Michael Burnham's History
Captain Michael Burnham was a female 23rd century Human Starfleet officer raised on Vulcan by Ambassador Sarek and Amanda Grayson following the death of her parents.
Burnham was born on Earth, in 2226. She was named after her father, Mike Burnham. In the early 2230s, Burnham and her parents resided on a space station. The isolation of the location lead to bad dreams involving a shadow. One night, to calm her and help her to conquer her fears, her father told her the legend of the girl who made the stars.
In 2236, Burnham's parents, Gabrielle and Mike Burnham, were stationed on Doctari Alpha; where, unknown to her at the time, they were working on a top secret project for Section 31 – a project to create a suit capable of time travel. A young Section 31 operative, Leland acquired a time crystal for the project, which was given to the lead researchers on the projects, the Burnhams. However, the Klingons tracked the crystal to Doctari Alpha.
The Burnhams originally planned a vacation to Mars, but they stayed three more days to wait for a nearby star, Alpha Lupi, to go supernova. The explosion would provide enough energy for the crystal, and they'd then be able to test the Red Angel suit. The young Burnham thought it was her begging which made the family stay longer so she could witness the star going nova. Just as the family was sitting down to dinner, Burnham saw a light through a telescope – a light that turned out to be the Klingons attacking the outpost. Mike Burnham attempted to barricade the kitchen door, while Gabrielle hid Michael in a cabinet. Mike was slain by the Klingons, but Gabrielle was able to escape, using the Red Angel suit to travel forward in time. Burnham did not witness the events, but she heard everything happen, or at least she thought she had. She claimed that the Klingons killed her father quickly, but took longer with her mother, whom she believed to have died as well. The attackers then sat down at Burnham's family table and ate the dinner the family had prepared and laughed.
Michael 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 Center. At one point she was crying alone because the Vulcan children had rejected her. Sarek assured her that when emotion brought her ghosts from the past, only logic could root her in the present. A young Burnham suggested that 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 her 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 shared physical sensations such as pain.
After this incident, Burnham, believing that her presence put the family in danger, attempted to run away from home. Using the Red Angel suit, her mother appeared to Spock from the future, and helped him to locate his runaway foster sister, showing him a vision of an alternate timeline in which Burnham died from an attack by a vicious predatory animal. Sarek and the authorities found Burnham at Vulcan's Forge, thus saving her from being killed by the animal.
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.
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.
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 pleaded 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.
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 Gabriel Lorca, 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 tardigrade, 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. During this time, she and Tyler developed feelings for each other.
Burnham then went with Tyler and Saru to Pahvo. There, they hoped 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 Battle at Pahvo and the subsequent deception by Lorca, the Discovery found itself stranded in the mirror universe. Burnham took the place of her counterpart, long assumed to be dead, in an attempt to find a way home. While in command of the ISS Shenzhou, she was ordered to hunt down Gabriel Lorca, who was attempting a coup against the emperor. Her shuttlecraft was destroyed during this operation and she was presumed dead. Burnham was forced to disguise herself as her Terran counterpart on the Shenzhou in order to retrieve the data files on the Constitution-class USS Defiant to uncover how it crossed into the mirror universe's past. Burnham and Lorca play the part of their Terran selves. Ensign Connor, who is now Captain Connor, attempts to kill Burnham in an attempt to maintain his new position, but fails. The crew of the Shenzhou applauds Burnham for her killing as she takes the captain's chair. Later, Burnham appears exhausted keeping up the act and goes to her quarters where she and Tyler, who joined Burnham as her personal bodyguard, have sex.
Burnham becomes increasingly agitated with her facade as mirror Burnham, and questions how long someone can keep a facade up until they actually become something they initially were not. She was alarmed by mirror Saru, who was a nameless slave in this universe, and decided to name him Saru in honor of her friend. Mirror Saru was shocked by her friendly gesture.
Burnham was tasked to destroy a rebel base on the planet Harlak. Instead, she and Tyler opted to form a secret alliance with the Vulcans, Klingons, Andorians, and Tellarites, who opposed the Terran Empire. Voq appeared, the mirror universe counterpart of the Klingon she fought at the Binary Stars, and asked Mirror Sarek, known as The Prophet, to mind meld with Burnham to see if her intentions were pure. Mirror Sarek was taken aback by Burnham's memories and concluded she was a compassionate person who meant them no harm. Burnham became curious of Voq's ability to forge alliances with other alien races in order to find the solution to the Klingon war in her universe. Voq's explanation triggered Tyler, who spoke in Klingon and attacked Voq. Burnham convinces mirror Voq to spare Tyler's life. When Burnham and Tyler returnws to the Shenzhou, having faked the attack, she confronted Tyler. Tyler admitted that he didn't think he was actually Ash Tyler. It became apparent that Tyler was actually Voq and that speaking with mirror Voq set off his true nature, having been brought on the Discovery originally as a sleeper agent. Burnham was confused, but then realized that Tyler was the one she fought at the Binary Stars. Tyler, now mentally fully turned into Voq, attempted to kill her. Burnham was unable to defend herself, and mirror Saru arrived and attacked Tyler, saving her. Burnham faked Tyler's execution, actually transporting him to the Discovery together with the files from the Defiant, where he is held captive. Later, Burnham was dismayed to learn her falsities at Harlak had been uncovered by the silent emperor, who turned out to be her former captain Philippa Georgiou's mirror version.
