Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, fav...This chapter will be a bit more on the lighter side, Knock Out shows for a few laughs. Rememeber, romance never happens overnight. ;)

CH 6

"Kirsten!" A transmission suddenly showed up on her laptop screen while she was busy looking at her nails. Kirsten jumped in her seat and sat up straight to look Megatron in the face on her screen.

"Yes!" she said immediately. Megatron glared back and snarled.

"Yes...Lord Megatron!" she retracted and spurted out.

"You learn slow, but well..." Megatron growled.

Kirsten hated the fact he insistently reminded her that she wasn't as good as he wanted her to be. There was never an interaction with him that didn't leave her feeling weak and useless, or that he reminded her how small she was. Only in the company of the giants, she thought, but they kept her around and alive for a reason so all she could do was hold her tongue.

"...We have intercepted another letter from the U.N to Mech." He grinned into the screen, which was out of the ordinary for Kirsten to see, "As if they could keep their secret plans...secret..." he chuckled evilly. "I will send Soundwave in shortly with the information, you have three days, make it quick!" and he ended the transmission.

Kirsten had been working on transcribing MECH's requested documents lately, because she would need something to report with, and by keeping them happy, she kept them from second-guessing her and the Decepticons, every few days she would send Soundwave an update to send to MECH. She always wondered if the same thing that she transcribed was the same thing that Soundwave sent. She was due to return with a report in one more week. She kept the translated documents coming and MECH didn't suspect anything malicious from her. When her time was needed, Soundwave kept her on top of his own duty and she obeyed him.

Later in the evening, at least she thought it was evening, it felt something like it, she had just gotten done typing the end of another small document for MECH when a crew member that she didn't recognize entered the room.

"Fucking Soundwave, where does he keep that damn blaster." The red mech whispered to himself before inspecting the walls and getting down to his hands and knees. He noticed the small human watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"Woah," he said. It was Knock Out, the Decepticon's doctor, "Well that's something I don't come across often in Soundwave's office." Knock Out said in surprise as he disdainfully stood up and brushed himself off, "And you are...?" Knock Out squinted at her. Seeing such a foreign object in Soundwave's office was almost uncharacteristic of the larger mech, as his addiction to self-sufficiency usually rendered his area clean, and his tools mobile. Knock Out placed his hands on his hips and waited for her to entertain his invitation for her introduction.

She sat quietly and didn't say anything right away, she didn't know if she should, was this guy supposed to be in here? She looked him up and down, noticing his armor, his refined glitz, his pretty face and his smug demeanor. Soundwave didn't seem like the type to want just anyone walking into his workspace. But then again, he was very large and she didn't want her first impression to be perceived as pretentious.

"Kirsten." she said.

"That's it? Kirsten?" he laughed softly, "May I just say that I was a little surprised to see you in here, I don't uh, usually crawl around on my knees, you know...scars up the paint." he smirked sarcastically and then glared coldly at his dirty hands.

Kirsten watched his mannerisms tightly. He seemed familiar with her race, but unaware of the recent circumstances.

He suddenly looked serious, "Are...uh, are you a prisoner or something? Because I was not notified of this arrangement."

"No, I work for Soundwave." she turned in her seat to face him directly and arched her eyebrows, feeling a small amount of pride flowing through her as she said it.

"Heheh...that's a good one. Soundwave? Enlist the assistance of a human?" He scoffed at the very idea. "Absurd."

She was insulted, how could he conclusively judge her so fast. Did Soundwave not usually do things like this? She thought the idea was innovative herself.

"That's presumptuous of you." She responded without thinking, and immediately regretted it.

"Yeah, you think?" He responded arrogantly, "You're a human." As if it was some kind of explanation for their difference in intelligence.

"And so what?" She said back to him, crossing her arms and legs simultaneously. Her pulse elevated with her sudden turn of face and she shook on the inside with fear but she kept her calm on the outside. 'Shit..shit...' her mind told her, but her brilliant blue eyes didn't waiver, portraying the very inside of the feeling that was in her gut. He stared right back at her, throwing icy glares to counter her own. He was being contested! How dare she.

