#trickster kaiser specter spy

[onaperduamedee]

Are you in or out?

Image description under the cut:

[ID1: gif of Michael Burnham and Emperor Georgiou in close-up in vast room where sparks are flying. Michael talks to someone behind her, Georgiou nodding emphatically. When Michael turns away and speaks, Philippa leans close and responds with a conspirational expression. Michael wear long lraids pulled to the side of her face. Philippa has a high ponytail. End ID]

[ID2: gif of Michael and Philippa crouching on the ground in a warehouse. They both look up and exchange a knowing look, slightly amused. Philippa is dressed in a black leather coat and Michael in a brown coat. End ID]

[ID3: gif of Michael and Philippa on a ship bridge standing side by side from the waist up. Michael turns to listen to Philippa talking before Philippa gives her a knowing nod and walks away. End ID]

[ID4: gif of Michael and Philippa in a warehouse, surrounded by various pieces of equipment, from the waist up. While someone walks in front of them, Michael and Philippa exchange a prolonged look full of intent. End ID]

[ID5: gif of Michael and Philippa in a scrapyard from the waist up. Watched by a guard, Michael discreetly elbows Philippa and Phillipa looks askance in return. End ID]

[ID6: gif of Michael and Philippa handcuffed side by side in a ship from the waist up. Michael and Philippa scan the room frantically before glancing at each other intently and nodding. Two persons are fleeing in the background. End ID]

[ID7: gif of Michael and Philippa in a warehouse filled with junk and smoke. Michael pitches an object with a metal bar, while Philippa watches with a pleased smirk. End ID]

[ID8: gif of Michael and Philippa in a warehouse from the chest up. Michael steps forward, opening her mouth to protest, and Philippa holds her back. End ID]

[onaperduamedee]

The Honor Guard can be trusted.

[ID 1: gif of Mirror Michael Burnham in a corridor, from the waist up. She is held at gunpoint by Mirror Tilly while Joann Owosekun steps close to her. Michael glares at her. They are all wearing golden chestplates with intricate details. Michael’s lips are dark blue and her winged eyeliner reaches her temple. End ID]

[ID 2: gif of Michael with Joann in her face and Mirror Georgiou watching. Joaan maintains eye contact while she removes abruptly Michael’s daggers from her side, one after the other. Michael holds her gaze boldly. End ID]

[ID 3: gif of Tilly on the corridor, from the shoulders up, watching with a gleeful expression. Her hair is straight and she wears thick blue eyeliner. End ID]  

[ID 4: gif of Joann, up close, staring at Michael without emotion. Her body shakes as she plucks another weapon from Michael. She wears a black armour with a golden collar and blue eyeliner. Her cheek is slashed under the cheekbone. End ID]

[ID 5: gif of Michael, from the shoulders up, glaring with a smug expression as Joann stands uncomfortably close to her. Tilly can be seen in the background. End ID] 

[ID 6: gif of Michael, Joann and Georgiou in the corridor. Michael follows Joann’s face for a short time as Joann walks away. Georgiou gzaes at them impassively. End ID]

[onaperduamedee]

A duel? A luxury of the past. Where can you find a body to touch, wound, run through, in your era? And if by chance such a body turns up, isn't it already bloodless? (x)

Image descriptions under the cut

[ID 1: gif of Michael Burnham and Emperor Georgiou in a sparsely lit gym. Michael is in the background observing Philippa as the focus goes from her to Philippa. Philippa is talking in the foreground, haggard. Michael wears long braids and a uniform. Philippa has a sleeveless top on and her hair in a high ponytail. End ID]

[ID 2: gif of the back of Philippa's head hitting and breaking glass in a corridor. The surface shatters in an intricate web. End ID]

[ID 3: gif of Michael's profile in a bright room. A knife is violently pressed against her throat, forcing her to sit back. Michael's expression goes from confident to panicked. Michael wears her hair short and a golden chest plate. Philippa's chest plate is visible behind Michael. End ID]

[ID 4: gif of Michael and Philippa's faces on a bridge at warp. Philippa's profile hides part of Michael's face, before Philippa turns to walk away. Michael studies her intently, a hurt expression painted over her features. End ID]

[ID 5: gif of Michael and Philippa's hands, as they face each other in a corridor. A half-bitten apple falls from Philippa's hand and the camera follows it as it hits the ground. End ID]

[ID 6: gif of Michael in a snowstorm from the shoulders up. She looks worryingly at Philippa in front of her as Philippa appears to flake away, shattering in pieces. Only part of Philippa's face can be seen, out of focus. End ID]

[onaperduamedee]

- I will never find another like you.

