*UPDATE* When I posted this I forgot to delete a commentary I put for myself. And bolding the memory, Italic the thoughts. My bad. Not it should be fixed :)

Her attitude made Soundwave rethink his choices of collecting data in person. Although their network provided all the necessary data, there were too many sources and useless details, in which he got lost too many times. The mech started looking for their diet, which led to a thousand of pages regarding health diseases caused by almost every existent food source of the planet. He couldn't help but think of the fragility of the organics. How could they survive until now? How were they supposed to work under Megatron's commands, when even the fuel they consume sickens them? A high probability was that this network provided incorrect data, which he didn't have time to filter. A direct query seemed a more practical idea, until now.

She could see that her question caught him off guard, and probably started to think of how to get rid of her as fast as possible.

"What knowledge can a low educated female provide?" The monotony in his voice weighted tons in the girls head. Her grin dimmed, crossing her arms, not fully expecting a question wrapped around that insult.

"I don't know, you high educated male. Maybe more than the all so smart people that avoid you right now." Irony has been served, however, Soundwave didn't have a choice at the moment but try. An unsatisfactory answer will just buy his ticket out of his holoform.

The man stepped closer to the sitting woman, placing his hands joining behind him, lowering his head only a little, so he could properly watch her.

Her gaze followed his movements, and even behind those glasses, the long awkward silence made her ask herself if he was looking at her and her stuff or if he analyzed her surroundings. She was sitting on a dusty blue carpet, by her side laying a carton box, in which she collected a small amount of green papers and several coins, a book without cover. She didn't have any cardboard presenting her current issues regarding health or siblings. The green eyes tried to pierce through his glasses, now, the man finally asking her the first question.

"What does the minimum human diet requirements consist of?"

She stood a while, thinking of a good answer. Her first instinct was to throw a sarcastic 'McDonalds fries', but now, if she started with the smart step, she would try to keep the act and prove that only because she was living on the street, she wasn't that dumb.

"Well, it is usually based on the calories and proteins intake. Water is the most basic and essential. As for food, vegetables are a good way to go."

"Elaborate."

"Most of them have proteins and all the vitamins your body needs. For a resistant and healthy body, meat is making things easier. Some meat and some vegetables, and maybe some sort of cereals should sustain anyone. But if you ask me, a can of meat salad from Superior Grocers supermarket is enough to not starve." Her hands trailed her messy hair, throwing it all behind, uncovering her whole face now. She showed a small, proud smile on her face, while the man analyzed her answer, in silence. He looked like he was checking on it in his own head, trying to find any sort of flaw.

"Satisfactory enough."

The plain reply came, yet before she could open her mouth to comment, the chief asked further

"Are any polymeric components a relevant alternative to the organic diet?"

Her narrowing eyes looked familiar to Soundwave. It was the same face everyone was making after he put that question, and anytime time, due to her lack of knowledge, she expected him to throw another smart comment and leave. Instead of letting him concluding that he was right, she didn't give up. The girl gently frowned in confusion and slight shame.

"Look man. I don't know fancy scientific terms, I am sorry for that. If you have simpler terms, it would help."

That's it. She recognized that she didn't have enough knowledge to comprehend his questions, although she did consider it a brave move. It was useless for him and for her to keep the 'smart ass' act if in fact she didn't know all the technical terms.

Compared to the other humans that preferred to avoid his questions, at least this specimen tried to find an alternative, he thought, assuming he was making progress.

His processor searched for more common terms, rephrasing.

Truly, she expected another insult, shaming her. To her surprise, the wealthy looking figure asked again.

"Are any plastic materials a possible replacement to the diet you mentioned before?"

"Clearly not. People still wonder why they get diseases while they eat fast food. Most of it is plastic... I also eat it sometimes but not because I have a choice."

