Philippa Georgiou ( mirror ) Her most Imperial Majesty , Mother of the Fatherland , Overlord of Vulcan , Dominus of Qo ' noS , Regina Andor , Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius was a female who was the Emperor of the Terran Empire during the mid - 23rd century . The rebellion against her rule appeared to have little information about her except that the emperor was ruthless . Her identity was not made public , being known as the faceless emperor . ( ) In spite of the Empire ’ s xenophobic tendencies , Emperor Georgiou had taken titles native to the Vulcan , Klingon , and Andorian subjects of her Empire , as she was addressed as " Overlord of , Dominus of Qo ' noS , " and " Regina Andor " , among others , symbolic of her success at conquering and oppressing other species . Her flagship , the , was commanded by Captain . ( ) Biography . Personal life . Georgiou was responsible for rendering Qo ' noS uninhabitable , and together with , she subjugated the Betazoid s and wiped out Mintaka III . ( ) After the death of her parents , Georgiou adopted . ( ) Captain was once one of Georgiou ' s closest advisors . However , Lorca thought that Georgiou was unfit to lead , letting aliens come in their borders and attempted a coup against her . The Emperor dispatched her adoptive daughter , a captain of immense prestige , to apprehend Lorca . This appeared to be a test of loyalty as , unknown to Burnham , Georgiou was aware of her adoptive daughter ' s collaboration with Lorca to kill her and take her throne . When Lorca ' s followers destroyed Burnham ' s shuttle and he escaped , Lorca ' s ship , the , was destroyed in retaliation . ( ) Sex ually , Georgiou took an interest in both male and female partners , even at the same time . According to an Orion duo that serviced her after coming to the regular universe , she had learned them many new things . ( ) Michael ' s " return " . After Michael Burnham of the prime universe posed as her returned from the dead , the Emperor was quick to assign her a new mission : destroy the Fire Wolf ' s base on Harlak . However , when Burnham proved too slow to carry out the order , the Emperor herself traveled halfway across the quadrant to confront Burnham . After Burnham confronted her in front of the Terran Court on board the palace ship " Charon " , Emperor Georgiou revealed that she was the adoptive mother of the " mirror " Burnham . At dinner with her she was initially amicable . However , she was mistrustful of her long - lost daughter : as Burnham struggled to accept the new role she was to play , the Emperor had her arrested and brought to the Lords of the Terran Empire for her execution . This order was countermanded when Burnham proved herself to be from the same universe as the . After ruthlessly murdering all of the Lords except for one , she discussed with Burnham the terms of her and her captain ' s liberation . However , during the discussion , her discomfort when adjusting to sudden bright light caused Burnham to realize that the Gabriel Lorca she had brought , who had claimed his own sensitivity to light was caused by eye damage , was actually his mirror universe counterpart . ( ) Lorca ' s coup . Lorca then initiated a rebellion against Georgiou , quickly escaping from his confinement and rallying his comrades who had been condemned to the " Charon " s agony booths . They quickly took the ship with the assistance of the mirror , who had helped them in their first coup attempt , only to sell out to Georgiou . During a confrontation in which most of the crew still loyal to her were killed , she performed an emergency site - to - site transport , hiding in her personal quarters and wearing a special bracelet that made her undetectable to the ship ' s sensors . Lorca then took control of the " Charon " and threatened to destroy the . Burnham found Georgiou and proposed a plan , to exploit Lorca ' s desire to put her by his side once more . They pretended to surrender in exchange for letting " Discovery " go . When the " Discovery " came out of warp , Lorca was distracted by Saru and Burnham ' s conversation , giving her time to subdue the guards around her and Georgiou . The fight turned in their favor quickly , and when Burnham released Lorca from gunpoint , citing the Starfleet ethos , Georgiou executed him with a sword through the chest for his treason . He was then unceremoniously kicked through the " sunroof " into the mycelial reactor and his end . Georgiou finally warmed up to Burnham , saying that for one second , she was her daughter again , and volunteered to stay behind and give her enough time to escape as Lorca ' s forces surrounded them . Instead , as the transporter beam energized , Burnham unexpectedly lunged at her and took Georgiou with her to " Discovery " before the " Charon " was destroyed , along with all of Lorca ' s men . ( ) Escaping to the prime universe . With Georgiou and Burnham aboard , the " Discovery " engaged its spore drive and crossed back into the prime universe , having overshot their arrival time by nine months . Saru was initially shocked at seeing Georgiou alive , believing her to be his former captain . She quickly corrected him and immediately demanded that he kneel as a slave . Burnham revealed that indeed this Kelpien was her captain . However , Georgiou was quick to remind Burham that they had previously dined on entrails of his brethen . Over nine