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This fanfiction article, Ophelia, was written by Arminius Fiddywinks. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission. |
To Ethan Platt, President and CEO, Mercury Shipping and Storage Inc.
It’s been far too long since I last heard from you, Mr. Platt. There’s been a bit of a consternation in our office concerning your business arrangement with us. Time, as you know, isn’t on our side, what with the UNSC breathing down our necks over this plutonium shipment we’ve been sitting on for the longest time. Ash Myles, my CFO, is especially worried. Giving him some whiskey doesn’t seem to be calming his nerves. Assuredly, you wouldn’t renege on our deal, right? Opening up new markets is in both our business’s interests, after all. According to previous estimates, we assume to increase profits for both our companies threefold.
To be honest, I’m personally wondering if you yourself are getting cold feet on this whole deal. Emerging competition is certainly something to look out for, but don’t get so spooked on them. Impressive as they are, they can’t hold a candle to us. Tennant Inc. is nobody. Ingolstadt LLC is small-time. Acorn Industries is run by kids. Nelson Corporation is a nothingburger. Powell and his operation may be a bit of a contender, but we’ve got the market cornered this side of the star cluster, we got this!
Apprehension is the kiss of death, Mr. Platt. Take this moment to seize the opportunity! Assuming that you’re still in, the profits could reach into the billions for us. Make the right decision, Ethan. Ophelia, your sister, had high hopes for this company, and it’s up to you to turn those hopes into reality.
Sincerely,
Yakov Zhdanov, Founder and CEO, ZKG Industries
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To Yakov Zhdanov, Founder and CEO, ZKG Industries
It’s been a tough decision for me, really. Thinking about this for a while has put everything into perspective for me. Will Kramer, one of the board members, was adamantly opposed to the deal. Oswald Jones, another board member, supported the agreement. With a little more arguing, the whole room neatly divided into the two camps. Is it like this at your board meetings, Mr. Zhdanov?
Aquifers on this planet must’ve been poisoned with something, because hoo boy, the tap water here’s got everyone in an argumentative mood. To be fair, this arrangement was projected by our own numbers people to be ruinous for the company if we messed it up. Appraising the current situation didn’t leave much wiggle room either. Pfiffer – Jess Pfiffer, you should remember her – said that if the shipping lanes weren’t reopened to the Outer Colonies, and if we couldn’t find new markets in the Inner Colonies, that we’d go under. Taking that advice to heart, I’ve been very busy lately trying to search for opportunities on these planets, so apologies for the sparse letters. Times aren’t the easiest these days, are they?
Almost every day, though, I wake up ready to tackle what’s ahead of me. Twice a day I take care of my mental health with some half-hour long meditation. People always say that meditation helps, but they’re really right, it really does help. Maybe if more people these days tried meditation, things would turn around. Bright thoughts, bright actions, after all. Jeez, I just realized what I wrote, and it looks like one massive digression, apologies. Ebbing and flowing, that’s what my thoughts are, ha!
Getting back to the topic on hand, though. It’s… a no, sorry. Wrong decisions are something I avoid, and I think going into business with ZKG is a whole barrel full of wrong. Taking into consideration the whole kerfuffle with disrupted shipping, and it’s just not a safe bet for me, for us. By all accounts, the risk is just too great, even though the certainty I’m facing now isn’t the best. Perhaps when our company is in a better position to absorb any losses, we can renegotiate. Additionally, our numbers people think that we could profit even more if we just wait a few months.
Tricky business, this is, right? Quite tricky. In any case, I think that if you’re amenable to renegotiations in a few months (and I sure hope you are), I’d be more than happy to make a deal, but not today, unfortunately, I am sorry.
Sincerely,
Ethan Platt, President and CEO, Mercury Shipping and Storage Inc.
*Postscript:
Ophelia would’ve been proud of all that we’ve done so far, Yakov.
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The previous correspondence is a declassified encoded series of messages between two suspected Insurrectionist cells believed to have been involved in the failed attacks on the Inner Colony of Valinor.
To decode, analyze the second letter of the first word of each sentence within the body of the letters.
Note the “postscript” section of the second correspondence has no apparent meaning concerning the previously established code. It is currently believed to have some other significance, especially concerning the individual named “Ophelia,” but this significance is unknown at time of writing.