I See, I See (Judy/Stryker)

[Stryker]

[Sven's quarters]

"It wouldn't matter. I was assigned to work with him on the field coils. I've discussed my concerns with the chief of engineer, and his response was "work it out.""

Sven clenched his fist, muttering something about working it out.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

"That translates to a 'suck it up'," Judy assessed rather unhelpfully. "Which means you should take matters into your own hands, teach him a lesson, but not this way."

Judy thought of a few ideas.
"You can ask him to take a day off, let him leave, and then do all the work. Then, it'll look like he ditched you. Your superiors, certainly, won't have a high opinion of him after that."

[Stryker]

[Sven's Quarters]

"That seems awfully manipulative. I'd rather be upfront about it and smash his stupid face all over a bulk head."

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

Judy frowned. This was a caving in by Sven to his most basic instincts.

"Think about it, Sven. You could punch him, I'm sure, but what would happen as a result? Would you really end up satisfied?" she asked rhetorically. "Take it from someone who's been in your position many times before - it's much more satisfying to expose people for what they really are."

[Stryker]

[Sven's quarters]

Sven's eyes narrowed, and he scrutinized the older woman on the screen.

"You've been in this position many times before?" he asked. Sven had a hard time believing that, and he rapped his fingers in the smooth countertop."Okay, give me an example."

He didn't mean to sound so demanding or sharp, and winced. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come off like a jerk. I'd like an example. You know, something you did."

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

"As you may know, Sven, I went to college at Columbia, pretty prestigious school," Judy said, fidgeting with her class ring. "Also, full of schmucks. In one particular project, a presentation on Ferengi tax laws, I was stuck with three: one who was always drunk, one who'd mentally checked out, and one who was much more interested in getting it on."

Judy didn't need to mention that the last guy was her then-boyfriend. It was irrelevant.

"So yeah, I know a thing or two about dealing with nincompooops. Now, why don't we talk a little more about your nincompoop? What does he do? What doesn't he do?"

[Stryker]

[Sven's quarters]

"He's just lazy, and incompetent. I'm tired of him mooching off of my success. I've tried talking to my department head about it, but you know how that went. So how do I expose him for what he is?"

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

Judy sighed. She was having second thoughts now, as she realized that McDonald was probably a little more complicated than that.

"No, no, I want to hear more. Being lazy is a state of mind. In what ways does he act on his laziness and incompetence?"

[Stryker]

[Sven's quarters]

"Well, first, he doesn't lift a finger to do any of the work. He stands there and sometimes will hand me tools, but most of the time he's just there taking up space. He talks, a lot. A huge distraction. He doesn't show up on time. I mean, just lazy."

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

Through the screen, Judy looked Sven right in the eyes. She didn't look intimidating, with her blonde hair and thick glasses, but Sven knew how serious she could be.

"Have you given any thought to why he does that?" she asked.

[Stryker]

He shrugged in frustration.

"Because he's lazy?"

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

Judy wagged her finger, like a disappointed mom.

"No, Sven. That's not the question. He's not lazy for the sake of being lazy. There's a reason he is that way," she explained.

[Stryker]

[Sven's Quarters]

Sven's brows furrowed in frustration. "I have no idea, why don't you tell me?"

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

"I can't tell you outright, because I don't know him. We can, however, look at what we know about him and make an educated guess," Judy explained. "And if we don't know, we shouldn't assume the worst."

She continued, thinking of a series of questions.
"Do you know what his home life was like? You know as well as I how impactful the people who raise us can be - for good and for bad."

[Stryker]

[Sven's Quarters]

Sven furrowed his brows, and set his jaw in frustration. He felt his fists ball up, but he took a steadying breath to calm himself down and in a low cold voice, which was always a danger, he spoke, "Why the hell should I know that? I can't stand the guy, why would I take what little time I have out of my day to psycho-analzye him. That's your job. Perhaps you should call and have him make an appointment with you.