Elaine and Wally crouched down in the bushes, watching the new ship. So far, it had done nothing.
Elaine didn't know what to do. They couldn't leave the ship - inside was the only persone who could possibly help them out of this situation. Likewise they couldn't risk violence against him, and didn't even have the means to do so. Sabotage it so Marko couldn't take off? She didn't have a clue how this particular ship worked.
In the end, there was only one thing they could do.
"I'm going to walk up to him," Elaine said to Wally. "Knock on the hatch and see if he'll talk to us."
Wally stared at her. "But you'll get yourself killed."
"Maybe," admitted Elaine. "Maybe not. Marko would have killed us from the air if that's what he really wanted to do. I think he wants to talk to us." She sat up and brushed her hair back. "Here's what you do. I'll walk up to the ship and, hopefully, get inside. You wait twenty minutes. If nothing happens by then, run and get Guybrush. If something does happen before then, well, you know what to do."
She stood up and walked toward the ship. Wally watched her, lying in the bushes, dumbstruck and heart pounding. She left the forest, into full view now, and crossed the grass until she was right underneath the ship. No reaction from within.
Elaine looked up. She didn't see anything resembling a hatchway, so she tried knocking the metal surface, trying to get the attention of the people within.
After a few seconds of this, a square hatchway opened in the floor above her. Marko glared down at her, a blaster in one hand. He looked displeased, but not especially surprised to see her. "You," he said bluntly. "Get in."
Elaine looked up, shrugged, and leapt. Her hands grasped the edge of the hatchway. She pulled herself up and into the ship.
She was in the hold. And whereas the hold in Boss Hog was a tiny, eclectic, srap-metal-filled dump, this room was sleek and grey and high tech. Banks and banks of computers lined two walls. There were almost no spare tools or bits of junk lying around. Just two portal stones.
Elaine looked at Marko. That sour look was still on his face, along with a couple of bruises she hadn't seen the last time they'd met. One hand was bandaged. But he wasn't looking at her, and Elaine became aware there was someone else aboard.
The black-hooded figure chose that moment to step out from behind one of the portal stones.
He was considerably shorter than Marko, about Wally's height in fact. She could see his hands - they were thin and unblemished. The rest of him was hidden by the black cloak he wore. His face was shrouded in shadow.
"I still say we kill her," Marko said. "And him... yeah, where is Guybrush?" Marko asked Elaine, leaning threateningly over her.
"It doesn't matter much," said the black-hooded figure. "He can't do anything to us, haven't you worked that out yet? We, or to be more precise I, hold all the cards. Which is why you've come aboard, isn't it, Elaine? You can't kill us because you want to know how the portal stones work."
Marko, as if suddenly putting two and two together, searched Elaine for a weapon.
"He doesn't know," said the black-hooded figure, meaning Marko. "Only I do."
Marko stepped back, disappointed his search had come up blank. Elaine had already forgotten him - there was something about the black-hooded figure's voice...
"You sound familiar," said Elaine. "Do I know you?"
"You might," said the man. He sounded pleased. "Do you recognise - THIS?" With a sudden, dramatic motion he pulled back his hood. Revealed was an intense, bookish face, a scalp covered in thin red hair, a small dot of a nose, and a wide smile.
"Ummm... no," said Elaine. "Doesn't ring a bell."
"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "I used to be an employee of yours, Elaine. Worked on Chora Luna. Transferred to Pael right after you lost your first portal stone. Name was Simon Puschak. Guess you don't remember me."
"Vaguely..." said Elaine.
"It wasn't my real name," said Simon.
"Who are you?"
"I am an alien," said Simon. "And this is my homeworld."