- I don’t think I will either.

[ID 1: gif in black and white of Michael Burnham and Philippa Georgiou walking side by side in corridors, from the waist up. Michael is wearing an asymmetrical  bob and a Vulcan robe. Philippa is wearing her hair untied and a Starfleet uniform. With an amused expression, she talks with the caption “Sometimes the universe allows for the making of unexpected memories.” End ID]

[ID 2: gif of Michael and Emperor Georgiou wlaking and talking down corridors, from the mid-leg up. Michael is weraing her hair short and curly, and a Starfleet uniform without insignia. Philippa is dressed in a Starfleet uniform and wears her hair in a low ponytail, in the manner of Prime Philippa. End ID] 

[ID 3: gif of Michael Burnham in close-up looking at Emperor Georgiou, facing away. Philippa’s hand is on Michael’s shoulder and Michael grabs it with emotion. End ID] 

[ID 4: gif of Emperor Georgiou and Michael Burnham in the control room of a ship, shot from the waist up. Michael is wearing a long brown coat and long braids swept on the side of her face. Philippa wears a black leather coat and a high ponytail. Focused, they are piloting the ship and watching over the bright  projected screens before them. End ID] 

[ID 5: gif of Michael and Philippa from the chest up with a vortex in the background and snow falling around them. Wearing dark coats, they are hugging tightly and press their foreheads together. Michael’s hair is long and braided, Philippa’s is long and pulled back from her face. End ID] 

[ID 6: gif of Michael in a room full or people, from the shoulders up. She raises a glass and talks with a fond smile. Her hair is long and braided and she wears a uniform. the caption reads “She was the most unexpected of gifs.” End ID]

[onaperduamedee]

She’s intense.

[onaperduamedee]

Michael and Philippa + alive : 1.02 || 1.11 || 3.02

[onaperduamedee]

You'd be surprised what you'd do for the people you love.

[onaperduamedee]

The getaway ship.

[ID 1: gif of Emperor Georgiou and Michael Burnham in the control room of a ship, shot from the waist up. Michael is wearing a long brown coat and long braids swept on the side of her face. Philippa wears a black leather coat and a high ponytail. Focused, they are piloting the ship and watching over the bright  projected screens before them. End ID]

[ID 2: gif of a dusty industrial area with high warehouses, metallic staircases and gravel in heaps. Bright blue lights shoot from the space between the building, targetting people on the ground and sending them in the air as grit flies around. A tall, thin ship comes out of the cloud of smoke and dust between the buildings. End ID]

[ID 3: gif of Cleveland Booker in an open area, surrounded by crumbling walls and gravels. Wearing grey overalls and gloves, he throws his body back and shouts with joy, as the caption reads “Whoooooooooo!” End ID]

[onaperduamedee]

Kelp dries in the sun.

An existential crisis.

Is there some dessert?

Bonus:

[ID 1: Gif of Emperor Georgiou from the shoulders up sitting in a ready room. She talks with a teasing expression with the caption "Is there some dessert?" End ID]

[ID 2: Gif of Hugh Culber and Georgiou sitting side by side. Hugh frowns in disbelief and talks with the caption "Is that a haiku?" End ID]

[ID 3: Gif of Paul Stamets, Hugh, Georgiou and Linus together at the table. Georgiou looks at Hugh with interest and answers with the caption "Yes." End ID]

[ID 4: Gif of Sylvia Tilly from the shoulders up looking down and smiling to herself as Hugh talks off-screen. The caption is "Emperor Georgiou. Feasting on the finest cuts." End ID]