"And so what?" he replied back to her, his voice dripping with insult, "You're a human." He repeated, "In my presence." His upper lip curled into a disgusted snarl and he leaned forward into her.

Kirsten stood up on her platform and placed her hands on her hips too, mimicking Knock Out's pose. They glared at each other for a moment of time, playing a dangerous game of who could outlast the other. Soundwave's footsteps could be heard and he entered the room and was caught in the middle of their minor spat. He looked back and forth from Knock Out to Kirsten trying to deduce the situation. Knock Out was the one to parry first. He shook his head loose from her gaze and addressed Soundwave.

"Is this yours?" he asked blatantly pointing a finger at her.

Soundwave nodded.

"Well you might need to remind her to show a little respect to her superiors!" he said violently.

Kirsten was flustered and ready to retort against him but her courage was just a tad too short to actually do it. The most she could do was inhale a deep breath and let it out in an audible huff. Afterall, wasn't she working beside him, even if unwillingly? Luckily, Soundwave walked forward between the two of them and hushed them both by raising his hands, separating them.

"Oh come on, Soundwave. She's a human, what can you possibly do with that?" Soundwave turned his face to look at Knock Out and blankly glared him down.

"Fine...fine, it's your business." He threw his hands up in surrender and started to walk out of the room. He mumbled as he disappeared around the corner.

Soundwave turned back to his computer and began opening data. He seemed to just dissipate the situation by merely walking through the air of turmoil. Kirsten assumed that Soundwave must have been a higher ranking official than the red one by the way he ended the encounter, and she was glad of it. She pursed her lips in thought and began to tell Soundwave what he was doing in here, just in case he wanted to know. He had saved her and the other mech from an argument that could've inclined to be a dangerous situation for her, she may as well return the favor by letting Soundwave know why he was in here.

"He was looking for something of yours, I think." Kirsten said below him. Soundwave stopped what he was doing and looked down at her. His gaze met hers and they stared silently for a bit. He dipped his head slightly lower, indicating for her to continue.

Thinking that maybe he wanted her to continue what she was going to say, Kirsten continued, "I don't know what for...a blaster?"

Soundwave didn't like anyone just inviting themselves into his office, though it was all public domain within the Nemesis he still liked to think it was his own. Soundwave thought for a moment, the Renosance Blaster. A great weapon and relic that Megatron had bequeathed to him. He looked around the room and focused on a small locked chamber to his right. He walked over to it and opened the door to the chamber and there he picked up his relic. Knock Out had a tendency to take things without asking, so he was pleased that Kirsten told him, otherwise one day he'd probably find it gone, and more than likely, scratched. Kirsten saw the item that he held, it looked menacing, so it probably was.

Soundwave turned back to her and dipped his head at the Resonance Blaster and then turned it confidently in his hand. He hadn't used it in a while, and it felt good to hold it again, but he wondered why Knock Out would want use of it.

Kirsten wanted to ask him what it was, how it worked, what it did...but she worried that the questions would be too basic and pointless. He seemed proud to have it. Unbeknownst to her, Soundwave was actually picking his tests delicately, seeing if he could trust her more than he thought. On her next visit to MECH, he would be sure to know with her having this knowledge of this relic. She had done an excellent job on the decoding tasks thus far, he wondered what else she could be useful for.

Soundwave's visor suddenly shifted to a blueprint of the ship. Kirsten learned that he was showing her how to locate the members on the Nemesis. He pinpointed Knock Out's ping on his way to the bridge. Seeing the direction he was headed led to a brightest ping of all, it must be Megatron. Understanding the layout, she looked back at another illustration that depicted the same thing on Soundwave's huge screen by her workstation. 'Oh so that's what that is.' she thought.

"Okay." She confirmed that she understood. She located the room that they were currently in, and she learned Soundwave's ping and symbol. She lifted an arm and pointed to it, "That's you." she said. There was a smaller ping in a different color just beside his signal, "Is that me?" she asked, and read what the symbol said, "Laserbeak?" Was that a nickname they had given her?

