Michael Burnham

"A year ago, I stood alone. I believed that our survival was more important than our principles. I was wrong. Do we need a mutiny today to prove who we are?"

- Michael Burnham to Katrina Cornwell

Michael Burnham was a female 23rd century Human Starfleet officer raised on, by Ambassador Sarek and Amanda Grayson.

As a commander, she served as the first officer aboard the USS Shenzhou in 2256, under Philippa Georgiou, with whom she had served since 2249. In 2256, she was stripped of rank and sentenced to life imprisonment for mutiny, but she gained a second chance when she was assigned to the USS Discovery. 

After the Battle at Pahvo, Discovery was "accidentally" transported to the mirror universe, eventually forcing Burnham to impersonate $𝜇$, who had been captain of the prior to her presumed death, taking Captain $𝜇$, supposedly impersonating his own mirror counterpart, as a prisoner to the Emperor – as it turned out, the mirror $𝜇$ – while searching for information on the USS Defiant (NCC-1764). However, after meeting Georgiou, Burnham realized that Lorca was his mirror universe counterpart and that she had been serving under an impostor. After warning Discovery of this, Burnham and Georgiou fought Lorca and defeated him, in the process destroying the and enabling Discovery to return to the prime universe, Georgiou in tow. However, difficulties with navigating the mycelial network caused Discovery to emerge at the wrong point in the timestream, at a time when the Federation was on the verge of defeat. 

With no option left, Starfleet assigned Georgiou to command Discovery and ordered her to plant a hydro bomb on Qo'noS; however, Burnham refused to abandon her principles again and prevented Georgiou from activating the bomb, instead using it to force a truce with the Klingons. For her role in ending the war, Burnham was pardoned and her rank restored; in addition, she was awarded the Starfleet Medal of Honor. 

Early life
Burnham was born on Earth, in 2226. 

In the early 2230s, Burnham's parents were stationed on Doctari Alpha. They originally planned a vacation to Mars but a young Burnham begged them to stay three more days to witness a nearby star go supernova. The Klingons then attacked. Burnham's father attempted to barricade the kitchen door, while her mother hid her in a cabinet. Burnham did not witness the death of her parents, but she heard everything happen, saying that they killed her father quickly, but took longer with her mother. The Klingons then sat down on Burnham's family table, ate the dinner the family had prepared and laughed. 

She was then raised on Vulcan by Sarek and Amanda Grayson and was the first Human to ever attend the Vulcan Learning Center. She initially struggled to adapt, having to recall the events of her parents' death in a series of questions posed by the Centre. Sarek assured her that when emotion brought her ghosts from the past, only logic can root her in the present. A young Burnham suggested she learn Vulcan, but Sarek told her it was her Human heart, not her Human tongue that was the problem. 

Shortly after she arrived on Vulcan, Burnham was targeted by Vulcan logic extremists who believed that Humans were a threat to their logical civilization and who launched an attack on the Learning Center. The bombing left Burnham physically dead for three minutes, forcing Sarek to initiate a mind meld with Burnham in order to revive her. As a result of this, a portion of Sarek's katra remained inside her mind, which later allowed him to communicate with her across interstellar distances and the two to share physical sensations such as pain. 

During her childhood, her foster mother often read to Michael and to her biological son, Spock, particularly Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Even as an adult, Michael still owned a physical copy of this book, which was a gift from Amanda. 

On Burnham's tenth birthday, she and Amanda visited the seventh moon of Eridani D to attend a book exchange, an ancient Human ritual. 

In 2245, Burnham began attending the Vulcan Science Academy, where she studied quantum physics. She graduated four years later at the top of her class, and was a recipient of the Vulcan Scientific Legion of Honor. 

After her graduation, Burnham applied to join the Vulcan Expeditionary Group. Unbeknownst to Burnham, the Group rejected her application on the basis of Burnham being Human, and forced Sarek to choose between allowing Michael to join now, or allowing Spock – who was half-Human – to join in the future. After reluctantly choosing Spock over Michael, Sarek hid the truth out of personal shame and reported her rejection as being a result of her "insufficient" abilities. This led Burnham to believe that it was her weaknesses that resulted in the decision, and that Sarek was wrong to believe in her – a sentiment her foster mother dismissed. Sarek's shame ultimately only grew when, eventually, Spock unexpectedly chose to join Starfleet instead of the Expeditionary Group, rendering Sarek's sacrifice of Michael's Vulcan career pointless. 

