Tiny Survivor

by Starsinger

Media gets wind of the Nyisha. Starfleet capitalizes on it and the heroic captain in a coma. Don't own them.

Tiny Survivor Gets First Reaction from Comatose Heroic Captain in a Week!

The picture splashed across the front page was of Nyisha bumping her tiny head against Jim's chin, once again trying to get a response, and Jim finally reaching up and rubbing her little head.

The night of the nightmare that has become San Francisco started, a Starfleet Commander found this tiny survivor amidst the rubble that was left behind by the USS Vengeance. He took her home and has been bottle feeding her ever since. Reported by a doctor to be surprisingly healthy, the kitten has taken a trip to an undisclosed location to visit Captain James T Kirk, who was seriously injured during the battle over San Francisco, and tried, single-handedly, to wake him up. His doctors inform us that it will be another week before they bring him out of his coma, but he is doing well.

In other news, the body of a Starfleet Admiral was pulled from the wreckage of the ship that crashed into San Francisco…

Bones looked up from the PADD he was reading and looked at his friend. Spock sat in a chair on the other side. Nyisha, in all her cute glory, lay curled up in the hollow of Jim's shoulder next to his ear. Bones could hear her "talking" in her sleep as little mews issued from her mouth. "Starfleet is going to milk this for all that it's worth," he said.

Spock looked up from his own PADD, "True."

Earlier that week…

Spock roused from his slumber with the beep of his comm. "Commander, could you meet me at Starfleet Conference Room 10? And bring the kitten?"

Spock mumbled his affirmative reply as he stumbled from bed, and barely remembered to feed Nyisha before showering and dressing. He'd gotten so used to answering summons in the past few days that it didn't occur to him that it was not a Starfleet Admiral that sent that request. When he arrived at Conference Room 10 he was met by Captain Aileen Demerka, Starfleet Public Relations.

"Thank you for coming, Commander. Starfleet is badly in need of a boost after the debacle with Admiral Marcus and the USS Vengeance," Spock noticed her careful avoidance of Khan. "If you would please speak with the press…"

They stepped into the room which was filled with reporters. He blinked as he stepped to the podium with the pet carrier in hand. Cameras went off as the reporters spotted their quarry. Demerka stepped to the microphone, "Ladies and Gentlebeings, thank you for being so patient. Two nights ago Commander Spock found a survivor in the rubble. We thought it would be inspirational if we introduced her to the public."

"Her name is Nyisha, and she is very young," Spock replied. "Please, do not get too close." He reached into the carrier and scooped the kitten up. Startled from her nap, she started mewing. The whole room held its breath as they heard the noise and saw her emerge from the box. Spock set her down on the table in front of him and she stood on her unsteady legs. Photographers edged closer to get better pictures of the young cat.

"Where is her mother?" a reporter asked.

"Sadly, she and Nyisha's siblings were killed by the crash. I heard her crying and dug her out," Spock replied. "Dr. McCoy and Dr. Albertson have pronounced that she is in relatively good health."

"How is your Captain?" came another question. "Is it true that he's dead?"

"The Captain is in serious condition at an undisclosed location. He is not dead. We hope that he will recover, but that is uncertain at this time," Spock replied before putting Nyisha back in her carrier. He later made the rounds at Starfleet, finally being told that he would resume his teaching post for the time being.

When he returned to his apartment he found the rest of the crew and his father waiting for him. The only ones missing were Kirk and McCoy. Nyisha was insistently crying, needing to be fed. Uhura immediately volunteered to feed the baby while the rest cooed over her.

Sarek approached Spock, "How are you, Spock?"

"I am as well as can be expected, Father. Dr. M'Benga gave me a clean bill of health."

"Good, I must say I did not expect to become a grandfather this soon," Sarek said with a quirk of his eyebrow. Spock opened his mouth before he realized that Sarek was teasing him. Spock nodded as Sarek approached Uhura. "May I see her?" he asked.

Uhura handed the little one over to Sarek. He raised to eye level and the kitten seemed to study him as he did her. She mewed at him as he reached up his other hand and rubbed her head. She purred, "Adorable," he said.

Everyone wanted to meet Nyisha, and it was all Spock could do to keep up with her personal appearances. Sarek and Uhura helped by hauling her to meet important people like the Federation President and the Mayor of San Francisco. They were impressed by the little kitten. She wasn't and let everyone know about it, especially when she was hungry. Uhura shrugged, reminding everyone that infants of all species needed to be kept on a regular schedule.

That schedule included a nightly visit with the Captain. Every night Spock set her on Jim's chest and she crawled up to his chin and butted against it. And when he didn't respond, she cried at him until Spock or Bones scooped her up and cuddled with her. She apparently couldn't understand why he wouldn't respond to her while everyone else spoiled her.

Finally, a week after her arrival, she crawled up and repeated her performance, and Bones watched incredulously as one arm lifted itself up and touched the tiny creature at his chin. Bones snapped a quick picture of it as the hand stroked the soft gray and white fur briefly before dropping back down to the sheets. Satisfied, Nyisha crawled up to Jim's shoulder and settled down next to his ear, closing her eyes. She purred into his ear causing a small smile from the comatose man. Bones' eyes filled with tears at the sight as he snapped several more pictures.

Bones sent it to everyone on the Enterprise and his mother. Eleanor sent back a thank you. Jo sent a squeal as Joselyn sent back a smiley face. The next day, the pictures were splashed all over the newspapers, especially in San Francisco. People breathed as hope raced through San Francisco. More lives had been saved by being found in the rubble recently, not just small animals. And the recovery of the heroic captain was a big shot in the arm.