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* TruceTrickery: T'Kuvma verbally agrees to a ceasefire with Starfleet Admiral Anderson, and then promptly sends a ship on a [[RammingAlwaysWorks ramming attack]] against Anderson's flagship [[KickTheDog just to show what he thinks of the Federation's preference for peaceful dialogue]] (as well as [[DecapitationStrike decapitating the Starfleet response force]]).
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* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: The crew of the ''Shenzhou'' was doomed to start a war no matter what they did. Doing nothing (as happened) resulted in the Klingons attacking first. Attacking first, as Burnham urged, even had it been fortunate and incapacitated T'Kuvma's ship (no guarantee, as his ship seemed to come out of the battle that did happen essentially unharmed) would have left them at the mercy of the other cloaked ship, which would have continued the battle and inevitably caused the arriving Klingons and Federation forces to enter the fight as they arrived. The only hope of changing the outcome would have been to turn and run before summoning help, and that would have only delayed the inevitable as T'Kuvma would have set up a confrontation with someone else somewhere else. Not to mention the two nearby Federation outposts that would be left vulnerable if ''Shenzhou'' had withdrawn.

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* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: The crew of the ''Shenzhou'' was doomed to start a war no matter what they did. Doing nothing (as happened) resulted in the Klingons attacking first. Attacking first, as Burnham urged, even had it been fortunate and incapacitated T'Kuvma's ship (no guarantee, as his ship seemed to come out of the battle that did happen essentially unharmed) would have left them at the mercy of the other cloaked ship, which would have continued the battle and inevitably caused the arriving Klingons and Federation forces to enter the fight as they arrived. Nor would a show of strength been enough to make the Klingons back down, for that matter, as T'Kuvma intended to attack no matter what. The only hope of changing the outcome would have been to turn and run before summoning help, and that would have only delayed the inevitable as T'Kuvma would have set up a confrontation with someone else somewhere else. Not to mention the two nearby Federation outposts that would be left vulnerable if ''Shenzhou'' had withdrawn.
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* AliensSpeakingEnglish: T'Kuvma speaks perfect (if a bit slow) English when speaking to anyone from TheFederation.

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* AliensSpeakingEnglish: T'Kuvma speaks perfect (if a bit slow) slow and heavily accented) English when speaking to anyone from TheFederation.
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* FleshAndBombs: Georgiou attaches an armed warhead to a Klingon corpse, knowing that the Klingons will tow it in.
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* WeHaveBecomeComplacent: The very argument that T'Kuvma makes to his fellow Klingons.

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* WeHaveBecomeComplacent: The very argument that T'Kuvma makes to his fellow Klingons.
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* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: A {{justified}} example. When they are about to board a hostile ship, Georgiou and Burnham draw their weapons and prepare to transport in a shooting stance. This of course means they are pointing their phasers directly at Saru, who is working the transporter control panel. This is already a long-established ''Trek''-specific bit of firearms technique, given that the transporter lets them beam directly into the middle of an enemy ship.

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* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: A {{justified}} example. When they are about to board a hostile ship, Georgiou and Burnham draw their weapons and prepare to transport in a shooting stance. This of course means that they are pointing their phasers directly at Saru, who is working the transporter control panel. This is already a long-established ''Trek''-specific bit of firearms technique, given that the transporter lets them beam directly into the middle of an enemy ship.



* BatmanGambit: T'Kuvma wants to rally the Klingon Empire, using the Federation as an existential threat for them to fight against. While the ''Shenzhou'' does not offer a fleet of two dozen Klingon warships any challenge to be [[ProudWarriorRace worth fighting against]], the fleet of Federation starships which promptly arrives to try and deter the Klingons from attacking proves exactly what T'Kuvma was hoping for.

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* BatmanGambit: T'Kuvma wants to rally the Klingon Empire, using the Federation as an existential threat for them to fight against. While the ''Shenzhou'' does not offer a fleet of two dozen Klingon warships any challenge to be [[ProudWarriorRace worth fighting against]], the fleet of Federation starships which promptly arrives to try and deter the to Klingons from attacking proves exactly what T'Kuvma was hoping for.



* Catch22Dilemma: Burnham points out to the ship's computer that while it won't let her out of confinement because she's not in immediate danger and and that dropping the forcefield would expose her to vacuum, thus violating its ethical directives, ''not'' letting her out will result in her inevitable death in a few minutes which also conflicts with its ethical directives.

