Buran Borsil

Buran Borsil was a male member of the Nord species, a race of short, three-foot tall humanoids from the planet of Nordra. In the early reign of the Empire, Borsil enrolled in the Galactic Outdoor Survival School, commonly known as GOSS. This survivalist school was managed by Morellian scout Barosa Warren on Thrantin, a remote planet in the Outer Rim Territories. GOSS was known for its rigorous training methods, but it provided a thorough education in surviving various terrains and atmospheres, from water-based to volcanic. The few students who successfully graduated often became scouts themselves.

Borsil belonged to Twilight Class, which quickly became the most accomplished class in GOSS history. The class consisted of twelve individuals with diverse skills, who worked together to form a highly effective survival unit. After years of training, Twilight Class broke—and often shattered—almost all of GOSS's previous records. Borsil rapidly became an expert at surviving, and thriving, in arctic environments.

After approximately six years of training, Borsil and his Twilight Class colleagues embarked on their final expedition before graduation, aiming to beat the record set by Lunkar An and Summit Class seven years prior. This multi-day expedition required them to navigate challenging conditions and terrains, battling the elements and local predators. Twilight Class was transported to a remote area of the planet via shuttle, before descending a 200-meter cliff into the dense vegetation of the Turas Valley. Over four days, the team traversed Thrantin, fending off creatures like tripion and navigating difficult terrain, with different members leading in their areas of expertise. Eventually, after completing the Ninth Aquatic Zone under the guidance of Akul Witig, the team reached the beach, exhausted but victorious. Derembus Sitnalta contacted Zone Central to request a shuttle to return Twilight Class to HQ. Zone Central initially thought the class was in trouble and trying to abandon the assignment, as their finishing time was almost 104 hours—more than a day faster than the previous record. After Sitnalta clarified that they had completed the entire circuit, the jubilant class was picked up by shuttle and examined by Carosite medics before returning to HQ and graduating from GOSS.

The class achieved fame as one of the best and most well-known to ever graduate from GOSS. Several years after their graduation, many former members of Twilight Class, including Borsil, chose to join the revolutionary Alliance to Restore the Republic under the influence of Sisquoc, the class's top student and de facto leader. Barosa Warren was displeased that his former students were using the skills he and his staff had taught them in this way. He also had a heated argument with Sisquoc over a separate, personal matter. Borsil and most of his classmates supported Sisquoc, which enraged Warren. The Morellian instructor began a personal vendetta against Sisquoc and the others, making them wary of him. Despite this, they proceeded to join the Alliance.

Borsil became a member of the Alliance Special Forces, known as "SpecForce," and served with the Rebellion for several years. Due to his arctic survival expertise and GOSS training, he was sometimes assigned to Alliance bases on frigid worlds to guide new recruits in performing their duties effectively in those conditions. He focused on instructing members of search and rescue teams stationed on these planets.

Many of Borsil's former classmates, including Sisquoc, Adazian Liebke, and Ma'w'shiye, later founded Eclipse Team, a notorious Rebel SpecForce group. Borsil did not become an official member but was granted an honorary position due to his relationships with the team's leaders. He often accompanied them on dangerous missions for the Rebellion throughout the galaxy. Borsil was serving with a SpecForce unit directly assigned to Alliance High Command. In that year, Chief Airen Cracken commissioned several intelligence reports to profile non-Imperial groups that posed threats to the Alliance. Due to Warren's personal animosity towards most of Twilight Class and their Rebel allies, GOSS was included as a potential threat in a report written by Major Sisquoc. Borsil's biography was included, and it mentioned that he should avoid Barosa Warren.

Buran Borsil, like all GOSS graduates, was a resilient and tough individual despite his small size. He believed in the Rebel Alliance's ideals and supported their fight against what he saw as the tyranny of Palpatine's Empire. He was an arctic survival expert and a valued instructor. He was also highly regarded by many high-ranking Alliance members. His former GOSS classmates gave him an honorary position on Eclipse Team, and he was later assigned to serve the Alliance's top leaders directly. However, individuals like Barosa Warren wanted him dead.

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, was first mentioned briefly in The Way of the Yrashu, which appeared in Star Wars Adventure Journal 2 several years earlier. Borsil has not appeared in any Expanded Universe works since Alliance Intelligence Reports.

• Alliance Intelligence Reports (First mentioned)