Soundwave shook his head, no she didn't have a ping imbedded in her body. He lifted his long hand and tapped on his chest and then looked down on the top of her head. He then pointed to the symbols on the screen.

"Oh! The bird!" Kirsten understood and felt foolish. She nodded her head.

Soundwave exited the room after showing her the simple way to scroll through the pings to give the Resonance Blaster to Knock Out. Kirsten followed the red dot leading out from their room towards the front of the ship, she placed her hand on one of the keys of the keyboard and his ping blipped twice and then showed his name, his Cybertronian name, in symbols. She noted that to herself and then tried the same thing with other bots on the ship. She found Knock Out and Megatron next. She saw many other pings that were represented in dots of different sizes and colors. Maybe she'd learn in due time who they were, if she lasted that long.

When Soundwave approached Megatron and Knock Out on the bridge of the Nemesis they were discussing a mission as he came up behind them. Knock Out had used the Resonance Blaster before, but Megatron had custody over it before he turned it over to Soundwave. He wasn't delighted at the thought of Knock Out using his special weapon again, last time he had returned it with barely enough energy to blast out 4 amps.

"Soundwave, I have a message for you to deliver to the human." Megatron said, interrupting his own conversation with Knock Out.

"What? You trust this human too?" Knock Out said surprised. "My Lord- it seems too uncharacteristic of you to trust any of these indigenous creatures, after all they've done to get us destroyed!"

"Of course I don't trust the humans! But... I also don't feel as if her presence is threatening. While I agree with your sentiments, Knock Out, this situation is quite a bit different." Megatron said while he walked over to Soundwave. "Nothing that she has done would make us think of her intentions as malicious so far, in fact, she's proven to be more helpful than we previously conjured." Megatron sneered at the words he spoke, not happy to admit that working with a human was actually good for them.

"What is it exactly that Soundwave is using her for?" Knock Out said suspiciously folding his arms across his chest again. He actually directed his words towards Soundwave who silently stood as his master and the doctor dictated the direction of the conversation.

"Well if you are concerned any of your own life and safety, you should not be so hostile to the notion," Megatron chided, "Our allies are our enemies, and fortunately we have their own tool to use as a weapon against them, just as they have decided to do with us." Megatron squeezed his fists in rage, "MECH will realize soon enough that we will not tolerate their betrayals! Then...then we may dispose of her, but until then." Megatron finished.

Soundwave swiftly analyzed the situation. He was processing quicker now that she was there to do his tedious work for him. He got Megatron's attention and showed graphs of work and progress through his visor. Megatron growled softly.

"Very well Soundwave, perhaps you see the bounty of her existence beyond her current tasks, but we shall see when the time deems right." Megatron responded.

Knock Out suddenly interrupted. "Heheh, I'm sure he does!" Knock Out then proceeded to hold his hands out, cupping them, and squeezing the air. Megatron didn't even bother to visually respond to Knock Out's display but Soundwave was quick to respond with a disturbed stance.

"Knock Out..."Megatron warned.

"What!? What Soundwave does in his own time is up to him..." He said smugly, trying to get a reaction out of Soundwave. "All I'm saying is that if there's a little room to share, let me know!" Knock Out shrugged his shoulders stubbornly and gave Soundwave a smug look. "She may have an attitude, but she's also got an ass..." he curled his fingers into a ball and then squeezed the air, "...dat ass." Knock Out said again, smirking. He wasn't budging though, mostly because he had nothing to contribute to the situation. Her ass held no relevant information that he needed, so what was his point.

Knock Out walked up to Soundwave and took the Resonance Blaster from his hands, freely. Soundwave stood still and silent while Knock Out continued to pass smug glances his way. It was annoying Soundwave quite a bit until he had had enough and raised his arm and shoved his cannon in Knock Out's pretty face.

"Knock Out," Megatron replied sternly, "I'm sure Soundwave is not interested in your physical preoccupation with his subordinate. She is here on duty and I suggest you get back to yours." Megatron looked around him, annoyed, "All of you!"