It's no surprise that Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) knew Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) would become a Captain back in Star Trek: Discovery season 1. In the 32nd century, Michael Burnham is the most prominent Captain in Starfleet, who is hand-picked to solve whatever crisis the United Federation of Planets faces. Burnham's Star Trek: Discovery trajectory from promising First Officer to Starfleet's first mutineer to redemption and, finally, Captain of the USS Discovery, is something Emperor Georgiou predicted.