USS Shenzhou
Sarek sought to find Burnham a place where she could thrive, and approached Captain Philippa Georgiou to give his ward an opportunity in Starfleet. Burnham therefore joined the service and was assigned to the Shenzhou under the command of Georgiou in 2249, at the age of 23. Serving as a xenoanthropologist, she eventually rose to the rank of commander, and by 2256, had become Georgiou's first officer. 

Encountering the Klingons
Just prior to the Battle of the Binary Stars, Burnham was charged with mutiny after incapacitating Captain Georgiou and taking command of the Shenzhou, preparing to attack the Klingons by firing on them first. She subsequently pled guilty to these charges during a court martial, and was stripped of rank and sentenced to life in prison. She thus became the first and only officer ever convicted of mutiny in the history of Starfleet to that date.

USS Discovery
After serving six months in prison, Burnham was transported via shuttlecraft to another facility at Tellun. The shuttle transporting them was disabled, but she and three other prisoners were rescued by the USS Discovery. Following orders by Captain $𝜇$, she participated in a boarding party aboard the USS Glenn. Lorca then offered her a berth aboard Discovery, assuring her that her life sentence would not be a problem. Burnham began sharing quarters with Sylvia Tilly. 

Burnham was reassigned from the command division to the sciences division and allowed to wear a Starfleet uniform again, albeit without any rank or other insignia. Lorca assigned her to work on the, which had been captured aboard the Glenn. Burnham named the creature "Ripper," because of its strength and ability to damage even a starship's tritanium hull. In collaboration with Tilly and Paul Stamets, she discovered the tardigrade's connection to the mycelial network, which enabled the full utilization of the spore drive in order to stop the Klingon attack on Corvan II. 

In the following weeks, the Discovery used the spore drive several times; Burnham grew concerned with the effects of this usage on the tardigrade, which became weaker and seemed to be at great discomfort when utilized for the drive. After voicing her concerns to acting captain Saru, she was confined to quarters by him. Following the successful mission to rescue Captain Lorca, she and Tilly released the tardigrade into space, where it regained its strength and traveled away. 

After recovering Sarek from an assassination attempt by the same extremists who had targeted her as a young girl, Burnham was offered a position as bridge science specialist by Lorca, which she accepted. In the process, Burnham learned the truth about her rejection by the Expeditionary Group – Sarek had chosen to enable Spock to serve with the Group instead (although Spock had turned down that offer). 

Burnham then assisted Stamets in stopping Harry Mudd from stealing the Discovery and selling it to the Klingons. Burnham, Lorca and Tyler then turned Mudd over to his fiance, Stella Grimes and her father Grimes. During this time, she and Tyler developed feelings for each other. 

Burnham then went with Tyler and Saru to Pahvo. There, they hope to use a crystal structure to act as a SONAR in order to detect cloaked Klingon ships. During this time, Burnham noticed that Saru had become fearless after making first contact with the Pahvans. However, he had become hostile toward her and Tyler. Burnham was then able to convince the Pahvans to withdraw their influence over him and allow to complete their mission. Burnham was successful and the three of them returned to Discovery. 

Following the conclusion of the Federation-Klingon War, Burnham and the senior officers of the Discovery were awarded the Starfleet Medal of Honor, and Burnham's commission was reinstated with the rank of commander (an honor Sarek asked to deliver himself.) Burnham would continue serving aboard Discovery in the science division. 

Philippa Georgiou
Burnham and Philippa Georgiou had almost a mother–daughter relationship; after taking on Burnham as a member of her crew, Georgiou decided to take a chance on Burnham and made her first officer. From their first encounter, Philippa boosted Michael's self-esteem, telling her that her confidence was justified, much to Michael's shock and complimenting her back. Over the course of seven years, they developed an extremely close relationship. Georgiou grew to trust Burnham, and while exploring with her in 2256, said she trusted her with her life. On a relatively primitive planet, the duo opened a well, and enabled the planet's residents to survive a coming eighty-nine-year drought.

