Maybe it was more like she didn't believe that SHE deserved it.

Technically, the second officer achieved what she didn't (and probably won't), in rising to acting Captain, which makes him the logical inheritor of the bequest. What lies ahead for "Michael Burnham" is uncertain, since she didn't take the DNA infusion, to fulfill her nightmare. (Besides, relegated to Engineering or the Tardigrade's cell, when would she be able to use a telescope?)

After 45 years as a Star Trek fan (very active within a large ST club of 2600) and as a watcher for past decades, I cannot count the times that I have seen (and been in the place of) that individual who sits in the Captain's chair when s/he is off the bridge. As memory serves the person who is the highest ranking officer in the room, normally # 1, takes the chair as 'Acting Captain'. Logic would dictate that since Michael Burnham was First Officer for several years to Captain Georgiou, she would have had numerous opportunities to be the 'Acting Captain'. The tall gentleman - Saru? - was Second Officer after Burhnam. I hope that someone will verify my observation. Cheers.

She probably didn't like the look of that old telescope and simply wanted to get rid of it. The tall guy just came in handy. /s

I expect the real value was in using the telescope WITH Captain Georgiou, and just having the telescope itself is not very valuable.

The value of the gift is recognizing the emotional attachment to the telescope by its former owner. It had been in Georgiou's family for generations. Otherwise, it was merely a telescope. Georgiou could have left it to a family member but chose Burnham instead. Burnham acknowledges the sentimental value but as a person raised on Vulcan, maybe she doesn't form attachments to inanimate objects as readily and based on their conversation, recognized Saru would have appreciated the telescope far more than she ever could.

@Dark_Sithlord said:

The value of the gift is recognizing the emotional attachment to the telescope by its former owner. It had been in Georgiou's family for generations. Otherwise, it was merely a telescope. Georgiou could have left it to a family member but chose Burnham instead. Burnham acknowledges the sentimental value but as a person raised on Vulcan, maybe she doesn't form attachments to inanimate objects as readily and based on their conversation, recognized Saru would have appreciated the telescope far more than she ever could.

i suppose.......you are right...still dont mean i have to like it....

by Knixon: Maybe it was more like she didn't believe that SHE deserved it.

I believe that, despite everything , Michael was still convinced that striking the Klingons first was the right move ...she was sorry that she failed and that so many people die that day , including her beloved Captain ...unfortunately unlike Lorca , Captain Georgiou played by the rules ....

Captain Georgiou considered Michael's actions a betrayal to everything she believed in : Star Fleet , the Federation and their friendship .

Michael was aware of this and though she valued immensly the gift I think she realised sadly that her actions had created a breach between her and the Captain .

Michael knew that in the eyes of the Captain she had failed her expectations .

I don't think she felt comfortable keeping the gift and after hearing Saru expressing deep regret for not having been able to serve as first officer to Captain Georgiou , (according to him ) largely due to Michael's rebellious behaviour ,she decided to give the telescope to Saru who obviously thought highly of the captain...furthermore it was a kind of "compensation "for Saru seeing what he missed out on.

Maybe. But it doesn't seem likely that "we don't fire first" was an actual rule or law, just common practice. And perhaps more common practice among female captains, which - as I've speculated elsewhere - could be what at least partly explains the lack of female starship captains at Kirk's time. Events like Captain Georgiou not firing on the Klingons thus precipitating a war, could have been partly responsible for that change. It would also be interesting to know if any Vulcan ships that encountered Klingons during that time also held fire, if it was actually a "rule," or if they continued to fire first as long experience had taught them.

by Knixon : But it doesn't seem likely that "we don't fire first" was an actual rule or law, just common practice.

@Star Fleet missions involved : conducting deep space explorations, research , DEFENSE, peacekeeping and diplomacy.

It would also be interesting to know if any Vulcan ships that encountered Klingons during that time also held fire, if it was actually a "rule," or if they continued to fire first as long experience had taught them.

@Vulcans had been dealing way longer with the Klingons and they knew how deceptive ,aggressive ,war minded they were yet I am convinced they didn't just switch to " attack mode " as soon as they encounted a Klingon vessel.

During their brief mental encounter , Michael obviously told Sarek that a Klingon had been killed and that other Klingon ships were arriving on sight...Sarek understood that the Klingons were preparing to attack ,that diplomacy at that point was a waste of precious time, and told Michael that their only chance of turning the situation to their advantage was to attack the Klingons immediately. ...Klingons gave value to worthy enemies in battle eg.like striking hard first and in response they may have backed off.

Captain Georgiou was a commanding officer of Star Fleet…the Federation believed that peace talks were the means to deal with everyone including Klingons ( until they don’t shed blood) and Star Fleet abided to this creed…

Since the Broken Bow incident there had been only sporatic incidents ( over 70 years) until the incident with Captain Georgiou.

Being a woman had nothing to do with Georgiou’s choices of non -action …..even a male commander would have tried to install peace talks as their first option .

Men like Lorca are not a dime a dozen ..seating on command fleet chair ready to blast Klingons on sight.

Michael had a better picture of what they were up against and acted accordingly and Captain Georgiou followed Star Fleet 's policy.