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* Catch22Dilemma: Burnham points out to the ship's computer that while it won't let her out of confinement because she's not in immediate danger and and that dropping the forcefield would expose her to vacuum, vacuum long enough to be lethal, thus violating its ethical directives, ''not'' letting her out will result in her inevitable death in a few minutes which also conflicts with its ethical directives. She then lays out a plan for it to propel her through the vacuum, giving her a decent chance to survive.



** During the space battle itself, we see ''Shenzhou'', with a hole blown through her saucer, limping past a disabled Klingon warship as she takes single shots with one of her phasers, where earlier ''Shenzhou'' was taking on three Klingon Birds of Prey with rapid-fire phaser fire in all directions.

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** During the space battle itself, we see ''Shenzhou'', with a hole blown through her saucer, limping past a disabled Klingon warship as she takes single shots with one of her phasers, where whereas earlier ''Shenzhou'' was taking on three Klingon Birds of Prey with rapid-fire phaser fire in all directions.



** T'Kuvma accepts the Admiral's cease-fire then immediately has a cloaked ship ram his vessel during the lull. All the Klingons then resume their attack, leaving the remaining Federation ships in tatters. On the other side, Georgiou has no problem attaching a photon torpedo warhead to a Klingon corpse being collected for burial rites. Both of these would be considered war crimes by modern standards. (Though as far as Georgiou is concerned, it could be a case of "ScrewTheRulesTheyBrokeThemFirst")

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** T'Kuvma accepts the Admiral's cease-fire cease-fire, then immediately has a cloaked ship ram his vessel during the lull. All the Klingons then resume their attack, leaving the remaining Federation ships in tatters. On the other side, Georgiou has no problem attaching a photon torpedo warhead to a Klingon corpse being collected for burial rites. Both of these would be considered war crimes by modern standards. (Though as far as Georgiou is concerned, it could be a case of "ScrewTheRulesTheyBrokeThemFirst")"ScrewTheRulesTheyBrokeThemFirst".)



** T'Kuvma refers to the Battle of Donatu V as the last time the Klingon Empire fought the Federation. That battle and its inconclusive outcome was first mentioned by Spock in the TOS episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E15TheTroubleWithTribbles The Trouble with Tribbles]]" as as having taken place 23 years prior, which would put it 11 years before this episode.

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** T'Kuvma refers to the Battle of Donatu V as the last time that the Klingon Empire fought the Federation. That battle and its inconclusive outcome was first mentioned by Spock in the TOS episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E15TheTroubleWithTribbles The Trouble with Tribbles]]" as as having taken place 23 years prior, which would put it 11 years before this episode.



** Kol (of the House of Kor) being a complete ass when it comes to Klingons he deemed insufficiently socially worthy fits with the information revealed in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' that Kor, of the same house, was a conservative classist who believed a soldier born to a very minor house out in the boonies should not be allowed to become an officer.

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** Kol (of the House of Kor) being a complete ass when it comes to Klingons whom he deemed insufficiently socially worthy fits with the information revealed in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' that Kor, of the same house, was a conservative classist who believed that a soldier born to a very minor house out in the boonies should not be allowed to become an officer.



--> '''Anderson:''' Let's end this, so we can get--what was that? ''(looks around in confusion before his holo-image disappears)''
* DontCreateAMartyr: Burnham insists that they need to capture T'Kuvma alive to blunt his attempted reunification of the Klingon Empire. Alive, he's a failure. Dead, he's a symbol they'll never stop fighting for. She ends up killing him anyway when he stabs Georgiou.

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--> '''Anderson:''' Let's end this, so we can get--what get-- what was that? ''(looks around in confusion before his holo-image disappears)''
* DontCreateAMartyr: Burnham insists that they need to capture T'Kuvma alive to blunt his attempted reunification of the Klingon Empire. Alive, he's a failure. Dead, he's a symbol that they'll never stop fighting for. She ends up killing him anyway when he stabs Georgiou.



* HeroicBSOD: Burnham clearly suffered one with the post-battle realization that she sacrificed her career for nothing, as even had she managed to fire on T'Kuvma's ship war would still have been the likely outcome, and that her suggestion on a last desperate gambit to try and shorten it only resulted in her captain and friend's death and the creation of an enemy martyr.