Burnham warned Georgiou of her encounter with a Klingon, and with hesitation, Georgiou believed her and locked weaponry on the object. Starfleet ordered the Shenzhou to wait until reinforcements arrived. When Burnham recommended firing first against the Klingons, Georgiou refused. Burnham disabled Georgiou with a Vulcan nerve pinch and took command of the ship, ordering an attack on the Klingon vessel. Georgiou recovered in time to stop the attack. 

Georgiou arrested and imprisoned Burnham for mutiny. However, Burnham escaped the brig after telepathic encouragement from Sarek, and convinced Georgiou to take T'Kuvma hostage, instead of making him a martyr. Georgiou told Burnham she worried that one day her Vulcan upbringing would cloud her Human side, and was disappointed to learn that she had such an ego to believe she could rip the Vulcan shell away from Burnham. Burnham retorted that she turned against her because she believed it was the only viable option to avoid a full scale war, and to save her life as well as the crew's, which was worth going against Starfleet's principles. Georgiou did not respond to her justification, but agreed to go with her plan to infiltrate the ship together, rather than Burnham alone as she originally suggested, indicating Georgiou had not given up on her.

Using an explosive sent to T'Kuvma's ship with a Klingon corpse as a distraction, the duo boarded the ship and attacked. Burnham fought off Voq, but Georgiou was killed during the Battle of the Binary Stars, by T'Kuvma. A moment later, Burnham shot T'Kuvma and made a martyr of him. Burnham was distraught, weeping at the loss of her friend and captain, and becoming consumed with grief. Following Georgiou's death, Burnham felt she was responsible for the death of her captain and friend, completely guilt-ridden. 

Six months after Georgiou's death, Burnham received Georgiou's will, in which Georgiou had left Burnham her most prized possession, a telescope handed down through her family for centuries. In her will, Georgiou said she was proud of Burnham as if she were her own daughter. However, Burnham felt undeserving of the possession, believing herself to be guilty of Georgiou's death, so she gave the telescope to Saru instead. 

Burnham felt having to face Georgiou's terran counterpart, the emperor, was a reckoning for her betrayal. She remained feeling extremely guilty for having went against her captain's wishes. After revealing her true identity, Burnham told Emperor Georgiou that their bond seemed to cross universes, as Burnham and Georgiou's mother/daughter-like bond is a literal mother/daughter bond in the mirror universe. Burnham's guilt over her captain's death led her to declare she would not let Emperor Georgiou die, no matter how cruel or ruthless she is. When she returned to the prime universe with Georgiou, having kept her promise, she admitted she wanted to show her a place of morality and hope. Mirror Georgiou told her that she wished to save her because she couldn't save her own Georgiou, and that it weakens her, to which Michael responded, "Well I feel it every day of my life". 

Sarek
Sarek and Burnham had a father-daughter relationship due to the fact that, after her parents were killed, Sarek took Burnham as his ward. Afterwards, he helped her countless times whenever her judgement was clouded by her Human emotions. 

Saru


Burnham served with Saru aboard the Shenzhou, though they were meanwhile in near-constant disagreement in how to read and approach situations. Georgiou noted their rare agreement for once. Even after Burnham's mutiny, which came as a surprise to Saru, he still considered Burnham a valuable asset and the smartest officer in Starfleet, but he was now afraid of her and considered her very dangerous. 

Burnham reported to Saru that every jump the ship made with the spore drive was negatively impacting Ripper. Saru dismissed this, while she warned that she was unsure of how many jumps the tardigrade could sustain. Later, Saru confronted Burnham upon discovering Stamets had taken the spore drive offline. Tilly, Stamets, and Burnham were looking for compatible DNA sequences, as Burnham said they could use a Human host. Saru noted that he told her to stand down earlier and she disobeyed another order. Burnham said she knew his Kelpien culture made him alert of enemies, but assured him she wasn't one of them. Saru angrily fired back that she wasn't an enemy, but a predator, leaving Michael hurt. He told her that saving Ripper would not bring back nor change the fact that her behavior was exactly the kind that led to the death of Georgiou.

Burnham later asked Saru whether he was afraid of her. Saru said he was angry and jealous that he never had the chance to be First Officer under Georgiou and learn everything she had to teach. He anticipated that Burnham would get her own command and he would move up, but he never got that chance. He believed that if he had, he would have been more prepared for the events of today. Burnham assured Saru that he did very well and that Captain Georgiou would have thought so, as well. Burnham then went under her bed to get Captain Georgiou's telescope and told Saru that it is his now. Saru then told Burnham to save Ripper. 

