Do you know why Sarek asked me to take you on? I was a human who had seen a life of loss, but still chose hope. What an ego I had, thinking I could pick away the shell the Vulcans had put around you.Philippa Georgiou to Michael Burnham, 2256
Philippa Georgiou was a 23rd century Human woman, a Starfleet captain in the 2250s decade. She was the commanding officer of the USS Shenzhou until her death in the year 2256. (DSC episodes: "The Vulcan Hello", "Battle at the Binary Stars")
Biography
Georgiou was born in the year 2202 at Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia. Around 2220 she enrolled at Starfleet Academy, graduating in 2224. (DSC episode: "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry")
By 2239, Lieutenant Georgiou was assigned to the science vessel USS Archimedes. In that year, she was contacted by Saru of Kaminar. Despite Kaminar being a pre-warp world, Geogriou was able to convince Starfleet to allow her to transport Saru despite the Prime Directive. (Short Treks episode: "The Brightest Star"; DSC episode: "The Sound of Thunder")
In 2246, Commander Georgiou had completed her assignment to the Archimedes and was on leave at Starbase 11 preparing for her assignment as first officer of the USS Defiant when she was chosen to lead an emergency response unit comprised of officers and civilians to respond to the infection and crisis at Tarsus IV. Traveling to the planet on the USS Narbonne, Georgiou and her team (along with the personnel of Starfleet's Outpost Tarsus IV including Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Lorca) were then able to stop and apprehend or kill several of Governor Kodos' followers. When the temporary assignment to the Narbonne was complete, Georgiou resumed her leave and preparation for the Defiant. (DSC novel: Drastic Measures)
Georgiou served in Starfleet for almost three decades, rising to the senior command echelons of her fellow captains such as Robert April, Matthew Decker, Jonathan Archer, and Christopher Pike. (DSC novel: Desperate Hours; DSC episode: "Choose Your Pain")
By the late 2240s, Georgiou had been promoted to captain and assigned command of the Shenzhou. In 2249, Georgiou agreed to take on as a protege the ward of Ambassador Sarek, Michael Burnham. Burnham, who had graduated from the Vulcan Starfleet Academy, rose in the ranks from ensign to senior tactical officer in 2255. That year, Georgiou's first officer, Sonnisar ch'Theloh, and her second officer, Itzel García, accepted promotions to the USS Tereshkova. Facing who to promote to first officer, Georgiou had a choice between her protege, Burnham, and her promising science officer, Saru, who had formed a potentially damaging rivalry over the past six years. Admiral Brett Anderson selected Burnham over Saru, and Georgiou broke the news to both. (DSC novel: Desperate Hours)
Service record
| location | assignment | dates | rank or rate | rank insignia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starfleet Academy | student officer | 2220-2224 | cadet | |
| USS Archimedes | science division | 2230s-2246 | lieutenant |  |
| USS Narbonne | Temporary assignment/ Tarsus IV crisis response commander |
October 2246 | commander |  |
| USS Defiant (NCC-1764) | First officer | circa 2246 | ||
| USS Shenzhou | Commanding officer | circa 2249-2256 | captain |  |
Appendices
Connections
| USS Narbonne personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
|
P. Georgiou • J. Giler • E. Jenn • A. Korrapati • S. Varazdinski | 
|
| USS Shenzhou (NCC-1227) personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
Burnham • Connor • Detmer • Fan • Gant • García • Georgiou • Januzzi • Johar • Nambue • Narwani • Oliveira • Saru • Spyropoulos • ch'Theloh • Troke • Weeton |
|
Appearances and references
Appearances
- Short Treks episode: "The Brightest Star"
- DSC novel: Desperate Hours
- DSC episode: "The Vulcan Hello"
- DSC episode: "Battle at the Binary Stars"
External link
- Philippa Georgiou article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.