+1
I've posted this before, but here is my suggestion:
In our exploration of the ship, possibly in the room with Us, there should be a crate of weapons and armor including the starting gear you chose and possibly some other gear. This would also be a great opportunity for the game to tell us about different weapons through (optional) tutorial boxes. Explain weapons, finesse, reach, crossbows, the different armor types, etc.
Full agreement
We are prisoners of the Illithids in those pods. There is no reason why we should have equipment.
A box with equipment makes most sense. Thats were the Illithids store all the stuff they took from their slaves.
It would also be a good point to explain the basics of equipment.