Chapter 1 - My ship's where?

"Okay, great. If that's all then I will get prepped to depart this evening." Cassia turns to Sy "Do you need help transferring your equipment out of the van?

Sy shook his head. "Everything I own can be worn or carried in a rucksack. I'll wear my armor for departure as long as we are leaving it shouldn’t be too bothersome." His model was voluntary simplicity, and that was how he lived. While he didn't look like a monk in the traditional sense, Gódi seldom did.

Avi collects his armour and weapon from the starport locker. In his backpack are all his other possessions: breather mask, first-aid kit, radio transceiver/translator, and clothing. He hopes he hasn't forgotten anything as he boards the Autumn Gold.

The two weeks spent aboard the Autumn Gold passed fairly pleasantly. Cassia spent the most time with Avi going over the engineering specs of the Erebus. They’d gone through all the system diagrams so many times that her dreams often revolved around generators, air scrubbers, and sensors. Avi had a wealth of knowledge and taught her more than a few things about the ships systems. Perhaps he might even be able to make some improvements when they started working on the ship.

By the end of the trip Cas was getting a little stir crazy. She tried to meditate with Sy to keep centered and present but still couldn’t stop thinking about finding her ship. It was a huge relief when the far trader dropped out of jump and headed towards Walston. Cassia was first in line to get off the ship. Her goal was to make sure all the correct paperwork and the customs forms were in order well before the Autumn Gold returned to space.

Disembarking Sy didn't even blink walking through customs. Simply presented his I.D. to the customs officer and asked her how her day had been going. "Inactive not retired." He corrected when she, Gladys, had asked. "Here on unrelated business. Venture capitalism, securing a ship." He declared and shortly, escorted around the checkpoint, he found himself heading to the Traveller's Assosciation lobby scoring breakfast and coffee for his shipmates. Which he sent a quick mass text to each "Outside the Traveller's Association lounge with refreshments. Good luck with customs!"

As the cargo was being unloaded, Cassia headed to the customs. She presented the documentation provided to her by the Scout Service to customs agent Gladys. Though Cassia wasn’t as gifted as Sy was at social interactions she felt confident in her ability to navigate bureaucratic necessities after months dealing with the various forms associated with mustering out from the service.
"I’m here to collected the ship Erebus on behalf of the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service." she said in, what she hoped sounded, reasonable and confident voice.
"I have been authorized to make whatever repairs needed to get the ship running and spaceworthy. Could you be so kind as to point me and my crew mates to it’s location?"

Let me get this straight, the ship isn't here because the crew showed up to the star port on an air raft? Cassia sighs with frustration
"Okay, then we'll have to start there. Is the raft still around or am I going to have to track that down, too? Also, I'm going to need a copy of the manifest the Erebus submitted for that "charter flight" with a list of passengers and cargo." She pauses to think for a moment "And, if possible a log of any landing clearances given to the Erebus at in-system star ports for the past six months."
Cassia pulls out her comm unit a replies to Sy's group text:

We have a problem. I'll be over shortly. Make mine a double.

This was the part that Zeke always hated. The waiting. Two weeks of waiting not doing much besides reading and working out on the trip itself, and now waiting again. He was reluctant to wander far from the ship, as he didn't enjoy leaving his weapons and gear behind. Then he saw Cassia's message and he felt a bit of excitement.

Suppressing a scream of rage and frustration, Cassia thanks the Gladys before leaving the customs area."You’ve been helpful, well as helpful as you can be given the circumstances. I might be back later with some more questions. Thank you.

Cassia walks through the lounge towards the Travellers Association. As she walks she keys in another message to her comrades:

Z or A can u watch the customs agent for a sec? Anything sus after talking to me?

S, order me another drink.