Sylvia Tilly
Burnham and Sylvia Tilly eventually grew to have an unlikely bond. She was assigned to be Cadet Tilly's roommate on the Discovery after six months of imprisonment. Tilly awkwardly admitted that Burnham was sleeping on her bed, and that she suffered from chronic snoring. She then tried to make conversation with Burnham, learning her name and trying to form a "more approachable" nickname with "Mickey". Burnham rejected this, however. Tilly then noted that the only other person she had heard of with the name was the infamous mutineer, Michael Burnham, but it couldn't be her new roommate. Burnham glared at her, confirming the outlandish notion, making Tilly nervous. Burnham and Tilly had another awkward exchange when Tilly lied, saying the engineering officers had assigned seats. Burnham learned from Stamets later that this wasn't true and went back, next to Tilly, as she tried to ignore her. On Tilly's first boarding party with Burnham, Tilly apologized, explaining that it was important for her to make a good impression and that she didn't want to be seen with a mutineer. Burnham understood and said it was okay, but Tilly said it wasn't okay, and that she was just afraid of what other people would think of her.

Later, Tilly was shocked to see that Burnham had not left the ship, as Lorca extended her stay to contribute to the war effort. Tilly told her she was glad and confided that she intended to be a captain someday, but there were things about command she didn't yet know. Having read everything on Georgiou – which Burnham quietly corrected to "Captain Georgiou" – she suggested that Burnham could help teach her. Tilly was surprised when Burnham unpacked an actual, physical book, which Burnham handed to her: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Burnham explained that her foster mother used to read it to her son and Burnham, and that it taught her that the world is not always logical. When Tilly asked her name, Burnham replied, "Amanda."

Tilly secretly helped Burnham, giving her spores to successfully tame and befriend Ripper. Burnham smiled, appreciating her help. Later, in her shared quarters with Tilly, the cadet congratulated Burnham on a job well done, but the tardigrade being utilized in a way that caused it to feel agony clearly weighed on Burnham, in spite of the heroic act. She then said she had another reputation growing. Tilly noticed Burnham hadn't opened the capsule containing Georgiou's will, and encouraged her to open it by noting her bravery and saying she wasn't afraid of anything. 

Tilly and Burnham later ate lunch together. Tilly told her roommate that she looked awful, and Burnham sarcastically thanked her. Tilly suspected something is wrong with her, but Burnham dismissed this. Tilly then assumed Burnham had made new, more interesting friends but she assured her it wasn't her. Burnham explained it is about her, having been preoccupied with Ripper's condition from the use of the spore drive that she has no job to do aboard the ship. Tilly told her that it was time to reflect upon herself, emotionally. Burnham said she didn't like that, to which Tilly responded, "Really? I love feeling feelings". Later, they worked on helping Ripper together. Burnham and Tilly released Ripper together. 

Ash Tyler
Ash Tyler is one of the very few aboard Discovery who does not judge Burnham harshly for her earlier crimes and escaping justice. Upon meeting her, Tyler declares that he prefers to evaluate people based on their current behavior rather than their pasts. As time goes by, the two begin to form a friendship which eventually blossoms into romance.

T'Kuvma
T'Kuvma's plan to wage war against the Federation was set in motion. Burnham committed a failed mutiny in order to stop this with the intention of firing at the Klingons first. Later, after escaping captivity, Burnham suggested capturing T'Kuvma to cause his reputation to damage. By doing so, Burnham predicted the Klingon war effort would not be successful if its leader had been quickly suppressed. However, when Burnham and Georgiou encountered T'Kuvma and Voq at the Binary Stars, T'Kuvma killed Georgiou. Burnham disregarded her previous suggestion upon seeing Georgiou being killed, and in an emotional response, she killed T'Kuvma. 

Gabriel Lorca
The nature of $𝜇$'s relationship to Burnham was mysterious for a long time. Unknown to Burnham and the rest of Discovery at the time, Lorca was secretly his mirror universe counterpart in disguise, with a plan to get back to his universe and convince Burnham to pose as her presumed dead counterpart to rebel against Emperor $𝜇$ in an attempt to take the throne for himself. Tilly felt that Lorca "practically adopted" Burnham. Emperor Georgiou revealed to Burnham that her mirror universe counterpart had conspired with Lorca to kill her, and that he groomed her. At one point as a child, Georgiou felt the mirror universe Burnham saw Lorca as a father figure, but when she grew up, the relationship became romantic, much to Prime Burnham's shock and disgust. 

