Personal log, Michael Burnham

The personal log of Michael Burnham contained log entries kept while she served in Starfleet.

Entries

2256

• "Personal log, Specialist Michael Burnham, Stardate 2136.8. Despite my fears to the contrary, I seem to have found my place on this Discovery. An air of routine has descended upon the ship, and even I am a part of it. I've made friends. Well, one at least. I take comfort in my work. This ship has quickly become the most important weapon in the Federation's arsenal in our war against the Klingons. And because of her, the tide has turned. Because of us, we are winning. Lieutenant Stamets' ability to pilot the ship's spore drive has given him access not just to all of space, but to unseen parts of his personality as well. As we perform our daily responsibilities, I confess I find some members of my fellow crew more interesting than others. Lieutenant Tyler has suffered so much, and still maintains such dignity and kindness. I find him… intriguing. But I fear my personal history interferes with my ability to forge relationships. I am among the others… but also apart. I wish sorely to step out of my comfort zone, yet don't know how. But tonight, I will face one of my greatest challenges so far. Tonight we are having… a party."

• "Personal log. Just as repetition reinforces repetition, change begets change. I guess the truth is, we never really know what's coming. Sometimes the only way to find out where you fit in is to step out of the routine, because sometimes where you really belong was waiting right around the corner all along." (DIS: "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad")

• "Personal log, Specialist Michael Burnham, Stardate 1308.9. We landed on Pahvo eighteen hours ago. It's a seemingly uninhabited planet, but a unique and, for us, strategic one. Every tree, rock, and blade of grass here vibrates with its own specific tone. Together these combine to form a kind of music, the signature sound of the planet heard everywhere on the surface. The sound is even broadcast into space by a towering crystal structure, a sort of naturally-occurring transmitter. It is Starfleet's plan to modify the electromagnetic frequency of Pahvo's signal and harness it as a form of SONAR that can detect the presence of cloaked Klingon vessels decimating our fleet, make them visible to our sensors, and turn the tide of war in our favor." (DIS: "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum")

2257

• "Stardate 1029.46. Personal log, Commander Michael Burnham. Any rational explanation for the seven signals that have appeared across the galaxy continues to escape me. And with it, perhaps, any chance of a relationship with my brother Spock. What did he see in them that I can't? My failure to understand feels like a failure to reach him at a time when he might me need me most." (DIS: "Point of Light")

• "Personal log, Commander Michael Burnham. My mother taught me the greatest mysteries come in threes: Birth, life, death. The past, the present, and future. That's where the Red Angel is from. We now have confirmation, thanks to Mr. Saru. The Angel is humanoid, and wearing an exosuit made of future technology we've never seen. But whose future, and why? The only person who may be able to answer these questions is the one person nobody can find." (DIS: "Light and Shadows")

2258

• "Personal log, Stardate 1051.8. We're in the process of abandoning our ship in order to destroy it. This is actually happening, yet somehow I still can't believe it. Long-range sensors show Control is on the move and gaining quickly. Its infiltrated our subspace radio relays, so we can't reach Starfleet for backup. Ship-to-ship communication is all we've got. Discovery contains the one thing in all the galaxy that Control needs, the data to become fully conscious. My mother sacrificed everything to stop Control from getting that data, and now she's counting on us to finish the job. But is this really the only solution? I look in the mirror and can hardly recognize myself anymore. All these questions without answers. There are seven signals, but we've only seen four. We have a time crystal that we don't know how to use. Captain Pike has always had faith that they play a part in some grand design. Now… more than ever… I wish I had his certainty." (DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow")

Between 3188 and 3189

• "Personal log, Commander Michael Burnham. Stardate 865211.3. Automatic transmissions to USS Discovery, wherever or whenever it might be. I'm sending you this message because you need to know what I've learned here. I hope that by some miracle you will receive it some day. Seven hundred years after we left, dilithium supplies dried up. The Federation trialed alternative warp drive designs but none proved reliable. Then came the Burn. No one knows how or why it happened but in an instant, all dilithium went inert. Any ship with an active warp core detonated. The Federation, as we know it, disappeared overnight. It's now just a shadow of its former self. We didn't give everything for this version of the future and I'll be damned if I let it stand. I've become a courier. I transport goods in exchange for dilithium to keep exploring sector by sector. Searching for clues as to what caused The Burn. Answers that might help to bring the Federation together again. Wherever I go, I look for you, my friends. I listen for any sign of your arrival but communication remains severely limited. Even if I did find you, I know it would be different, because I am different. But I will always love you. I've had to accept I may never see you again. You can love someone and still let them go. It feels like a dream, this world. A strange, terrible, beautiful dream. Luckily, I'm not alone on this journey. I found a friend in the truest sense of the word. This is my life now and I…"

3189

• "Personal log, supplemental. Even after a year of finding my way alone, I truly believed I could find a way to fit back into this uniform, onto this ship. Now I'm not so sure. I've become someone new; still just as committed to the Federation, to my friends – but there's a distance between us now. I know I'll never be at peace until I solve the Burn. But I don't know if I can do it from Discovery. This may not be my home anymore, and I don't know what that means or where it will lead me." (DIS: "Unification III")

External link

• Personal log, Michael Burnham at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works