The options seemed clear from the beginning, although, she was embarrassed from recognizing her state, also realizing her lack of fancy words after she decided to engage in this conversation. Her crossed arms tightened more in front of her torso. Her embarrassment however wasn't exposed to him that much, a convinced look sculpted on her face.

"Uh, don't you write this down or something? Or you have that kind of super computer memory everyone is freaking out about?" Rolling her eyes at her last question, although she found it odd that he was keeping the same position, almost like a statue, not bothering to write it in some sort of form like all people do when they come by with marketing questionnaires.

"Everything is recorded."

"Oh. Okay."

The recording device had to be under his suit then, she assumed, not noticing it anywhere in sight. It had to be put there in order to prevent it from being stolen.

The questions kept coming on for another hour, little by little collecting information, taking that long mostly because of her trying to phrase her answer as good as she could.

Why would anyone ask those things?

Finally, the next question dumbfounded her.

"Designation?"

"Design what?" a blind guess came in an exasperated tone this time. She already could feel an incoming headache from so many new words.

"Name." A quick internet search provided him a synonym.

"Maria... Osborn."

Due to the fact she was homeless, Maria found the data redundant. She was aware that for common forms, people could fill in their names, sometimes being optional.

I should've asked if it was really necessary...

"Your answers have been valid and of use to me." With that being said, the holoform turned around, taking his leave already. No goodbyes, no nothing. Maria rose an eyebrow in confusion, slightly insulted as she watched the man leaving in such a haste.

"You're...welcome?" She mumbled with a scowl, not bothering to yell it to him, seeing that he already went far enough to get lost in the streets crowd.

"A buck would have been nice though"

Maria didn't have much of a choice. Her days usually consisted of her waking up in her tent, finding new faults which she had to patch up. She considered herself lucky she didn't have to live in a carton box, like others did. With patience and the use of the won money, she could afford to buy a second hand tent. Straight from the beginning, it wasn't in good shape. She had to find old clothing to patch it up and with time she covered it with layers of plastics, so the rain couldn't destroy her 'home'. The only place she was left alone and in peace was the back of a paint shop. It was a narrow alley, meant to be space for the dumpsters of the two brick buildings glued to it. The trash smell could be born with, although, the old paint always itched her skin and eyes to the extent she couldn't sleep. Neither of those inconveniences could convince her to move her tent. The shopkeeper agreed that she could stay there as long as she kept an eye on the supplies he was bringing from time to time in the back, not letting it get stolen. The other alternative was to live in the homeless people camps, which she hated from all her heart. Staying away from people was a privilege, she thought.

Every day was quite a walk till she was reaching the tall glass buildings, arranging her tiny carpet, opening the book she read 6 times already, waiting for people to throw their change in her carton box.

"Is this the best place you found in all Los Angeles to get money?"

The emotionless voice sounded familiar, raising her gaze from the book only to see the shady short haired man. Indeed, it has been a while since he didn't show himself. Before, he returned every day for at least half an hour to ask more of his questions.

"You know, the sun isn't that strong today for you to wear sunglasses…" A dry reply came instead, throwing him a questioning look. She sighed, seeing him not responding to that comment.

"There are better places to do this, but I like sitting here."

"Reason?"

"Because I want them to feel guilty. Sitting in their offices, driving their shiny slim cars back to their luxurious homes, turning on the TV and melting in their soft king-sized beds while they eat their 5 star meals." Disgust touched her tongue, pointing to herself as she spoke, showing the difference between those people and herself.

The holoform didn't say anything for a while, blankly looking at her. Her argument was good enough to make him turn around and watch the mass of suited humans, then turn back to her. The most shocking thing she wouldn't expect was him, slowly pacing towards her. Her eyes warily followed his movements.

What is he doing?

Then, unexpectedly, the man sat on the dusty concrete, shocking even the people passing them, throwing him confused looks. Her eyes widened, keeping her arms as close as she could to her body, in a defensive manner.

Maria couldn't even imagine the words he would speak afterwards

"They should feel guilty."