Upon their initial meeting, Burnham noted to Lorca that her prison shuttle changed course halfway through the journey, and assessed that Lorca had brought her to Discovery intentionally, testing her abilities. She revealed she knew about the experimental technology he had been using. Lorca told Burnham her suspicions were correct, but he didn't choose her for the reasons she thought. Lorca explained that, due to the circumstances of the war, he wanted to recruit her because her actions leading up to the Battle of the Binary Stars were predictive, and she chose to do the right thing despite it being against protocol. He believed this to be thinking that "wins wars". Lorca convinced Burnham to stay, manipulating her by suggesting that she stay to achieve atonement or redemption for Georgiou's loss. 

Lorca was hesitant to send Burnham away to find Sarek, who was in danger. Lorca told Ash Tyler to bring Burnham back in one piece or don't come back at all, to which Tyler assumed he was referring to the ship. At one point, Lorca questioned how Sarek could mind meld with her, as she was not Vulcan. In actuality, Lorca had been using information based on the mirror Burnham by mistake, who had not been raised by Vulcans. Later, Burnham told Lorca she was grateful to be serving under a captain like him. 

Tyler and Burnham transported to 's ship and plant sensors that created an algorithm for detecting the cloaked Klingon ships, much to the disapproval of Lorca. Eventually Lorca agreed to let her go. Burnham explained that she needed to go, being the most qualified person having been on the same vessel and knowing the surroundings, but Lorca curiously and illogically disagreed. Due to the nature of Lorca's relationship being revealed later, it was clear Lorca did not want to face Burnham getting killed again, being vital to his plan to stop the emperor and also because of his romantic feelings for her based on her mirror counterpart. 

When Lorca jumped Discovery to the mirror universe, Burnham revealed, based on the personnel files, she was presumed dead and his counterpart was a fugitive wanted for her murder. Lorca told Burnham to look outside and said, "A different universe and yet somehow the same people have a way of finding each other&hellip; might be the strongest argument that I've ever seen for the existence of destiny." Burnham dismissed Lorca's destiny argument, insisting that "Destiny didn't get me out of prison, captain. You did." At this point, Lorca relied on Burnham to take care of the crew. Burnham agreed with the plan to disguise as their Terran selves in order to retrieve the files on the USS Defiant to find a way back home. 

After Tyler was revealed to be a sleeper agent Klingon, Lorca held Burnham's hand, telling her she wasn't alone. Lorca's secret plan to lead Burnham to Emperor Georgiou was successful, as she was summoned to the. Burnham told Lorca it felt like having to face Georgiou again was a reckoning, but Lorca told her that Captain Georgiou was dead and Emperor Georgiou was a ghost. Burnham retorted, "Haven't you ever been afraid of a ghost?" Later, after spending time with Emperor Georgiou as Lorca went to an agonizer booth, Burnham finally realized that Lorca's sensitivity to light was a trait all Terrans possessed, and from Georgiou's words, Lorca believed destiny brought her daughter and Lorca together. Burnham pieced together that Lorca was from the mirror universe and it was not an accident they jumped there. 

With Lorca's true nature revealed, Burnham agreed to help Emperor Georgiou due to her attachment to the prime Georgiou. She tricked Lorca the same way they intended to trick Georgiou, by handing Georgiou over to Lorca, and a bemused Lorca told Georgiou that Burnham was destined to betray her in every universe. Lorca questioned Burnham's motives, and Burnham told him that in exchange for Discovery's safe passage home, he could have her, but only "her mind" (indicating to Lorca her awareness of his romantic feelings for her). Lorca agreed and communicated this information to Saru on Discovery. However, Burnham and Georgiou worked together to attack and kill Lorca's men. Burnham and Lorca fought, and he told her he didn't want to have to kill her. Burnham grabbed a phaser and told him that they would have brought him home had he asked, and because she was Starfleet, she wouldn't kill him. Emperor Georgiou quickly impaled Lorca instead and Lorca attempted to die holding onto Burnham, but she turned away instead.