A few seconds later, there were two portal stones in the hold. The moment they were secured, Guybrush tapped Wally on the shoulder. "Time to go," he said.
Wally looked at Guybrush, then he turned to Elaine. "Where do you want us to go?" he asked politely.
Guybrush ground his teeth. His handcuffed hand twitched. "Wally-"
"Anywhere," said Elaine. "Just keep us moving."
Gently, Wally moved Boss Hog out into the passageway. Once they were moving, Elaine came forward again and reached for the NC-10 controls, dragging an unwilling Guybrush along.
"Do you really have to do that now?" Guybrush protested.
Elaine wasn't paying much attention. She was back in the cyberworld of Pael's automated machine systems. Intrigued despite himself, Guybrush stopped pulling back and took a look over her shoulder.
The small flat-LCD screen of the NC-10 was tiled with various videoscreen images. Most of them were of empty passages, tilted strangely and viewed from above. Guybrush realised Elaine was taking a look through the security cameras.
Perhaps sensing Guybrush peering over her shoulder, Elaine launched into an explanation. "I'm looking for Marko," she said. "Don't want him sneaking up on us unexpectedly..."
She stopped. Guybrush felt her freeze.
A new image had appeared on the NC-10, apparently taken from a security camera in the main hangar. Unlike all the other static passages, this one was full of energy and movement. Fighters whizzed about at unsafe speeds, explosions lit up the background with flickering orange light, and laser fire shot across the screen. No sound, but Guybrush could imagine it well enough.
Upchuck's fighters had penetrated Pael's defence.
"It's over," said Elaine. There was barely any emotion in her voice. "Upchuck's got Pael. Ten billion credits gone." She looked disoriented and confused. Wally offered her a tissue, which was ignored.
"We've got to get out," said Guybrush. He felt like his arteries were filled with liquid ice. The NC-10 image was stuck on that main hangar, but Guybrush could well imagine the fighters penetrating further, spreading out... and finally coming to them. No way out.
This changed everything.
He shook Elaine. "Is there any other way out?" Guybrush said urgently.
Elaine seemed to come back to her senses. "Yes..." she began tentatively, before a sudden urgency gripped her. "Yes there is. A construction exit that hasn't been used in ages."
"How do we get there?"
"I'll fly." Elaine sat down in the seat next to Wally. She reached forward for the controls, with Guybrush's arm an unwanted appendage.
They sped away. Within seconds Elaine had twice sent them crashing into the passage walls, admittedly glancing blows but the ship shuddered terribly. "Are you sure you can fly these things?" said Guybrush, gripping a seat leg.
"I haven't in a while," said Elaine. "These controls are too heavy..."
Steadily she improved her flying, and the crashes became fewer. They sped up. Passages flew by in a blur, but Elaine was prudent enough to slow down carefully for each corner. Guybrush found himself glancing out the rear viewscreen occasionally. No pursuit yet.
"How much further?" said Wally.