(Please see all previous disclaimers)
As the meeting after the meeting ended and Scourge and the others carefully headed out, Optimus made his way to find his younger brother. Optimus wasn't going to inform the younger Prime of the mission Optimus had created, but Optimus was going to verify something else.
It didn't take long for Optimus to find his younger brother. Lancex was hard to miss and he went very few places in the base outside of his quarters. Optimus found Lancex in the red room talking with Hotshot, though thought little of it as he figured they might be talking strategy for the upcoming mission, as Hotshot was an excellent warrior. But Optimus did need to speak with Lancex. "Lancex, I need to speak to you in private" Optimus stated, cutting in on their conversation which actually did sound like strategy talk. Hotshot soon left though Lancex wasn't exactly happy about it, but he did follow Optimus to a more private area away from other bots and such and which was soundproof.
"Trying to drive off any bot to prevent me from having friends?" Lancex asked, clearly not happy about how Optimus had approached this.
Optimus sighed. He hadn't wanted to do this, but he felt obligated. "Lancex, I am not trying to stop you from making friends. A medical issue came up and I needed to check on it personally, as it may effect your effectiveness in battle" Optimus stated, not wanting to any exactly what.
"So, you think I'm unfit for battle?" Lancex asked, very perturbed at the implication.
"No, but I need to check something on your systems, I need to check on your gn drive as it could affect you during battle" Optimus revealed, not letting on he knew more than Lancex about it.
Lancex groaned but did as asked. He turned around and opened the cover to reveal the drive. Optimus looked at the thing. He rarely as these, as they were very rare on a transformers. But nevertheless, Optimus did touch the drive, wanting to see if it was a sensitive as reported. When Lancex let out a moan, Optimus had his answer. Once the touches stopped, Lancex felt a little used and closed the cover on his drive. "What do you think you are doing?" Lancex asked in an accusatory tone.
"Checking your fitness for battle" Optimus replied and then placed a hand on the cover of the drive. Lancex didn't react as he had before. Lancex, in fact, seemed even more annoyed. Optimus had his answer then. "Alright, you are fit for battle soldier." At that, Lancex left. He was weirded out by what Optimus had done, but he figured Optimus had to make sure Lancex would be safe in battle. Lancex was just glad the check up was over.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Scourge ran into Hotshot and Evac. They were in a private area, so Scourge figured he could tell them. "Someone looks pleased" Evac stated.
"Well, Optimus gave me and two others a covert mission to watch over Lancex" Scourge admitted.
"If it's covert, why are you telling us?" Evac asked.
"Because it is only covert to Lancex" Scourge revealed. "This could give us a chance to know him better."
"How would it help Evac and I?" Hotshot asked.
"Because I am asking you to join me in this mission, to watch Lancex and make sure Megatron doesn't get him, as that is all I was instructed. We don't have to let Optimus know, but can help make sure Lancex stays safe, and it might give us an in with both Lancex and Optimus" Scourge replied, and the others, seeing the opportunity, agreed. They would help back up Scourge and the other two and hope that would lead to something better.