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* HeroicBSOD: Burnham clearly suffered one with the post-battle realization that she sacrificed her career for nothing, as even had she managed to fire on T'Kuvma's ship ship, war would still have been the likely outcome, and that her suggestion on of a last desperate gambit to try and to shorten it only resulted in her captain and friend's death and the creation of an enemy martyr.



--> '''T'Kuvma:''' Members of the Federation, what you call your most remote borders I call too close to Klingon territory. You only live now to serve as witnesses of Klingon supremacy, to be my herald. We do not desire to know you. But you will know our great houses, standing as one under Kahless, reborn in me...T'Kuvma!
* TakeAThirdOption: Burnham points out a way for the ship's computer to satisfy its ethical requirements and give her a chance to live even though the computer is stuck between its orders not to let her out and its ethical requirements to protect her life.

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--> '''T'Kuvma:''' Members of the Federation, what you call your most remote borders borders, I call too close to Klingon territory. You only live now to serve as witnesses of Klingon supremacy, to be my herald. We do not desire to know you. But you will know our great houses, standing as one under Kahless, reborn in me... T'Kuvma!
* TakeAThirdOption: Burnham points out a way for the ship's computer to satisfy its ethical requirements and give her a chance to live live, even though the computer is stuck between its orders not to let her out and its ethical requirements to protect her life.



* WaifFu: Despite physically being a lot smaller than T'Kuvma--and Klingons being canonically stronger than humans to begin with--Georgiou manages to put up a surprisingly effective fight when they go hand-to-hand.

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* WaifFu: Despite physically being a lot smaller than T'Kuvma--and T'Kuvma -- and Klingons being canonically stronger than humans to begin with--Georgiou with -- Georgiou manages to put up a surprisingly effective fight when they go hand-to-hand.



-->'''Georgiou:''' Unidentified Klingon vessel, this is Captain Philippa Georgiou of the USS ''Shenzhou''. We are on the outermost borders of Federation space, but make no mistake, you and your artifact are in our territory. We regret the situation has resulted in the death of your warrior. We offer you two choices: leave immediately or open a dialogue with us. Hopefully, it is the latter, so that we can reengage with the Klingon Empire and prove to you that now, as always...\\

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-->'''Georgiou:''' Unidentified Klingon vessel, this is Captain Philippa Georgiou of the USS ''Shenzhou''. We are on the outermost borders of Federation space, but make no mistake, you and your artifact are in our territory. We regret the situation has resulted in the death of your warrior. We offer you two choices: leave immediately or open a dialogue with us. Hopefully, it is the latter, so that we can reengage re-engage with the Klingon Empire and prove to you that now, as always...\\



-->'''T'Kuvma:''' We have become complacent in the time since we last battled the Federation at Donatu V. Our purity is a threat to them. They wish to drag us into the muck where humans, Vulcans, Tellarites and filthy Andorians mix.

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-->'''T'Kuvma:''' We have become complacent in the time since we last battled the Federation at Donatu V. Our purity is a threat to them. They wish to drag us into the muck where humans, Vulcans, Tellarites Tellarites, and filthy Andorians mix.

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* ArrestedForHeroism: Burnham attacked her ship's captain and tried to take over the ship. Even if she was right, she still attempted mutiny and is sent to the brig accordingly. She's later convicted at court martial, even though events proved that the Klingons were always going to attack. She was still guilty of all charges (and even pleads guilty to them, making no attempt to defend herself).



* RealityEnsues:
** Burnham attacked her ship's captain and tried to take over the ship. Even if she was right, she still attempted mutiny and is sent to the brig accordingly. She's later convicted at court martial, even though events proved that the Klingons were always going to attack. She was still guilty of all charges (and even pleads guilty to them, making no attempt to defend herself).
** Burnham and Georgiou's plan to capture T'Kuvma with no backup whatsoever fails, and Georgiou dies.
** Although the battle is over and the ship survived, the ''Shenzhou'' is so badly damaged that the crew has to AbandonShip.
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-->'''Voq:''' reH yInlIj luqawtaH Hoch tlhInganpu'. HochvaD nutay'moHbogh meq 'oH HeghlIj'e'. (Your life will be remembered forever by all Klingons. Your death will be a cause to unite us all.)\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' 'oH DaQoy'a'? (Do you hear that?)\\

