Ash looked at her for a moment, then held out a hand palm-down at shoulder height. "Sympathy levels way decreasing," she said, lowering the hand down to her waist.

She just wanted to make that point though, because a moment later she yanked her own radio off her belt, spun it on her palm, then caught it to hold it up. "Okay, basic tutorial one-oh-one. These things can be turned on or off. Doesn't work when it's off. So always keep it on unless you have a real good reason. That's this switch." The claw on her index finger slid out of its sheath to add an extra emphasis when she tapped the power switch.