Leaving me with a walkie-talkie, which i do not know how to use.
Naturally, after there's a moment of lull, I attempt to use the walkie-talkie to test it. Some study of the device shows two dials on the top, and a series of buttons on the side, one of them quite large. "Ah,", I say to myself, "This must be the talk button." So, I test it with a press, and a "Pre-reg, testing." spoken into it.
The Walkie-talkie immediately begins emitting a squawk of a dying bird, at about an alto F-sharp. It continues emitting said sound, despite a press of every button and a twist of every dial.. so the walkie-talkie goes into the coatroom to squeal on its own for a while, where it dies out after a few minutes. Pre-registration proceeds.
Then
Kage steps back over.
"Your radio doesn't work.", he summarizes neatly. "Send a runner to swap it in at Con-Ops."
Well, I've been managing well without communication so far... so I don't get around to swapping the radio out until pre-reg closes for the night. In the morning when I go to open pre-reg again, I pick up a fresh radio from Con-Ops. This one is relaying messages merrily even as I walk out from Con-Ops, and I feel quite relieved.
For the next few hours, I listen to the chatter on the radio.. and without anything substantive to say, I keep clear of speaking on it, aside from a few potentially witty comments.. which garner no reply. Hmmm. Perhaps I'm not funny as the coffee makes me think I am, that or other people are obeying more strict policy on the radio.
Then, Bennie's voice comes on. "Bennie to Pre-reg." "Pre-reg here." Pause. "Pre-reg.. here." "Bennie to Pre-reg?" Dammit. I've been given a radio which receives clearly.. but cannnot reply.
Thankfully, Bennie and I managed to swap cell numbers earlier, and I text him off a quick summary of the situation.. then hustle downstairs to fill him in. We're about to collapses Pre-reg into the same room as Sponsor/Super-Sponsor, so I head back upsta- "Super-Sponsor room to Pre-Reg." and back to new-reg, answer quickly on Bennie's Walkie-Talkie, let them know we're moving down, hustle back upstairs, finish moving pre-reg downstairs.
The radio now goes back to Con-Ops. And, before further misadventures occur, I go off-duty.
--Chiaroscuro