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-->'''Voq:''' reH yInlIj luqawtaH Hoch tlhInganpu'. HochvaD [=HochvaD=] nutay'moHbogh meq 'oH HeghlIj'e'.[=HeghlIj=]'e'. (Your life will be remembered forever by all Klingons. Your death will be a cause to unite us all.)\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' 'oH DaQoy'a'? [=DaQoy=]'a'? (Do you hear that?)\\



'''T'Kuvma:''' puq maHtaHvIS mu'mey DIjatlhbogh qeylIS wIquvmoHmeH. 'Iv wInej? (The word we said as children, in Kahless' honor. Whom do we seek?)\\

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'''T'Kuvma:''' puq maHtaHvIS mu'mey DIjatlhbogh [=DIjatlhbogh=] qeylIS wIquvmoHmeH. 'Iv wInej? (The word we said as children, in Kahless' honor. Whom do we seek?)\\

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--> '''T'Kuvma:''' 'Iv wInej? (Whom do we seek?)\\

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--> -->'''Voq:''' reH yInlIj luqawtaH Hoch tlhInganpu'. HochvaD nutay'moHbogh meq 'oH HeghlIj'e'. (Your life will be remembered forever by all Klingons. Your death will be a cause to unite us all.)\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' 'oH DaQoy'a'? (Do you hear that?)\\
'''Voq:''' ghobe' joHwI'. (No, my lord.)\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' puq maHtaHvIS mu'mey DIjatlhbogh qeylIS wIquvmoHmeH.
'Iv wInej? (Whom (The word we said as children, in Kahless' honor. Whom do we seek?)\\
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'''T'Kuvma:''' Here it comes. Their lie.\\

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'''T'Kuvma:''' Here nepbogh mu'tlheghchaj jatlhrup. (Here it comes. Their lie.\\)\\



'''T'Kuvma:''' No! They do not! They come to destroy our individuality! Shall we rise up together and give them the fight they deserve?\\
'''Klingons:''' Remain Klingon!\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' Fire!\\

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'''T'Kuvma:''' No! teHbe'! rojbe'! mapIm ngIq maH 'e' luQaw'meH ghoS chaH! may' luqotlhbogh [=DInobmeH=] matay'taHvIS mavangrup'a'? (No! They do not! They come to destroy our individuality! Shall we rise up together and give them the fight they deserve?\\
deserve?)\\
'''Klingons:''' Remain Klingon!\\
tlhIngan maH. taHjaj! (Remain Klingon!)\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' Fire!\\baH! (Fire!)\\

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'''Voq:''' bIjang DaneH'a', joHwI'? (Do you wish to respond, my lord?) ''(T'Kuvma nods)'' lI'choH. (Begin transmission.)\\

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'''Voq:''' bIjang DaneH'a', [=DaneH=]'a', joHwI'? (Do you wish to respond, my lord?) lord?)\\
''(T'Kuvma nods)'' nods)''\\
'''Voq:'''
lI'choH. (Begin transmission.)\\



--> '''T'Kuvma:''' ''(in Klingonese)'' Whom do we seek?\\
'''Voq:''' ''(in Klingonese)'' Kahless.\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' How do we find him?\\
'''Voq:''' Together.\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' Give us light to see.\\
'''Voq:''' Forever.\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' Will he hide from us always?\\
'''Voq:''' Never.

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--> '''T'Kuvma:''' ''(in Klingonese)'' Whom 'Iv wInej? (Whom do we seek?\\
seek?)\\
'''Voq:''' ''(in Klingonese)'' Kahless.\\
qeylIS. (Kahless.)\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' How chay' wISam? (How do we find him?\\
him?)\\
'''Voq:''' Together.\\
matay'taHvIS. (Together.)\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' Give jIjaHmeH yIwovmoH. (Give us light to see.\\
)\\
'''Voq:''' Forever.\\
reH. (Forever.)\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' Will wInejtaHvIS reH So''egh'a'? (Will he hide from us always?\\
always?)\\
'''Voq:''' Never.not. (Never.)
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'''Voq:''' ''(in Klingonese)'' Do you wish to respond, my lord? ''(T'Kuvma nods)'' Begin transmission.\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' ''(in English)'' Admiral, I am T'Kuvma. I am pleased you are here. We have been waiting for someone worthy of our attention. Your offer of a cease-fire is accepted.\\

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'''Voq:''' ''(in Klingonese)'' Do bIjang DaneH'a', joHwI'? (Do you wish to respond, my lord? lord?) ''(T'Kuvma nods)'' Begin lI'choH. (Begin transmission.\\
)\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' ''(in English)'' Admiral, I am T'Kuvma. I am pleased you are here. We have been waiting for someone worthy of our attention. Your offer of a cease-fire is accepted.\\

