On Day 334, Sol Savrek, the leader of the Government known as The Cooperative, was arrested and killed by members of the Cooperative and one of their allied groups, the Flower Company. The Cooperative, based on their recent press event, now appears irreparably fractured and in the midst of a schism.
The Cooperative was formed as a merger three entities: former members of the group formerly known as the eXiles, members of the Flower Company, and members of the Aeyris organization. The Cooperative is a member of the Galactic Alliance. In lieu of having formal ranks and leadership structure, their goal was to have a more open and fluid structure, trying to ensure all members had a voice in major decisions, as much as possible. Their decision-making body primarily consisted of just four members: Nikolaj Eyre, Redjon Mirrabel, Caedmon Gaines, and Sol Savrek.
During their recent press conference, Eyre and Solarius Masha, who was only recently brought into the Cooperative as a senior advisor to assist in trying to help the group address various communication and organizational deficiencies, largely sidestepped the reasons why Sol was executed and the actual events leading to Sol Savrek’s murder while acknowledging that Eyre played a part. The following is our understanding of the events based on interviews with many of the members of the cooperative following Savrek’s death.
Sol Savrek’s Sluissi biology caused him to undergo a hibernation cycle periodically. These hibernation cycles last approximately one month. Sol chose to perform his last hibernation cycle within the confines of an A-wing cockpit, as its small enclosed space could be climate controlled to match his needs and would be simple to monitor and maintain by the attached astromech. However, while in his hibernation, Eyre, Gaines and Mirrabel were deep in conversation about the failures of Savrek’s leadership. Jointly, the three discussed and agreed that Sol Savrek must be removed from leadership. Eyre, as the de factor leader of the Cooperative during Savrek’s hibernation had the access codes for every ship in their fleet, including Savrek’s a-wing. Eyre gave Gaines access to the A-wing, and the Sluissi was placed under arrest by Gaines sometime around day 330, approximately 4 days prior to his execution.
While the Sluissi was under arrest, the conversation continued between Eyre, Gaines and Mirrabel about how exactly to remove Savrek from power. Execution was an option, but one that was largely unpopular within the entire organization. Many favored at least giving Savrek a chance to awaken from his hibernation while under arrest, and ask him to peacefully hand over leadership of the group. However, if the Sluissi was allowed to awaken, it is unclear what his reaction might have been, and whether he would be amenable to such a transition, and what recourse the group would have if he chose a different path. As a group, Eyre, Gaines and Mirrabel decided to execute Savrek. As such, they penned a letter to the Galactic Alliance approximately 1 standard day prior to the execution, informing them of the impending leadership change, stating the crimes detailed below, and setting a date and time for Savrek’s execution. Eyre’s name appears on this document. This letter can be read here: ((a copy of the letter can be obtained here)) and the specific charges are reviewed later in this report.
When discussing the execution with Masha and Eyre as part of our reporting, they provided logs of a specific conversation between Masha and Gaines, which they feel was a “turning point” in the discussion. This is a moment at which, they state, they felt that they could not save Savrek’s life. Masha pressed Gaines about what he would do if the general membership of the Cooperative was heavily in favor of releasing Savrek and giving him a chance to hand leadership to someone else. Gaines eventually replied,
“Then I’ll kill him, and resign.”
This was said by Gaines once he already had Savrek under arrest, approximately 2 and a half days prior to the execution, but therefore also approximately one and a half days prior to the above referenced letter to the Galactic Alliance. So, although Eyre and Masha point to this statement as reason that attempting to dissuade Gaines from killing Savrek was pointless, Eyre still later approved the content of the letter to the Galactic Alliance stating that he supported the execution at least 1 day later.
Knowing that tensions were running high over the decision to kill Savrek, about 8 hours prior to the execution, Gaines gave the senior members of the Cooperative one last chance to speak up and stop the execution. During this time, Eyre did not speak directly to Gaines to offer any final attempt to dissuade Gaines. However, Eyre was active during that 8-hour period. Approximately 2 and a half hours prior to Savrek’s death, Eyre spoke to other members of the Cooperative about his lack of approval of execution but did not mention this to Gaines. Approximately 1-hour prior to execution, presumably at Eyre’s direction, Masha made a new copy of an in-progress Constitution for the Cooperative, and began re-writing it. Masha’s new version of the Constitution clearly established Eyre, Masha and Hugh Grishnak as the triad of leaders of the organization. This revised constitution, being worked on prior to Sol’s death, also included a new oath of loyalty, and contained approximately 18 signatories. Many of these individuals do not appear to have been aware of having been listed as having signed this new constitution at the times their names were included. The list of signatories included at least 7 other members of the Eyre family.