[ID 5: Gif of Hugh talking and turning toward an intrigued Paul. The successive captions are "Snarfs cookies on the down-low. I screwed up the last line. (All laugh.)" End ID]

[ID 6: Gif of Saru raising his glass and talking. The caption is "No matter. Hear! Hear!" End ID]

[ID 7: Gif of a confused Commander Nhan frowning and asking a question with the caption "Haiku?" End ID]

[ID 8: Gif of Saru exclaiming with the caption "Oh" and tilting his head in pity. End ID]

[ID 9: Gif of Nhan gasping and shaking her head in denial, looking even more onfused. End ID]

[onaperduamedee]

My guess is she’s thinking like one of them, taking what she needs and doing what’s necessary.

Bonus:

[onaperduamedee]

Are you okay?

[ID 1: gif of Emperor Georgiou dressed as Captain Georgiou in the middle of ship corridors, from the shoulders up. She takes a breath before talking to Michael Burnham who is facing away. End ID]

[ID 2: gif of the Emperor walking away from Michael as Michael follows with her eyes, from the shoulders up. Michael shakes her head with a disappointed expression. End ID] 

[ID 3: gif of the Emperor wearing dark clothes and standing in the corridors, from the shoulders up. She looks at Michael with amused contempt before hissing and walking away with a smirk. End ID] 

[ID 4: gif of Michael in the middle of the corridors, from the waist up. She follows Georgiou with her eyes, a disappointed expression painted on her face, and shakes her head. End ID] 

[ID 5: gif of the Emperor in dark clothes, from the shoulders up. She edges close to Michael as she walks past her, expression full of contempt. As soon as her back is turned to Michael, her face twists with confusion and concern. End ID] 

[ID 6: gif of Michael standing in the middle of busy corridors. She is staring at the Emperor leaving with a frown of concern. Her hair is long and tied in a low ponytail. End ID]

[onaperduamedee]

Hey. Hey, you’re all right?

[ID 1: gif of Emperor Georgiou in extreme closeup, opening her eyes and looking around in confusion. End ID]

[ID 2: gif of Michael Burnham in closeup against a white sky. She is looking straight into the camera with concern painted all over her features. She wears long braids. She talks with the caption “Philippa?” End ID] 

[ID 3: gif of Philippa lying on the snowy ground, head in Michael’s arms as Michael is bent over her. She notices Michael, frowns and stares at her with bewilderment. They are both wearing dark coats. End ID] 

[ID 4: gif of Michael in closeup, from the shoulders up, talking worriedly to the camera with the caption “Philippa?” End ID] 

[ID 5: gif of Michael holding Philippa’s upper body in her arms as Philippa is lying on the snowy ground. Philippa jerks away from Michael’s arms and scrambles to get away, much to Michael’s confusion. End ID] 

[onaperduamedee]

Says the woman who’s still here.

[onaperduamedee]

- How many weapons can you build from this?

- We’ll have time for one.

[ID 1: gif of a close-up of someone’s hands assembling what looks like part of a blaster. The hands are wearing fingerless gloves and the legs of the person can be seen, clad in leather. The caption reads “[There we go.]” End ID]

[ID 2: gif of Michael Burnham from the chest up in a darkened and decrepit warehouse. She looks up from her examination of something with quiet satisfaction. The profile of someone talking before her can briefly be seen. She is wearing long braids swept to one side and a brown coat. The caption is “[One blast, then we’ll have the perimeter controls.]” End ID]

[ID 3: gif of Emperor Georgiou from the chest up, in a decrepit warehouse filled with smoke and sparks. She is looking up from a device in her hands and makes a smug face before talking. She wears a dark leather vest and her hair up in a high ponytail. The caption is “I love me.” End ID]

[onaperduamedee]

No merchandise until I get your dilithium and you don’t get your weapons until you leave.