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Trope deprecated per TRS


--> '''Anderson:''' [[FamousLastWords Let's end this, so we can get--what was that?]] ''(looks around in confusion before his holo-image disappears)''

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--> '''Anderson:''' [[FamousLastWords Let's end this, so we can get--what was that?]] that? ''(looks around in confusion before his holo-image disappears)''



* FamousLastWords:
-->'''Connor:''' Yes, I...I need help...
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'''T'Kuvma:''' No! They do not! The come to destroy our individuality! Shall we rise up together and give them the fight they deserve?\\

to:

'''T'Kuvma:''' No! They do not! The They come to destroy our individuality! Shall we rise up together and give them the fight they deserve?\\
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Trope's getting cut.


* MythologyGag: Just before ''Europa'' is destroyed, Saru reports that ''Shenzhou''[='=]s shields are at [[The47Society 47]] percent.

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* MythologyGag: Just before ''Europa'' is destroyed, Saru reports that ''Shenzhou''[='=]s shields are at [[The47Society [[ArcNumber 47]] percent.
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* FamousLastWords:
-->'''Connor:''' Yes, I...I need help...
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-->'''T'Kuvma:''' We have become complacent in the time since we last battled the Federation at Donatu V. Our purity is a threat to them. They wish to drag us into the muck where humans, Vulcans, Tellarites and filthy Andorians mix.

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-->'''Georgiou:''' Commander Burnham, you have endangered your vessel and your shipmates. You have attacked a superior officer. You violated the chain of command. You are relieved of duty. Security, remand her to the brig.

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-->'''Georgiou:''' Commander Burnham, you have endangered your vessel and your shipmates. You have attacked a superior officer. You violated the chain of command. You are relieved of duty. Security, remand her to the brig.\\
\\
'''Judge:''' To the charge of dereliction of duty, to the charge of assaulting a fellow officer, to the charge of mutiny. To all these charges, how do you plead?\\
'''Burnham:''' ''(sotto)'' Guilty.\\
'''Judge:''' The accused cannot be heard.\\
'''Burnham:''' Guilty on all counts.



* MythologyGag: Just before ''Europa'' is destroyed, Saru reports that ''Shenzhou's'' shields are at [[The47Society 47]] percent.

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* MythologyGag: Just before ''Europa'' is destroyed, Saru reports that ''Shenzhou's'' ''Shenzhou''[='=]s shields are at [[The47Society 47]] percent.
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* ListOfTransgressions:
-->'''Georgiou:''' Commander Burnham, you have endangered your vessel and your shipmates. You have attacked a superior officer. You violated the chain of command. You are relieved of duty. Security, remand her to the brig.
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* WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: Georgiou genuinely embodies the "We come in peace" part, but T'Kuvma believes more in the "Shoot to kill" part.
-->'''Georgiou:''' Unidentified Klingon vessel, this is Captain Philippa Georgiou of the USS ''Shenzhou''. We are on the outermost borders of Federation space, but make no mistake, you and your artifact are in our territory. We regret the situation has resulted in the death of your warrior. We offer you two choices: leave immediately or open a dialogue with us. Hopefully, it is the latter, so that we can reengage with the Klingon Empire and prove to you that now, as always...\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' Here it comes. Their lie.\\
'''Georgiou:''' We come in peace.\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' No! They do not! The come to destroy our individuality! Shall we rise up together and give them the fight they deserve?\\
'''Klingons:''' Remain Klingon!\\
'''T'Kuvma:''' Fire!\\
''(the battle begins)''
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** One of the representatives that answer T'Kuvma's call is from the House of D'Ghor, who were the antagonists in the [=DS9=] episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E03TheHouseOfQuark The House of Quark]]".

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** One of the representatives that answer T'Kuvma's call is from the House of D'Ghor, who were the antagonists in the [=DS9=] episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E03TheHouseOfQuark The House of Quark]]". She also wears the most conspicuous bling, appropriate for the house that has materialism as its hat.



** Although the battle is over and the ship survived, the ''Shenzhou'' is so badly damaged it has to be abandoned by the crew.

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** Although the battle is over and the ship survived, the ''Shenzhou'' is so badly damaged it that the crew has to be abandoned by the crew.AbandonShip.

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