fighters, vastly superior in numbers and technology, swarmed around Pael and slowly gained the upper hand.
There was very little time left in which to save Pael. Maybe already it was too late...