It was the first subjective comment he ever said since he started coming to her.

Soundwave found her attitude fitting, which fascinated him somehow. The woman talking to him seemed to resemble a victim of the caste system back on Cybertron. He didn't even have to say anything. Maria kept muttering further by herself. Wrong move, a fuse has been blown.

"Excuse me, says you? You are one of them, aren't you? All fancy suited, thinking you are above everyone in society because mommy and daddy had the money to keep you in school." She raised her hand, pointing to the giant building and the men roaming around. "They are disgusting. And you look just like them! What do you think you are, a special snowflake?"

For a second she thought it would be wise to stop talking, but the topic triggered something in her, not allowing herself to stop just there

"This city is corrupted. This world is corrupted… Everyone is...ugly. Everything is unfair!" Her tone raised, anger showing and exhaling from every pore of her being while hissing and spitting out her words.

A sudden movement of her head towards him brought her hair in her face, adding to her anger. Maria collected a hair elastic from the pocket of her baggy wool cardigan she had on, bringing her hair together in a messy ponytail. Soundwave slowly glanced to her, unfazed, allowing her to vent off, and yet, he was intrigued by her sudden burst against her own kind.

"Aren't you going to say anything!? I am talking about you! You think that sitting here with me will make me think 'oh, there are also good people in this world, I am wrong, let's get in your helicopter and fly above Los Angeles. Ah, finally!'" She expressed her frustration through irony and a high-pitched voice, heavily exhaling due to anger, and the green eyes burning with dread.

She couldn't believe he was still sitting there, not even a muscle shifting on his face from all the show she has put on. No shame, no reply, nothing. Maria stared at him with the same angered expression for what seemed like an entire day. Suddenly, she got up and angrily shoved her stuff in the middle of her carpet, pulling it away from the man before she rolled it up. With a few long strings she had with her, the woman wrapped the carpet so nothing would fall out of it, ending with an extra cord she threw over her left shoulder, placing the carpet on her back and furiously walking away.

"You didn't answer my questions yet." It came calm as ever.

"Fuck your questions!"

A shout was the last thing he received from the human.

The mech couldn't care less about her primitive life, still, her words and anger intrigued even him. His entertainment however wasn't the purpose of his visits, and her impertinence was delaying his schedule.

For a while, his servos rested on the control panel of the deck.

Soundwave realized a primary mistake he did, by asking the wealthy community in the first place. In his previous research, he has stumbled upon dishes and habitation boxes that were considered luxurious, expensive. The wealthy part of the society was spoiled, and a part of it counting on the cheap alternatives as well as crumbles left from the rich men, then, there was the average blanket of society. The fact reminded him of the caste system back on Cybertron, before Megatron waged war against it. If humanity was to become enslaved, the decepticons had to assure the minimal requirements for the population to live and maintain a healthy frame in order to work.

It became a hard task lately, considering Starscream's sudden raise to power. He kept wondering if he still has to comply to it, given that Lord Megatron's signal disappeared once the space bridge exploded, and in his mind, the same revolting scene since that day replayed, again and again.

This shouldn't have happened

And yet it did. He had to return to the ship's main deck only to hear the vehicons cheer for the new lord.

"Soundwave!" The seeker slyly addressed to him "I know we all grieve our masters demise...however, we must not fall back! I fully trust that your loyalty remains the same...to our cause, of course."

An empty nod was given as reply, agreeing with the mech either way.

Starscream, cunning as he was, lacking the necessary leadership skills, could either have the dumb luck to lead them to a blind victory or most likely destroy what their master has built. At least that was what the chief thought at the moment. Even so, he had to remain on course. Even in death, Lord Megatron's orders are to be followed, in any possible way, even if Starscream will like or not what he was preparing.

Phew...Okay :I... slowly cutting in the cake ;) And Soundwave has the honors.

Reviews are welcome by the way, I would love to hear what you think about the story :D