Branmer

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In the fictional Babylon 5 universe, Branmer was the name of a Minbari General. Branmer was the General who lead the Minbari forces at the Battle of the Line.

Branmer's father was a member of the Warrior Caste, his mother was from the Religious Caste. Because the mother's caste took precedence in Minbari society, Branmer began life as a member of the religious caste. He was a close friend of Grey Council member Delenn. When the Minbari declared war on the humans after the death of Dukhat, Branmer became a General of the warrior caste. Branmer felt it was his religious duty to carry out the war against the humans. When the Grey Council ended the war, Branmer obeyed the order to stand down.

In 2257, Branmer was on a diplomatic mission when he suddenly died. He had previously told Delenn that he had wished for a simple funeral followed by cremation. However, the clan he belonged to - the Star Riders - decided to take him on a lengthy journey home, which was seen as a most unusual move. They stopped at every Minbari colony and outpost and held a viewing of Branmer's body.

The ship carrying Branmer's body soon arrived at Babylon 5. As a goodwill gesture, Branmer's body was brought on board the station so that the Minbari population could see his body. After lying in state over night, Branmer's first officer Neroon, followed by Delenn and the station's command staff arrived at the place where Branmer's body was held. When Neroon opened the casket, Branmer's body was gone.

The disappearance of the body resulted in a tense diplomatic situation. Neroon observed the investigation that Security Chief Garibaldi conducted. This included having the Pak'ma'ra (a race of carrion eaters) population on the station submit to stomach pumping. Despite having the contents destroy several lab coats and leaving a strong odor behind, it was found that the Pak'ma'ra did not eat Branmer's body. At this point, Neroon became angry over the pace of the investigation, and threatend to attack Babylon 5. He also broke into Commander Sinclair's quarters to conduct an unauthorized investigation on the grounds that no one on the station would look there. After Sinclair confronted him, it was learned that Garibaldi conducted the investigation of Sinclair's quarters with Delenn present.

A newly discovered telepath, Alisa Belden, was visiting with Delenn when she discovered that Delenn might have known what happened to the body. Belden informed Sinclair, who then confronted Ambassador Delenn. It was discovered that Delenn had stolen the body and had Branmer cremated. Delenn knew that Branmer would never have wanted an elaborate funeral, and did this to respect his final wishes. She was going to explain his disappearance as a religious mystery, that he his body had been physically taken away by the Gods. This actually was an inconsistency in the plot, later episodes had said that the Minbari did not believe in specific religious deities.

She told Neroon the truth of the matter. Neroon was very upset over what Delenn had done, and was going to lead the protest against her actions. However Delenn ordered him to do nothing, and apologize to Sinclair for his actions. She told Neroon he would not be punished for his actions, and neither would the Star Riders for ignoring Branmer's wishes. Neroon apologized to Sinclair for making the threats to attack Babylon 5. He also apologized for breaking into Sinclair's quarters and attacking him. Sinclair asked Neroon to convey his tribute of Branmer to the Minbari people. Sinclair said to let the warriors celebrate Branmer's military prowess, and let everyone else remember him as a man of peace. After leaving Babylon 5, Branmer's ashes were scattered in orbit around the Minbari homeworld.