### *Tobias: Out of Options*
The station lights flickered faintly as Tobias sat in his cramped quarters, staring at the balance displayed on his communicator. The numbers on the screen stared back at him, unchanging, unmoving: **0 credits.** For weeks, he’d stretched every credit as far as it would go, skipping meals and avoiding any unnecessary expenses. But now, the harsh truth was undeniable: he had nothing left.
Tobias leaned back in his chair, gripping the communicator tightly in his hands. The weight of his situation pressed down on him. “What now?” he muttered to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. “What am I supposed to do now?”
---
### *A Growing Desperation*
Over the next few days, Tobias wandered aimlessly through the station, trying to distract himself from the reality of his situation. The station was busy as ever, its corridors packed with travelers, merchants, and workers. Everyone around him seemed to have a purpose, a reason to be there—everyone except him.
The raven mask that had once given him a sense of confidence now felt like a weight. He carried it with him but rarely put it on, unsure of who he was trying to be anymore. The cloak, now slightly tattered from wear, hung loosely over his shoulders as he drifted through the station’s common areas.
His stomach growled loudly as he passed a food vendor. The smell of roasted meat and freshly baked bread was tantalizing, but he didn’t even bother looking at the prices. He already knew he couldn’t afford them.
---
### *Talking to Blueberry*
Blueberry found Tobias sitting alone in the observation deck one evening, staring out at the stars with a hollow expression. She approached quietly, her mechanical footsteps light against the floor.
“Tobias,” she said, her voice soft but firm, “you’ve been like this for days. What’s going on?”
He didn’t look at her, keeping his eyes on the vast expanse of space outside the viewport. “I’m out of credits,” he said bluntly. “I can’t afford to stay here anymore.”
Blueberry frowned, pulling up a chair beside him. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“What would you have done?” Tobias asked, his voice tinged with bitterness. “You can’t magically make money appear. And even if I did get more credits, it wouldn’t fix anything. I’m still stuck.”
Blueberry sighed, her blue eyes glowing faintly. “You’re not stuck. You’re just... in a rough spot. But you’ve gotten through worse before.”
“This isn’t like before,” Tobias said, his frustration bubbling to the surface. “At least before, I had a goal. I had a reason to keep going. Now I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be doing.”
---
### *The Reality of Rock Bottom*
That night, Tobias returned to his quarters, only to find a notice waiting for him on the door. The words blurred together as he read it, but the message was clear: **Eviction.** With no credits left, he couldn’t pay for his room, and the station wasn’t a charity.
He sat on the floor of his quarters, his back against the wall, clutching the notice in his hands. The quiet hum of the station’s life support systems filled the air, but it only made the emptiness inside him feel louder.
“This is it,” he whispered to himself. “I’ve hit rock bottom.”
---
### *A Glimmer of Hope*
The next morning, Tobias woke to the sound of his communicator buzzing. For a brief, fleeting moment, he hoped it was a job offer or a message from someone with a solution to his problems. But when he opened it, he found a message from Martha instead.
“Hey, Tobias. We’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. Things on Nyrellis III are going well—it’s peaceful here, and we’re finally starting to feel at home. We just wish you could be here with us. Remember, you’re always part of our family, no matter where you are. Stay strong, okay?”
Tobias read the message several times, his chest tightening. The words were comforting, but they also reminded him of everything he had lost. He closed the communicator and leaned his head against the wall, a mix of emotions swirling inside him.
---
### *What Comes Next?*
As Tobias sat in his nearly empty quarters, the eviction notice still clutched in his hands, he tried to think of a way forward. The station no longer felt like a refuge—it felt like a dead end. But where else could he go? Evergrand Island was out of the question, and his friends had already settled on Nyrellis III without him.
For the first time in a long while, Tobias felt completely and utterly lost. No plan, no guidance, no purpose. Just the vast emptiness of space and the faint hope that somehow, he would find a way to keep going.
“I don’t know what to do,” he muttered, his voice barely audible. “But I can’t stay here.”
As the station lights flickered faintly overhead, Tobias resolved to take the first step—even if he didn’t know where it would lead. He didn’t have the answers yet, but he knew he couldn’t afford to give up. Not now. Not ever.