[ID 1: gif of Emperor Georgiou and Michael Burnham from the shoulders up. They are walking in an open industrial area alongside a tall alien with green skin and red hair. Michael is wearing a brown coat and long braids swept to the side of her face. Georgiou is wearing a dark leather coat and her hair is pulled back. Georgiou is talking with an expression of slight contempt. The caption reads “If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t need a weapon.” End ID]

[ID 2: gif of the same scene, with more people walking in the background. The green alien turns to Georgiou as she speaks with the caption “and from the looks of this place, they’d name a holiday after me.” End ID]

[onaperduamedee]

“Have you ever heard the one about the unstoppable force that met an immovable object?

You are the object.”

Meta: to the death

Two silhouettes against a brightly lit backdrop, facing each other, weapon in hand. The image is familiar, cinematic, although mostly a thing of the past in western culture. Duels were a way to resolve a conflict between two individuals, often military officers, through a codified and supervised fight. The goal of this trial by combat was not necessarily to kill, but to restore one’s honour.

A familiar sight, even in Star Trek.

The image takes it time to affirm itself in Terra Firma part i, a remanent reading, superimposed to anger, grief, desperation – at first, a confrontation like any Michael and the Emperor has had in the past and then…

A duel to the death. 

When Michael finds Philippa at the gym and offers help with her deteriorating condition, Philippa refuses and attacks, first with her bare hands, a sign of impulse or how personal an affront Michael’s open hand is.

But then, she picks an axe, an execution weapon, and throws it at Michael. Michael dodges, puzzled, and Philippa yells at her:

“Fight me!”

Philippa issues an order that in itself is a show of weakness: she needs to clarify that she is looking for a fight, a duel.

“This is the coward’s way out.”

The show of incomprehension is a first way for Michael to reject the game Philippa is playing: an old-fashioned, inefficient duel to the death. Michael fails to see the logic in Philippa’s actions as this is the easy way. Philippa doesn’t want a duel - she wants an execution as previously stated: “If I were you I’d find a phaser and put me down like a dog.”

But a duel follows a code of honor and set rules the different parties have discussed and approved. If Philippa’s goal is to ensure her honor, she is already disregarding what would allow her to gain satisfaction.

Their understandings of the situation are unaligned at this point: Philippa wants to provoke her into killing her and Michael is trying to understand and gather clues as to how Philippa needs to be approached. Hence, her words of reassurance and defiance after the initial judgment:

“You know I would never hurt you.”

It’s a second way to reject the game Philippa is playing: in this universe the rules are different. Michael is different and the situation doesn’t need to be where it is now, with blades drawn and ultimatums. This is Michael the negotiator we saw in many episodes this season, as much as the deeply wounded fallen officer who wanted to atone for her captain’s death in the first season. She needs Philippa to trust her, however dangerous the move is right now.

Philippa stalks closer and hits Michael in the face with a slap, not a punch. The assault is both a provocation and a punishment, a way to put Michael in her place in relation to Philippa. It was the essence of a duel in its legal reality – to face a judgement or answer a slight. Philippa provokes Michael.

Michael bears the slap, head following the movement but not budging. Her body is turned toward Philippa, her arms down, her face looking the other away. If Philippa were to attack again, Michael’s neck, her chest would be exposed. This is Michael choosing to show trust despite her fear, for herself, for Philippa. (“A Terran’s basic instinct is to find a way to die in battle.”//”You want to set that loose on your ship?”)

But Philippa is still hell-bent on defining the situation: this is a duel, whether Michael wants it or not.

“Then you will die.”

Philippa grabs a sword and swings at Michael’s face, stopping short of slicing her neck. Michael holds her gaze. Michael hasn’t answered Philippa’s call to fight and Philippa is still breaking the rules of the duel she insists on getting.

“Killing me would have been the greatest honor of my Burnham’s life. It would have been my greatest honour to have been killed by her.”

Philippa lays down her request again, but her angle of attack is different. A duel has emotional weight in these circumstances: you killing me is a privilege and honor. More than that, from her point of view, it is love: “Lorca loves me for me and he honors me for me,” her Michael would say. Michael would not be simply agreeing to kill her but to honor and love her.

But by explaining as Philippa is doing she has agreed to Michael’s weapon of choice: her words. She’ll take a duel where they don’t trade blows but verbal attacks. The preferred outcome for Georgiou has shifted from dying to convincing Michael of her point of view.

