Stowaway Critter: Science Fiction

The mrbrppthing sound came from underneath the console. For a minute, he stared at his hands, resting lightly on the wrist bar. No, he had not accidentally hit some strange combination of buttons. He hadn't touched the board in the last two minutes: the undock procedure was handled automatically by the station's managing artificial intelligence. All the lights on the console were green; there were no problems that should be setting off unfamiliar alarms. The sound came again. This time he was absolutely certain it was coming from the console--or rather, from underneath the console He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, certain that he didn't want to know what it was--and then he pushed his chair back slowly away from the desk and stooped to look beneath it, his hand drifting to the sidearm that he'd strapped back on as soon as he was on his ship again and not under the aegis of the peacekeeping legislations on the station.

Inspiration: The cats beneath my desk.
Story Potential: High, mostly because it can be played so many different ways.
Notes: As observed above, this can be played so many different ways! Cute alien, evil alien, murderous alien, taboo life form, holy life form, etc. One can either play to the standard "cute stowaway critter" or subvert it (as Star Trek did on one particularly memorable episode that I've never even seen but which has certainly lived on in cultural lore).