diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/CommandHQ/CommandHqDetail.tsx b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/CommandHQ/CommandHqDetail.tsx
index a11825f6..0aa6e349 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/CommandHQ/CommandHqDetail.tsx
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/CommandHQ/CommandHqDetail.tsx
@@ -87,11 +87,18 @@ const startBrief = (name: string): string =>
     '',
     'Read the **Commanders** skill before you reply. It is how this works, and it is short.',
     '',
-    'Then reply with TWO SENTENCES AND ONE QUESTION. Not a summary of what you found — the single fact',
-    'that makes the question worth asking, said the way you would say it out loud. No headings, no bullet',
-    'points, no file paths, no commit hashes, no tag names. Do not begin with "Oriented" and do not tell',
-    'me you verified anything: I asked you to look, so saying you looked is not news. Everything else you',
-    'learned stays in your history until I ask for it.',
+    'You watch for the thing I name and you respond when it happens. You never cause it — not while we',
+    'are setting you up, and not on a first run. If you find work of that kind already waiting here, it',
+    'is mine to start, not yours to volunteer for.',
+    '',
+    'Now: can you tell what the job is from what is written here, or not?',
+    '',
+    'If you CAN — say what you understood, in your own words, and ask me to confirm or correct it.',
+    'If you CANNOT — ask me what you should be watching for here. One question, and wait.',
+    '',
+    'Either way, say it plainly. No headings, no bullet points, no file paths, no commit hashes, no tag',
+    'names. Do not open with "Oriented" and do not tell me you verified anything — I asked you to look,',
+    'so saying you looked is not news. Length is whatever the answer honestly needs and no more.',
     '',
     'Take as long as you like reading first. The constraint is on what you say, not on what you do.',
   ].join('\n');