Science Specialist Michael Burnham

[David Mack]

She is stated in 104 as having no rank. She is not enlisted. She is not commissioned. She is a rankless prisoner on work duty. Because she serves in a specialist capacity but does not hold a doctorate, she is referred to as "Specialist Burnham." This was the point of an entire memo I wrote to the writers' room after I read an early draft of 104.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

No specific equivalent has ever been identified, however a number of different variations on a theme have been used that may or may not be the same thing:

- The Uniform Code of Justice - This code, specifically Article Four, governs the protocols of questioning during a court martial or other legal hearing.
- The Federation Code of Justice - includes (among other things) prosecution of Federation citizens for terrorist acts.
- The Uniform Code of Interplanetary Justice - This code, specifically Article Nine, allows for a Starship Captain to hold a hearing against a civilian spacer for criminal acts.

 

[Aaron McGuire]

She is stated in 104 as having no rank. She is not enlisted. She is not commissioned. She is a rankless prisoner on work duty. Because she serves in a specialist capacity but does not hold a doctorate, she is referred to as "Specialist Burnham." This was the point of an entire memo I wrote to the writers' room after I read an early draft of 104.

I'd say that settles it. She isn't part of the Starfleet rank structure or Discovery's chain of command. They're calling her "Specialist" because she has training equal to or better than most of the science staff on board.

 

[Kor]

Will she get to make a long-term career out of being a specialist? Or will she get put in the stockade once the war is over and Lorca's wide latitude in winning the war no longer applies?

Kor

 

[matthunter]

Sounds like an enlisted rank - O'Brien once described himself (well, told people what his proud father called him) as "Senior Chief Specialist" when he held the NCO rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer.

 

[David cgc]

Will she get to make a long-term career out of being a specialist? Or will she get put in the stockade once the war is over and Lorca's wide latitude in winning the war no longer applies?

Probably the latter, though I'm sure everyone involved (who cares) is hoping that her sentence might be revisited based on if and how much she helps out on Discovery.

 

[Ronald Held]

Is she still prisoner on a Starfleet mission?

 

[Ithekro]

She is a prisoner of her own mind.