Burnham and Lorca were transported to the ISS Charon, as the revelation that Georgiou was the emperor weighed down on her, making her feel the situation was a reckoning for her betrayal of her own Georgiou. Lorca refused to bow to Georgiou, and was taken to an agony booth. Georgiou suspected Burnham of deception, and holding a knife to her neck asked why she came there, revealing she was aware that she conspired to kill her and take her throne with Lorca. Burnham was left shocked by this revelation of her mirror counterpart's betrayal as well. When she referred to the emperor as "Philippa", she was outraged, as she would normally have referred to her as "mother". Later, Burnham revealed prior to her execution that she was from another universe, using prime Georgiou's insignia as proof. Emperor Georgiou agreed to make a deal with Burnham to exchange the spore drive technology in exchange for her freedom to go home. Later, Burnham learned more about her mirror counterpart's history. In this universe, due to Terran supremacy, rather than Sarek and Amanda raising Michael after her parents were killed, Emperor Philippa Georgiou did instead. However, mirror Burnham's quest to hunt down Lorca appeared to be a ruse, as she was conspiring against her own adoptive mother to kill her and take her throne with Lorca, who mirror Burnham once viewed as a father figure, until she grew up and it became romantic. Georgiou told Burnham about Lorca planning to "cross time and space itself to take what was rightfully his" and Burnham put the pieces together, along with Georgiou's sensitivity to light (the single biological difference between the Terrans and humans), that Lorca was from the mirror universe and their crossing over was not an accident.
Burnham worked out a plan to deliver Georgiou to Lorca in the same way she planned. Burnham told Lorca that she would stay in exchange for Discovery's safe passage home, but it was a ruse, as Georgiou and Burnham began attacking and killing Lorca's men. Eventually, Burnham got the upper hand on Lorca with a phaser, telling him that they would've helped him get home, because that's who Starfleet was, and that was who she was, which was why she wouldn't kill him. Georgiou, however, killed him instead. She then allowed Burnham to go back home, with her reign as emperor gone given Lorca's rebellion, deciding to die killing Lorca's men. However, Burnham saved Georgiou at the last minute, holding onto her, as they were transported back to the Discovery and into the prime universe.
The Discovery jumped nine months ahead in 2257, with the Federation suffering significant losses in the war with the Klingons. Burnham revealed to Admiral Cornwell and Sarek about the arrival of their guest, Emperor Georgiou. Burnham asked Cornwell to give Emperor Georgiou political asylum, feeling sympathy for her, despite not being her Georgiou. Later, Tilly convinced Burnham to confront Ash, who was now fully recovered with dual memories, feeling deep remorse for Voq's actions. Sarek told her not to regret loving someone, encouraging her further. Burnham ultimately ended their relationship. Ash begged her, saying he couldn't make it without her, but Burnham explained she was lost after the battle of the binary stars, and having to reclaim life was punishing and solitary.
Emperor Georgiou posed as Prime Georgiou, enlisted by Starfleet to end the war, however she saw fit, in exchange for her freedom. Burnham, Tilly, and Tyler accompanied her to Qo'nos. Ultimately, Burnham was forced to stop Georgiou's genocidal attack on the Klingon home planet, outraged at Cornwell and Starfleet for enabling the act. Burnham manipulated Georgiou to give her the explosive device by telling her that if she didn't, she would have to watch her daughter die again. Georgiou reluctantly agreed and walked off to her freedom. Burnham offered L'Rell a peace treaty, to call off the Klingons' planned invasion on Earth in exchange for the device as a measure of peace and diplomacy in order to end the war. Ash reassuree a reluctant L'Rell to take charge. After the incident, Burnham's act of diplomacy in finishing the war ended with her, and many of the Discovery crew, decorated by Starfleet with the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions. Burnham was fully reinstated as a commander in Starfleet, her record was expunged, she was pardoned by the Federation President, and she became the chief science officer for the Discovery. Burnham and Tyler decided to go their separate ways, Tyler planning to find a union between Humans and Klingons with L'Rell, and Burnham back aboard Discovery. On their course to Vulcan to pick up the new Discovery captain, they received a transmission from Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise.
En route to Vulcan, the Discovery stopped to assist the USS Enterprise, which had experienced a ship-wide systems failure. Burnham was disappointed to learn from Captain Christopher Pike that her foster brother was not on board the ship, and was worried that she would not have an opportunity to patch things up with him. With the approval of Captain Pike, she went to her brother's quarters to find that he had been keeping track of the red bursts and that this might have something to do with his current condition.