The immovable object has budged.

Which is why when Michael answers, collected, “I’m sorry to disappoint,” she is not sorry in the slightest. Michael has managed to change the setting for this duel: they are now in this universe where people talk instead of killing each other.

And it’s uncomfortable for Philippa, enraging.

“A Terran greets death every morning. Being ill simply means my birthday is arriving sooner.”

Philippa is still justifying herself, pleading even, not attacking Michael verbally yet. This is Philippa talking about her nature: denying her who she is means denying her Terranity. An argument that Michael the xenoanthropologist is bound to hear. This is about identity, not which Universe they are in. Even if the rules of her universe don’t apply, she is owed respect for her identity.

It gives Michael the opening she needs after several parries. If this is about identity, these are the consequences to Philippa being a Terran in this world: her agency does not matter anymore. Michael knows this well as a Human raised on Vulcan, as a Vulcan in Starfleet, as a mutineer in the middle of a war. Identity never exists in a vacuum and this is where power comes into play.

Michael charges for the first time since the beginning of the argument:

“Philippa, you’re never gonna get the death you want here.”

And what a charge it is.

The structure be going to indicates near future, but also predictions based on present elements and intention: based on Philippa’s current choices, on her stubbornness, the logical conclusion is that Philippa will lose control over her death, plain and simple. Michael’s reassuring “We’ll get through this” on Book’s ship (Scavengers, 3.06) is old news.

Philippa’s face shows nothing but terror at this point. Having no say in her death would be an abject loss of control.

“You’ll be a study. Just a point of reference.”

Death would not be a present but as a legal and medical act, something banal, and, worse, something to use as reference: Philippa would not be the centre of the universe and she wouldn’t even be the centre of her own death. Michael, full of confidence, has found the key to the situation after having redefined the rules of the duel – Philippa wants honor, she wants identity, she wants control.

It’s something Michael can understand, castigated as she was on Vulcan, then on the Discovery.

“You want honor? It’s out there.”

Appealing to what Philippa understands, to what she seeks, Michael uses Philippa’s words in order to draw in Philippa to her reasoning, rather than scare her: she handles the concept Philippa was more comfortable brandishing as a shield, honor, rather than the others.  

“No more tests or poking or prodding.”

Michael deciphered what Philippa wanted, redefined the situation so that the rules applied to them both, and now she is trying to offer Philippa what she wants, face to face, on equal terms.

“Just you and me and whatever’s waiting for you on that planet.”

The backlit shot mirrors Michael and the Emperor plotting against Lorca in Philippa’s quarters (What’s Past Is Prologue, 1.13), except their positions are reversed. However difficult the situations, Michael and Philippa have been together for two years now, having each other’s back. Their shared experience is real, not a subject of debate, even for Philippa’s distrust.

The move appears to be a mistake at first and Philippa lashes out again:

“In my universe, I plucked you off a rubbish heap.”

Someone being Philippa equal means she does not have control over them. Philippa lashes out as she did on Book’s ship (Scavengers, 3.06), attempting to put Michael in her place, both as a reflection of Mirror Michael who owes Philippa everything and as someone who cannot be her equal.

The blow is meant to be personal for Michael, but Michael has no connection to the other Michael. There is no bite to the attempt at control Philippa is trying to exert over this Michael. But Georgiou getting so personal is a clear sign she is losing ground and edging closer to desperation.

“How kind of you,” Michael answers, hints of sarcasm in her voice.

Michael knows that Philippa wants to be in control, of her, not only herself. There is no kindness in her past act, but it’s a double-edged sword swung at Philippa here: if Philippa was trying to help her, genuinely, then she is in her own words weak – if this is bare manipulation, Michael saw right through her and Philippa missed the hit, spectacularly.

“You think you are so different from her. You have the same need to bend people to your will. The only difference is that you lie about it to yourself.”

