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A beep from the science console was almost immediately followed by a quiet hum from the ensign. The vulcan turned his head, brow almost furrowed, "Captain. A nebula has appeared on our latest scan."
"The Archnid Nebula? I thought we had another day before it would be in scanner range?" Riker rose from his seat, glancing briefly at the conn to check their speed and current position. They were exactly where he thought they'd be.
"No, captain, it's a different one. I am not familiar with it's composition." The ensign stepped back from their console as Riker approached, giving him a chance to see the data himself.
"This is an established nebula," Riker'a forehead wrinkled. He tapped at the console. "And we have no records of it before this scan." No wonder the ensign was so effected - their lips were pursed tightly as they squinted at the console.
The ensign had their hands clasped behind their back, "I have not heard of a nebula like this before, captain." Riker shook his head. Suddenly appearing nebulas were not a documented phenomena, not without some serious intervention from outside forces.
"Let's run additional scans, anything you can think of." Riker stepped back from the console and let the ensign get to work. He turned to the rest of his bridge crew, most of them already waiting for the command, "Conn, we're changing course."
It only took a few hours to reach the nebula. In that time, Riker had sent a quick notice to Starfleet regarding their course change and its reason. They were the closest ship, but a few others had been redirected, putting the new nebula within scanner range. Their data matched the Titan's.
"You're far too excited," Deanna shook her head at him as she took her seat on the bridge beside his.
"I love a good mystery!" Riker grinned at her, fingers twitching over his armrest. He had a readout of all the scans being done on the nebula. "And I might get to solve it before our resident genius is on duty again."
Deanna snorted, lips spreading wide as she laughed, "I wasn't aware it was a competition."
"It's not," Riker told her, clicking on to an auditory scan that had been started only a moment before when they entered range. "As long as I'm winning." He turned his head towards his communication officer, "Am I reading this right, ensign, is the nebula humming?"
"Yes, captain," the ensign nodded, nose wrinkled as they continued to stare at their console. Riker was on his feet a moment later.
With a quick wave of his hand, the ensign was playing the nebula's hum on the bridge speakers. It was low. A melodic thrum that came at irregular intervals.
"Is that... classical music?" Deanna tilted her head, eyes fluttering. Riker bit at his bottom lip.
"Captain, we're in visual range." The lieutenant at the conn told him and Riker didn't even have to give the command before they were all staring at the viewscreen.
"Well, it certainly looks like a nebula," Deanna arched a brow, eyes squinted at the various blues and greens of the nebulas gas cloud. A bit of red mixed in proved there was hydrogen, but not nearly as much as they'd expected from the scans. Deanna turned to look at him and Riker groaned.
He tapped at his comm badge, "Bridge to Lieutenant Icheb." The response was slow, and groggy.
"Captain?" Icheb groused, "Are we under attack?" Deanna pressed her lips together as Riker rolled his eyes.
"No. We have a... science mystery, up here, that I'd like your opinion on."
A quiet shuffling and a heavy sigh later, Icheb said, "On my way." He appeared in his starfleet-issued pajamas with rumpled hair within a few minutes. Deanna watched him yawn, eyes still closed, as he stepped from the turbolift.
"I don't believe I've ever seen you so casual, lieutenant," Deanna told him and Icheb's eyes fluttered open.
"The captain has stated on multiple occassions that he would not want to call me for anything while I was off-duty for fear I'd take it as permission to go back to work," Icheb reminded her, hands clasped behind his back and spine straight, "I thought it best not to dawdle."
"I did say it wasn't an emergency," Riker drawled, arms crossing as he approached Icheb.
The lieutenant arched a brow, gaze pointed, "You have a history of understatement, captain." Deanna giggled, pressing the back of her hand to her lips as Riker narrowed his eyes on her. "What is the 'science mystery' you'd like my opinion on?" Icheb looked expectantly towards the science office on duty.
The ensign immediately stepped back from their console, "A new nebula, sir. It's appearance is unprecedented."
"It didn't appear on any scans before a few hours ago, not ours or anyone else's," Riker explained, gesturing towards the viewscreen. "The Federation is waiting to check with our allies until after we've completed a survey."
Icheb had followed Riker's gesture with his eyes and his gaze was now locked on the viewscreen. Deanna startled in her seat, mouth falling open as Icheb's lips twitched up.
"That's not a nebula," Icheb stated simply, turning to step towards the communication station. His eyes never left the viewscreen. He grinned, "Nebula do not typically have a preference for late 20th century music, captain."
"So, what is it then?" the comm officer frowned as Icheb started tapping at their console. In a moment, a burst of sound filled the bridge as the auditory sensors picked up his response to the humming.
"What's a pinball wizard?" The conn officer asked, turning in their chair to look at Icheb. Just as the entire bridge crew was doing.
With a smirk, Icheb clasped his hands behind his back, rocking slightly on the balls of his feet, "It's Q's favorite song."
Riker groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. In another moment, the nebula was gone, and a curly haired brunet was standing in the center of the bridge. A pout on his lips and forehead creased.
"That's cheating, you know I can't resist The Who." Q snapped his fingers and the music cut off. Icheb snorted.
"If you wanted to pout in peace, you shouldn't have chosen my sector of the alpha quadrant to hide from your father," Icheb quipped, amusement evident in his tone as he stepped forward. He tilted his head, "Or were you just doing a poor job of spying on me?"
"Trust me, I never do a poor job of spying on you," Q grinned, eyebrows wiggling. Icheb hummed, eyes narrowing.
Deanna shifted in her seat, eyes flicking back and forth between Icheb and Q as they bantered. With every second, Icheb's eyes brightened further. Q was hanging off his shoulder when they finally looked to Riker.
"Captain, I don't believe you've had the opportunity to meet Q before."
"No, just his father," Riker sighed, holding out a hand.
Q shook it, laughing as he said, "My condolences to your sanity." Icheb snorted, head ducking low. Q elbowed him. "Given the glimpse you've been given in to dealing with my family, would you happen to be feeling enough pity to let me stowaway on your ship for a bit?"
"You want to stay on the Titan?" Icheb's head snapped up, eyes narrowing as he looked at Q. The brunet didn't move, just kept looking at Riker, eyes wide and lips puckered in an exaggerated pout.
"You've already alerted all of Starfleet to my presence, so there's no way my dad won't be suspicious. But he kinda hates you, so I don't think he'll actually check on your ship for a few weeks."
Riker choked, "Q hates me? Me?" He held a hand to his chest, gaping, "He's the one who-"
"You turned down his offer to make you part of the Continuum," Q shrugged, gesturing wide. He pursed his lips, glancing towards Icheb, "Which technically, eventually led to the need for my conception so... thanks?"
This time, Icheb elbowed him, shaking his head, "I can vouch for him, captain? If that helps."
"You can stay," Riker blinked at Q, brows knitting together, "For now." He inclined his head towards the turbolift, "Go, you're not back on duty for another 13 hours, lieutenant." Q grinned widely, grabbing Icheb's hand and dragging him across the bridge. "Make sure your friend stays out of trouble!"
"Biologically impossible!" Q called back, cackling as Icheb rolled his eyes, "I'll try not to get your 'resident genius' in trouble!"
"I'm not a genius, why would you-"
Riker had never been so glad to see a turbolift close. He whined, chin falling, "I'm gonna regret this."
"Oh, I don't think it'll be so bad," Deanna waved off his concerns. "This Q is Janeway's godson right? He lived with the admiral on earth for a bit didn't he? And Voyager? Everyone survived hmm?"
"You're positivity is not appreciated," Riker groused before ordering them back on to their original heading.