Burnham later helped cure a mentally-disabled Spock by taking him to Talos IV, where the Talosian Keeper and his people were able to cure Spock in exchange for the memory of the start of the conflict between Spock and Burnham.
Learning that Section 31's Control was seeking to evolve so that it could become sentient and wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy, Spock helped Burnham temporarily trap The Red Angel in the 23rd century before she was pulled back in to the future. After Burnham's mother was pulled back to the 32nd century Spock and Burnham began to repair their relationship.
Determining that Discovery held data that Control was looking for in order to evolve, Burnham helped take Discovery into the 32nd century. When Spock was unable to accompany them, she advised her foster brother that there was a galaxy full of people looking to reach out to him, and that he should seek the person furthest from him for guidance. After defeating Control, Burnham and the rest of the Discovery crew jumped 930 years into the future to not allow Control to be able to return.
Arriving through the wormhole in the year 3188, Burnham crashed into Cleveland Booker's ship. Both Booker and Burnham crashed on the planet Hima. An uneasy alliance was formed between the two. She learned that the United Federation of Planets had mostly been dissolved because of an event called The Burn which destroyed most of the galaxy's dilithium and killed many people. Booker took her to Requiem a large city on the planet, where she was captured and interrogated by Andorian-Orion authorities. The two were chased around the planet by them using portable transporters. The two reached Booker's ship where he revealed his cargo to Burnham, a trance worm named Molly. After escaping the authorities Burnham accompanied Booker to Sanctuary Four to deliver Molly. Booker then took her to meet Aditya Sahil at a Federation relay station. The two discussed the situation and both agreed to find the Discovery and her crew and help reform the Federation.
Burnham became a courier and, along with Booker, tracked down what information she could about The Burn and the whereabouts of Starfleet and the Federation. She made many connections and had gone through some changes personally while she waited for Discovery to come through the wormhole.
A year later, Burnham came across the Discovery as the crew was attempting to get the ship out of parasitic ice so they could leave the planet. Burnham's ship used a tractor beam to lift Discovery off the surface. Burnham contacted the ship to tell them she had waited a year for them to arrive and that she had finally found them.
Upon arriving back on Discovery, she was greeted by the crew. They all hugged her and shared a moment with her. Burnham explained what had happened in the last 930 years. Burnham shares a moment with Tilly where she admits that things have changed for her during her time apart from the crew. Following a message from a Starfleet admiral sent twelve years prior, Burnham and the crew head to Earth where they encountered the United Earth Defense Force, after a confrontation, the members of the EDF beamed on board to investigate the ship. When a raider known as Wen showed up, Burnham and Booker took it upon themselves to take the ship's dilithium and distract Wen. The plan worked and Burnham and Booker beamed back to Discovery with Wen and got him, Captain Saru, and Captain Ndoye to speak. After some tension, Wen and Ndoye agree to halt hostilities and share resources. Burnham stayed on Discovery as first officer to Saru. Later, the two learned through Paul Stamnets that the Earth Defense officer known as Adira was the host for a Trill symbiont named Tal, which was the admiral that sent the message twelve years prior, but Adira was having trouble accessing the memories of the previous host so they set out for answers.
Burnham went with Adira to Trill so Adira could reconnect with the memories of the Tal symbiont's previous hosts, but after the Trill Guardians saw Adira and realized they were Human, they confronted them for being a non Trill host and questioned the Federation. As Burnham and Adira walked away from the meeting, they were ambushed so the Tal symbiont could be retrieved, but Burnham protected Adira and dealt with the attackers. At that moment, Guardian Xi approached and offered to guide them. He took them to the Caves of Mak'ala where Adira could heal their lost connection with the previous hosts by entering the sacred pools, however, after being in the water for a while, her life signs began to drop and Burnham had to dive in to help. They both experienced the memories of when Gray Tal (the previous host and Adira's boyfriend) became joined and later died, passing the symbiont on to Adira. Burnham convinced Adira to face these memories because this would fully join them and that way Starfleet could get the message that Sena Tal had for them. After the ritual was finally complete the Trill apologized for their prior behavior and told Michael that when the time was right they might join the Federation again. Michael and Adira then went back to Discovery where the two shared a moment in Adira's quarters as they played cello. After finishing, Adira told Michael that they knew the coordinates for the Federation Headquarters.
After the Discovery was captured by the Emerald Chain, Burnham helped retake the ship from the Chain's leader, Osyraa. Afterwards, Saru suggested Michael became the new captain of Discovery and temporarily left to take his fellow Kelpian Su'kal back home for the first time since Su'kal was a child. In his absence, Admiral Charles Vance promoted Burnham to Captain and named her the CO of the Discovery, realizing that Burnham was just the kind of officer needed to heal the Federation.