Finger jabbing at Michael’s chest, Philippa directs an ad hominem attack at Michael, zeroing on Michael’s nature in this universe, based on her understanding of her Michael in the other universe, but also of this Michael. The analysis is not entirely wrong, as shown by the way Michael has expertly maneuvered the argument, following the codes of the debate, never losing sight of the bigger picture as she did while facing the Ni’Var representatives (Unification III, 3.07). Yet, whether or not Philippa’s observation is founded is useless at this point.

Anyone who resorts to ad hominem attacks has already lost the argument.

All the more so here that Michael indirectly pointed out before that identity alone is not enough: the environment around is essential. Who Michael is, what she does has no impact on the reality of Philippa’s situation. And Philippa knows it.

“Does all that mean you’re coming?”

It’s an invitation to concede, in accordance by standard practices. First blood has been drawn, and by following Michael into a debate Philippa has already agreed that the fight will not be to the death. Refusing would be showing weakness, would be lacking honor, even in Philippa’s world.

Philippa is cornered, by her own doing: they have been here before, at the shrine of Molor (Will You Take My Hand, 1.14) and in the mirror universe with the treacherous Michael. If Michael, like her counterpart, bends people to their will, the only solution for Philippa is to kill her like she did in the mirror universe, yet when placed in a similar situation at the shrine of Molor, Philippa caved and could not kill Michael.

By her words, Michael is reminding Philippa of this: “we’re not doing this again. you know I will bend you to my will, you know the solution is to kill me, you know you won’t. This is over.”

Michael is accepting Philippa’s judgement of her for the first time, as a concession: the blow is inconvenient, humiliating, but it allows her a final attack, all-ending. She may try to bend people to her will, effectively did in the last five minutes, but Philippa is still alive and not fighting Michael anymore.

If she is not like Philippa’s Michael, well… Philippa has committed a mistake in her reasoning and Michael has won nevertheless.

What Philippa sees as Michael bending Philippa to her will is a level-headed, very Vulcan approach, something her Michael wouldn’t have been able to muster. Philippa has to accept that she is doubly defeated. Philippa fought hard to be the unstoppable force that moves the plot along and unblock situations; in the end, Philippa is the object.

“Lead me to my death, Angel Michael,” Philippa answers.

The phrasing makes a prisoner: it’s a final attempt to redefine the fight in terms that are acceptable to her. She was defeated and will die not on her terms. Yet, the vocative holds meaning in itself: on one hand, it calls back to Michael and Philippa’s first encounter after she joined Section 31 (Saints of Imperfection, 2.05), where Philippa had no issue presenting herself as the snake challenging Michael on her path. Second, as an envoy, angels are not meant to remain in the living realm and they descend to guide, warn or communicate with Humans.

Philippa is someone who has been dead from the start, always meant to come back to death, to hell (“Perhaps, I should join your Philippa Georgiou in hell.”)

This also places Michael and Philippa in the same realm. Angel and serpent. Two women who died and remade themselves.  Two creatures of the in-between. Their natures are not the same, but their substances are. In constantly trying to find the mirror Michael in Michael, Philippa failed to consider the evidence: Michael, as she is, is like Philippa, not like Mirror Michael.

Identity, again. And what is Philippa owed as Michael’s counterpart?

“Hold out your wrist.”

Michael is not issuing a request, but an order that the Emperor eventually complies with. It’s the first time Philippa obeys Michael with so little recrimination. Because she was defeated? Because they are the same; the way Michael trusted Philippa not to hurt her during their duel, Philippa does Michael.

The monitor offered is essentially a cuff, meant to track her and count her remaining hours: yet Philippa gives Michael her hand willingly and Michael fastens the device around Philippa’s wrist with great care, almost tenderness. The gesture looks like a binding, to death, to Michael.

From the start, Michael has pinpointed that this was about power more than it was about honour or identity. But it wasn’t necessarily about Michael’s power over Philippa: it was about releasing power to attain equilibrium, that point where their trust is matched in the other, after two years of push and pull. Michael lets Philippa see her as she is, in all her might, however similar to Philippa it makes her, and Philippa accepts Michael’s hand, her lead, not as a show of weakness, but as bond.

It means that whatever realm Philippa will be crossing – again – Philippa will not be entirely alone.