months , the Federation war with the Klingons had taken its toll , with Starfleet losing one third of its fleet and over twenty percent of its territory occupied . Losses were so great , Admiral Katrina Cornwell and Ambassador Sarek wished all knowledge of " Discovery " ' s journey to the alternate universe be buried and locked down . On meeting with Georgiou , Cornwell and Sarek found her resemblance to Captain Phillipa Georgiou to be remarkable . With Burham ' s assurance that Georgiou ' s appearance in their universe was without motive , Cornwell admitted it remained complicated . Georgiou wished to return to the mirror universe . Burnham stated that she had escaped a violent revolution and should be granted political asylum within the Federation . Georgiou was to be held at Starbase I , until Starfleet Command determined a proper course of action , this changed when the " Discovery " learned that the starbase had been occupied by Klingons . Assisting the Federation in their war with the Klingons . Georgiou ' s rule of the Terran Empire extended throughout every system in their galaxy , conquering places Starfleet hasn ' t dared to explore . Burnham wanted to know how Georgiou had defeated the Klingon Empire . Georgiou explained that the Klingons were like cancer cells , constantly dividing and the way to root them out was to destroy them at the source , Qo ' noS . As the Klingons were preparing to strike Sol system , the core system of the Federation , the response was to take the fight to Qo ' noS . A coordinated attack against their planetary defense batteries , followed by the destruction of all military targets planet - wide . A single offensive so destructive , it would cause the Klingons to retreat back to their homeworld . Georgiou provided Burnham with intelligence that Qo ' noS is essentially a planet of caves , some large enough to house a starship . The " Discovery " could use its spore drive to enter one of these caves and map the terrain from the inside - out , reducing the risk of detection . Meeting with Sarek in private , Georgiou offered her help in winning the war . Whilst she had provided Burnham with the intelligence she could handle , the Qo ' noS of her universe was little more than a blackened mass of dust . Burnham ' s plan would prove effective , but only temporarily . Georgiou offered to bring the Klingons to their knees once and for all . If she got her freedom , she would assure victory for the Federation . Sarek negotiated with the Federation Council and received approval of Georgiou ' s plan and that they had no choice but to proceed . Georgiou took the role of Captain Phillipa Georgiou to chart the " Discovery ' s " course to Qo ' noS . To cover up her alternate universe origin , Cornwell claimed that although presumed long - dead , she was rescued in a highly classified raid of a Klingon prison vessel . The mission was perilous expedition and Starfleet was confident she was uniquely qualified to get the " Discovery " there and do what needs to be done . ( ) The war concluded when Georgiou planted a hydro bomb within a volcano on Qo ' noS . Preventing Georgiou from detonating the device , Burnham gave the detonator to L ' Rell , who used the threat of detonating the device to force the leaders of the Great House s to accept her leadership and ordered Klingon forces to halt their advance on the Federation . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The title " Dominus of Qo ' noS " was deliberately mispronounced as " Dominus of Kronos " , though the subtitles retain the spelling as Qo ' noS . On his Twitter account , Jordon Nardino , who wrote the episode " Vaulting Ambition " , explain the meaning behind the titles and name of the emperor . " " All Hail her most Imperial Majesty , Mother of the Fatherland , Overlord of Vulcan , Dominus of Kronos , Regina Andor , All Hail Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius . But what ' s it mean ? ? ! ? " " When we began digging into the Terrans last year , I had just read a newer history of Rome and was excited to use it as inspiration . ( SPQR by Mary Beard , check it out . ) Here ' s some of the titles Roman Emperors used : " " So into her titles : " " Now as for Georgiou ' s many names . . . " " " Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius " " " Well . . . Hoshi was Empress . 100 years later , Georgiou is Emperor . Georgiou took one of Hoshi ' s titles as her own to connect them . So Hoshi ' s legacy as Empress must be good and Georgiou must either be connected to her in a chain of succession or might want to create that connection . . . But they have different ethnic backgrounds . Hoshi is Japanese , Philipa is Chinese - Malaysian . So I don ' t think it ' s likely Philipa is a direct descendant like a great - grandchild . Cousins is possible . More likely tho . . . whoever inherited Hoshi ' s throne was someone she adopted as a child & heir , the way most Roman emperors did . And that Emperor adopted his / her heir , and so on , until we get to Georgiou . And she is proud of the connection and flaunts it with the title Iaponius . " " But . . . it ' s not canon until it ' s on screen so that ' s just one writer ' s opinion . " " As for Centaurius , I figured it was the first system colonized by the Terrans since it ' s closest to Sol so it was a title the Emperor at the time took in tribute . " " Hope someone found this informative ! " "