Buran Borsil Buran Borsil was a Nord scout and SpecForce agent serving the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War . He attended Barosa Warren ' s Galactic Outdoor Survival School during the early years of the Empire , learning how to thrive in various harsh atmospheres as part of the highly successful Twilight Class . His area of expertise was arctic survival , and along with his fellow classmates he completed GOSS ' s graduation expedition in record time in 12 BBY . Borsil and many of his former classmates joined the Rebel Alliance shortly before the Battle of Yavin , despite the wishes of their master instructor at GOSS , Barosa Warren . A rift occurred between Warren and Twilight Class ' s " de facto " leader , Sisquoc ; Borsil took Sisquoc ' s side along with most of his peers , incurring Warren ' s wrath . As of 2 ABY , Borsil was assigned to a SpecForce detachment deployed with Alliance High Command , though he also held an honorary position on Eclipse Team , an infamous Rebel group founded by Sisquoc and several other former members of Twilight Class . Borsil also occasionally acted as an instructor to Rebels stationed at outposts on frigid worlds . Biography . GOSS student . Buran Borsil was a male of the Nord species , dwarf - like , three - foot tall humanoids native to the planet Nordra . In approximately 18 BBY , during the early reign of the Empire , Borsil enrolled in the Galactic Outdoor Survival School — known to most as GOSS — a survivalist institution run by Morellian scout Barosa Warren on the remote Outer Rim Territories world of Thrantin . GOSS was infamous for its tough teaching methods , but offered a comprehensive education in how to survive in a variety of different terrains and atmospheres , from aquatic to volcanic , and the few students who successfully finished the course and graduated often became scouts themselves . Borsil was part of Twilight Class , which quickly became the most successful class to ever attend GOSS . It consisted of twelve individuals of varied skills , who complemented each other to form an extremely effective collective survival unit . After several years ' training , Twilight Class broke — and in many cases , smashed — nearly all of GOSS ' s previous records . Borsil quickly became an expert at surviving — and thriving — in arctic conditions . In 12 BBY , after roughly six years of training , Borsil and his fellow Twilight Class members were sent on their final expedition before graduation , hoping to break the record time set by Lunkar An and Summit Class seven years earlier . The days - long expedition would see them travel through various stringent conditions and terrain , fighting against the elements and local predators . Twilight Class was ferried into a remote part of the planet via shuttle , before descending down a 200 - meter high cliff face , into the thick vegetation of the Turas Valley . For over four days , the team traveled around Thrantin , fending off creatures such as tripion and navigating harsh terrain , with different members leading the group in the terrains in which they specialized . Eventually , after completing the Ninth Aquatic Zone with Akul Witig in the lead , the team emerged onto the beach , exhausted , their expedition completed . Derembus Sitnalta contacted Zone Central to request that the GOSS staff send a shuttle to collect Twilight Class and return them to HQ . Zone Central initially believed that Twilight Class was in trouble and was attempting to forfeit their assignment , as their end time was almost 104 hours — more than a day better than the previous record . After Sitnalta clarified to Zone Central that they had in fact finished the entire circuit , the jubilant class was collected by shuttle and examined by a number of Carosite medics , before returning to HQ and becoming GOSS graduates . Rebel agent . The class was known as one of GOSS ' s best and most infamous to ever graduate . A number of years after their graduation , many of the former members of Twilight Class , Borsil among them , decided to join the revolutionary Alliance to Restore the Republic under the influence of Sisquoc , the star pupil and " de facto " leader of the class . Barosa Warren was not happy with any of his former students using the skills he and his staff had imparted on them in this way ; he and Sisquoc also had a fierce argument over another , more personal matter . Borsil and most of his peers came to Sisquoc ' s aid and sided with him , to Warren ' s fury . The Morellian instructor began a personal vendetta against Sisquoc and the others , and they were extremely wary of him . Despite this , they went ahead and joined the Alliance regardless . Borsil became a member of Alliance Special Forces , dubbed " SpecForce , " and served with the Rebellion for a number of years . Because of his expertise in arctic survival and training at GOSS , he was occasionally assigned to Alliance bases located on frigid worlds where new recruits needed guidance on how to perform their tasks effectively despite the conditions . His particular focus was on instructing members of search and rescue teams stationed on such planets . Many of Borsil ' s former classmates , including Sisquoc , Adazian Liebke and Ma ' w ' shiye , went on to found Eclipse Team , an infamous Rebel SpecForce group . Borsil did not become an official member , but was given an honorary position because of his relationship with the team ' s upper echelons ; he often accompanied them on many dangerous missions for the Rebellion throughout the galaxy . As of 2 ABY , Borsil was serving with a SpecForce attachment assigned directly to Alliance High Command . In that year , a number of intelligence reports were compiled at the behest of Chief Airen Cracken , who wanted to create a profile of many non - Imperial groups that posed threats to the Alliance . Because of Warren ' s personal hatred for the majority of Twilight Class and any of their Rebel comrades , GOSS was included as one such potential threat in a report written by Major Sisquoc ; Borsil was given a brief biography and his name was mentioned as one who would do best to avoid Barosa Warren . Personality and traits . Like any who passed the stringent exams posed by GOSS , Buran Borsil was a durable and tough individual , despite being of small stature . He was also a believer in the ideals of the Rebel Alliance , and helped in their struggle against the perceived tyranny of Palpatine ' s Empire . He was an expert in arctic survival , and a valued teacher . He was also well regarded by many high ranking members of the Alliance ; his former GOSS classmates gave him an honorary position on Eclipse Team , and he was later assigned to directly serve the Alliance ' s foremost leaders . Other individuals , however , such as Barosa Warren , wanted him dead . Behind the scenes . The character of Buran Borsil was created for the West End Games sourcebook " Alliance Intelligence Reports " , written by Craig Robert Carey and Bill Smith , and published in 1995 . His species , the Nord , were first mentioned briefly in " The Way of the Yrashu " , appearing in the " Star Wars Adventure Journal 2 " several years prior . Borsil has not appeared in any Expanded Universe works since " Alliance Intelligence Reports " .