Once Sol had been executed, Eyre automatically gained full leadership control of the Cooperative. Gaines, Mirrabel, and many other members of the Cooperative who had not been deeply involved in this discussion previously, called for Eyre to hand over leadership, at least temporarily, to someone not directly involved in the execution. The idea was that an impartial internal review could be performed to determine who was fit to lead, following these events. Initially, Eyre made statements that sounded like he might accede to these demands, and the Cooperative membership even held discussions and voting about who could be temporarily in charge until the review was performed. However, not only was no temporary transition was ever made, and even while some members hoped for a review, Eyre and Masha continued to work on their plans for a new Government, with Masha even suggesting to Eyre that he lay low and stay out of the spotlight to avoid confrontations. Eyre instead allowed a member of the Galactic Alliance into the Cooperative to provide some level of review of events, while still proceeding with reforming the government in wake of the execution.
Ending the life of another sentient should never be an easy decision, or one taken lightly. In our conversations with Eyre, Gaines and Mirrabel all three of them have expressed remorse at their part in these events. It is possible that Eyre is genuinely grief-stricken at Savrek’s death. However, the combination of providing access to Savrek’s a-wing and his willingness to agree to send a letter announcing the execution in advance clearly shows that he approved of the execution up until less than a day prior to the execution. Could he have changed his mind at the final moment? Perhaps. No one but Eyre will ever truly know that for sure. However, based on our review of the events, even before Sol had died, Eyre was set on taking control of the Cooperative as a new Government formed for himself, Masha and Grishnak to lead with his family heavily involved. If Eyre had truly been trying to save Sol’s life, it is unclear why he would not have at least taken the one last chance offered by Gaines to save Savrek, even if he felt it was doomed to fail. Instead, he used that time to proactively work on the format of a government he did not yet control.
The decision to arrest and later execute Savrek was based on a series of charges, some of which have been confirmed. In addition to these charges there were other possibly questionable events that were investigated and largely determined to be incorrect or not problematic. These charges, as laid out in the letter to the Galactic Alliance, included:
- Attempted theft against a member of the cooperative
- Dissemination of classified intelligence
- Jeopardizing the safety of a political refugee in Cooperative protection
- Plotting treachery against the allies of the Cooperative and
- General abuse of power
Because the details contained in the letter appear to be accurate, this report will not recap the specific events. However, Shili Free Press was included and involved in the crages related to leaking information and jeopardizing the safety of a refugee. Our organization can confirm those charges, as we are the organization to whom Savrek supplied the information. In order try to spare the individual from further harassment, we will not say more on the topic, beyond the fact that we are sorry for our part in any unwanted attention our handling of this information may have caused.
In addition to the charges laid out in the letter to the Galactic Alliance, there had been some investigations within the Cooperative looking at potential embezzlement and taking of assets by Savrek, for which he was largely cleared, save for the questionable purchase of a crusader-class vessel. Clearly there were some mis-steps made by Savrek, and other questionable decisions. However, did these foibles truly warrant execution? Did the rank and file members of Cooperative who were largely against execution have the right idea? No matter the end result, it is clear that despite the intentions of the Cooperative structure, the majority of their membership was out of touch with the discussions being had and the decisions being made by the leading group.
For an organization that was founded and set up in a manner that each member should have a voice in decisions, to fall apart under the weight of a decision made by a few against the will of the group is a foreboding end. In the end, they were undone for failing to live up to their own ideals. However, that lack of equality has yet to end. Going forward, all three members of a collective decision-making panel must deal with the consequences of their actions in vastly different manners. One is ‘merely’ exiled, one is marked for arrest and death by his former compatriots, and the other leads a government whose members appear to be pledging loyalty to him, despite claims to be suffering from guilt. And that is a set of sentences imposed by the government claiming to be the heir to the cooperative’s inclusive governing style. None of the three involved, Gaines, Mirrabel, or Eyre, are blameless. None deserve sympathy, all have blood on their hands. Perhaps in the new system of government being formed by the remnants of the Cooperative, they can regain a semblance of their inclusive ideals. Only time will tell where both sides of the schism go from here. But reformation and reconciliation seems like an impossible task at this point.
For Shili Free Press, this is Lahasa Fy, hoping that everyone stays safe out there.
