Philippa Georgiou Captain Philippa Georgiou was a female Human Starfleet officer who lived during the mid - 23rd century . She served in the command division as the commanding officer of the in 2256 . ( ) Biography . Personal life . Philippa Georgiou was born in 2202 in Pulau Langkawi , Malaysia , Earth . ( ) Prior to 2256 , Georgiou had known great loss , yet remained optimistic in spite of her past . ( ) Her ready room was decorated with memoirs of her life , including several artifact s , book s , and award s . It also contained Georgiou ' s most beloved possession , a telescope that had been in her family for centuries . ( ) Starfleet career . Georgiou attended Starfleet Academy from 2220 to 2224 . ( ) She earned an impressive list of commendations during her career , including the Star Cross and the Legion of Honor . She was also awarded a diploma from the Laikan Military Academy on Andoria for Advanced Interstellar Combat . ( ) In 2256 , Georgiou was considered one of Starfleet ' s most decorated captains , listed among other legends such as Robert April , Matt Decker , Jonathan Archer , and Christopher Pike . ( ) Commanding officer of the USS " Shenzhou " . Sometime prior to 2249 , Georgiou was given command of the . In that year , she welcomed Michael Burnham aboard the " Shenzhou " as her new officer , at the request of Burnham ' s guardian , Sarek , whom Georgiou had previously been acquainted with . Sarek felt that her personal history might help Burnham come to terms with her own past , although Georgiou feared that , one day , Burnham ' s Humanity might be overridden by the Vulcan training she had undergone . ( ) As captain , Georgiou preferred a relaxed command style , encouraging conversation between her officers on the bridge ; in particular , she enjoyed the friendly rivalry between Burnham ( who eventually became her first officer ) and her science officer , Saru , although she recognized when to cut between them and assert her authority . However , she was quick to react when an officer crossed a line . ( ) Saving the Crepusculans . In 2256 , Captain Georgiou led an expedition to the Crepusculan homeworld , accompanied by Burnham , to prevent a drought from wiping out the native civilization . When a storm cut off communications with the " Shenzhou " , Georgiou used her footsteps to mark out a Starfleet symbol in the sand , allowing the starship to locate and recover the pair . ( ) Encountering the Klingons . Dispatched to a binary star system to investigate a damaged interstellar relay , Georgiou used a telescope she kept in her ready room to visually identify an object of unknown origin . Feeling that the object ' s location prevented them from getting a closer look , she was inclined to agree with Saru ' s recommendation that they leave it alone ; however , she was persuaded by Burnham to allow the first officer to take a thruster pack to investigate , on the condition that it was " just a flyby . " Despite Burnham returning from the " flyby " in critical condition , Georgiou was initially reluctant to accept her first officer ' s declaration that the object was of Klingon origin . She ultimately recognized that Burnham ' s view was not caused by her injuries , and ordered the ship to red alert , knowing that retreating from Federation space was not an option , rejecting Saru ' s calls to leave immediately . When a Klingon vessel decloak ed before the " Shenzhou " , Georgiou informed Starfleet Command by way of an encoded message , and decided to adopt a non - aggressive posture , attempting to establish communications . After receiving orders from Admiral Brett Anderson to maintain their position and not engage , she remained unwilling to preemptively strike against them , hoping that whatever events transpired could connect the two civilizations . Despite the entreaties of her first officer and the object ' s activation blinding the " Shenzhou " , Georgiou stood by her orders , angrily reprimanding Burnham for questioning her authority on her bridge . Burnham decided to take matters into her own hands , incapacitating Georgiou using a Vulcan nerve pinch and attempting to take command of the " Shenzhou " . Quickly recovering from the effects , Georgiou entered the bridge , armed with a phaser , and ordered her first officer to stand down , just as a fleet of Klingon ships entered the system . ( ) After removing Burnham from the bridge , and upon the arrival of reinforcements , Georgiou was finally able to contact the Klingon fleet . Advising the Klingons to either leave or enter into dialogue , and expressing regret for the death of their warrior in the encounter with Burnham , Georgiou reassured them that the Federation came in peace . However , this was the clarion call that the Klingon leader , T ' Kuvma , had been anticipating , and he used it to rally the Klingon fleet to attack , triggering the Battle of the Binary Stars . The " Shenzhou " took significant damage during the initial volley , despite Georgiou ' s evasive action allowing the Federation fleet to cover its retreat . She then ordered the