I See, I See (Judy/Stryker)

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

That made sense. The body builder sat back and pulled his gold tunic straight.

Okay, sounds good.
Sven was no good at role play, and hoped that Judy would officiate the scenario.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

Judy pushed a hand back through her blonde hair, to push it out of her forehead.

"Just pretend we're both about to start working. What do you say to McDonald, that is to say, to me?"

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

"Uh, okay." he repositioned himself and sat closer to the screen.

"Good morning."

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

"Mornin' sir!" Judy greeted, faking a man's voice with a chipper attitude. "Ready for another day of work?"

Underneath the veneer of her acting, Judy's eyes seemed to be nudging Sven to action.

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

Sven felt really stupid. Play acting was not his thing.

"Uh, sure." he said.

He wasn't about to direct this one.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

"Okay, boss. Up you go, then?" Judy asked. Her voice stayed in character, but her eyes conveyed that she was displeased with Sven being so slow about it. She'd told him what to say, hadn't she?

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

Up you go? What? He had no idea what play acting Judy was talking about. He thought they were roleplaying a workplace scenario where he's to engage in small talk, and then encourage a hapless coworker in their job. He felt even more stupid and silly.

"I'm not going up anything. We're cleaning a plasma relay today. Deck 14, section 8. Take Jefferies tube R-4 here, and don't forget your hyper spanner."

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

Judy broke character.
"Sven, you're fully within your right as an officer to boss him around, but it's better if you suggest it. Try something like, 'why don't you clean the relay today?' Phrase the order as a question, if you will."

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

But it was an order. Why would it be phrased as a question? He decided to just get this over with.

"Crewman, the plasma relay on deck 14 section 8 needs cleaning. Don't you think it would be a good idea to get in there and clean it now?"

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

Judy shook her head.

"Sven, that's not quite it," she said, rather mildly. "Try, 'crewman, do you think you can help me out and clean the plasma relay on deck 14, section 8?'"

Judy took another swig of prune juice.

"I always give my orders in the form of requests for help. It makes my subordinates feel like I appreciate them, and like I'm relying on them, and that motivates them. This is tried and tested," she explained.

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

He was becoming visibly frustrated. This all new to him, and never modeled, and now he felt that he had to engage as an expert in this method.

Oh, for Pete's sake! he said tossing his hands up in the air breaking character. "Fine."

"Crewman, I was wonderingif you had passed the basic courses to fix a blown plasma relay in deck 14 section 9. I'm asking because, your past work has left me wondering if you even passed the basic courses. I need to know because I could use some help with this simple job and I need someone reliable to get it done. You think you can do this and not let me or the rest of the engineering team down, or should I get a more ablebody crewman?"

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

"That's not asking for help, Sven. That's an insult," Judy replied. "A straight-up, bona fide, flat-out insult."

Judy thought of a way to demonstrate what she meant.

"One of these days, I'm going to record some interactions with my own subordinates, so you get an idea of how it's done."

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

"Why don't you tell me what I'm supposed to say then?"

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Quarters]

Judy already did, but she didn't let that show. She remained mostly placid, in her motherly way.

"Ask him, 'hey, could you help me out and clean out the plasma relay on Deck 14?' Like that. No frills, no criticism, no explanations. You can say please, or not, but just word it like that."

She leaned back and let Sven try.

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

He nodded and took a deep breath. Why was this so hard?
"Crewman McDonald, I could use your help cleaning out the plasma manifold on deck 14, or I could use your help with replacing the reticulating phase modulator in the deflector array."

Sven thought offering a choice might be an empowering thing to do.