ship to cover the . Georgiou was dismayed to learn that the damage sustained included hull breach es on the deck where the ship ' s brig was located – right where Burnham had been remanded . With the " Shenzhou " completely disabled and drifting into the system ' s accretion disk , Georgiou instructed her crew to prepare to evacuate . Only the arrival of the prevented the destruction of the ship , and Georgiou thanked Admiral Anderson for their assistance , explaining to her superior that the Klingons had fired in response to her communication , and reporting the state of the fleet . Determined to strike a blow against the Klingons after the deliberate ramming of the " Europa " , Georgiou took on a suggestion from Saru to use the " Shenzhou " s worker bee s to transport a photon warhead to the enemy flagship , and resolved to pilot the warhead in herself , as the auxiliary craft lacked an autopilot . However , Burnham , having survived the destruction of the brig , arrived on the bridge to warn Georgiou that killing T ' Kuvma would only lead to his martyr dom . Instead , she proposed capturing T ' Kuvma . Still reeling from her first officer ' s actions , Georgiou asked why she had done what she had , and berated herself for her own arrogance in thinking she could " pick away the shell the Vulcans had put around " Burnham and in believing the first officer was ready for command . Seeing the Klingons gathering their dead , Georgiou modified the plan , disabling the Klingon flagship by beam ing the warhead to a Klingon corpse , then transporting aboard with Burnham to capture T ' Kuvma . In the ensuing boarding action , Georgiou engaged the Klingon leader in hand - to - hand combat ; however , she was no match for the trained warrior and his " mek ' leth " , and was killed . Her body was left behind on the Klingon ship as Burnham was beamed away . ( ) Georgiou was nonetheless given a funeral , at which Saru presented a speech . ( ) Remains . Meanwhile , T ' Kuvma ' s ship was assumed lost and left stranded by the other Klingons for six months . The surviving crew spent this time slowly repairing their crippled ship by salvaging the debris field left behind by the battle . Yet , after many months with no resupply , they faced the likelihood of starvation ; Voq and his crew ate Georgiou ' s corpse , in part simply to survive , and in part as revenge for her role in their master ' s death . ( ) Legacy . Georgiou ' s last will and testament reached Burnham six months after her death . It contained a holographic message , along with Georgiou ' s telescope , which she bequeathed to Burnham . ( ) Months after her death , she was recognized in the Starfleet database as one of the most decorated captains in the fleet . ( ) Georgiou ' s Starfleet badge , inscribed with her name and serial number , fell into the possession of Kol , then Head of the House of Kor . Eventually , Burnham took the badge from Kol while engaged in personal combat , beaming back to the with it . ( ) After encountering Georgiou ' s counterpart in the mirror universe , Michael Burnham used her former captain ' s Starfleet badge to convince the Terran emperor of her origin in another universe . ( ) The shared bond between Georgiou and Burnham provoked Burnham to bring the mirror Georgiou to the prime universe where she briefly took on the role of her deceased double as captain of the USS " Discovery " in 2257 . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " Ensign Connor , agreement between my senior officers . Note the date and time . " " " " Noted , captain . " " " " Battle is not simulation . It ' s blood and screams and funerals . I thought you better than that . We don ' t start shooting on a hunch . And we don ' t take innocent lives , period . " " " " All warfare is based on deception . When you ' re able to attack , you must seem unable . " " Appendices . Background information . Philippa Georgiou was portrayed by Michelle Yeoh . To take on the part of Captain Georgiou , Michelle Yeoh relied on the help of the creative staff . " " I worked very closely , " " she recalled , " " with Aaron ( Harberts ) and Gretchen ( Berg ) , our show runners , and then with David Semel ( director of the pilot ) and some of the writers that were here at that time , and Ted ( Sullivan ) , to get a feel of ' When you wrote this character , what were you thinking ? Is she married ? Does she have family ? Does she have that ? ' Because it forms who she is . " " Yeoh portrays Georgiou with her native Malaysia n accent . Her decision to do so was widely commented upon , and generally praised , in the Malaysian press . writer Jordon Nardino , when theorizing on the connection between Empress Sato and the mirror Georgiou , indicated that that Georgiou ' s background is Chinese - Malaysian , like Yeoh herself . According to , Georgiou was born in Malaysia . Apocrypha . Georgiou ' s StarTrek . com biography states that , like her actress , she is originally from Malaysia . The novel " Desperate Hours " states that Georgiou ' s surname was retained from her ex - husband Nikos Georgiou .