A moment of silence

No other survivors - those words hit you like a ton of bricks as you faced the shocking revelation that all fifty-five of your fellow crew members on the Odyssey had been lost in this ill-fated voyage to Alpha Tau Minor. You had known each of them, and had formed friendships with several of them during your years in the academy. Looking up, you saw the captain had started a 3D replay of the crash displayed over table. There was an initial flash as the ship hit something small followed by a series of large explosions as the hull rammed into the strange alien structure. The second explosion clearly destroyed the entire crew section. At least it was quick, and your crew mates in stasis likely died instantly instead of suffering a painful ****.

"How many were aboard?" asked the Captain.

As you watched the replay repeat again and again, you stood in complete silence. By the end you couldn't hold back the tears that had welled up. You looked down, and saw that your giant cock was finally flaccid, though even in this state it was still larger than your original had ever been, but why the hell were you even worried about your dick's size at a time like this. Finally, you regained your composure. "Fifty-five besides me," you announced somberly.

The captain seemed a bit surprised at that. "We're trying to determine whether the subspace warnings were being actively broadcast, and why the emergency containment systems were only able to detect a single life sign on your ship. Do you have any insight about that?"

"I've heard of theories about subspace, but to my knowledge any science related to it has never advanced far enough to be harnessed by any of our technology. If there were warnings in subspace, our ship probably wouldn't have detected them. As for the life signs, that may be due to the rest of the crew being in stasis at the time," you explained.

"Life forms in stasis would not be detected by that system. Was your stasis system designed to withstand a catastrophic failure like this?" asked the Captain.

"No. Nothing of this magnitude. I'm certain that all of the stasis chambers were destroyed instantly when the crew section exploded," you continued.

"That's unfortunate." said the Captain. "It's rare for a species to attempt interstellar travel before discovering subspace technology. The few that have tried it invariably ended up meeting a similar fate to that of your ship. The probability of a critical malfunction or encountering a hazard along the way approaches one hundred percent. However, you're an exception - the first known survivor of such a voyage."

You didn't know how to respond to that, but after an awkward silence the captain finally added, "You are free to go unless you want to discuss something further."

You bowed your head slightly in acknowledgement, but before turning and heading to the door, you'd thought of a request. "May I ask a favor? I realize that it's not your custom, but among my kind, when lives are lost on a ship, a ceremony is held and attended by those aboard, and someone familiar with the deceased says something about them to honor the departed. Usually, there's some kind of final salute as well, such as firing a weapon. Would that be possible?"

The Captain's eye briefly squinted further but soon relaxed. "Customs for honoring one's ancestors or the recent dead are common among nearly all sentient species. Even the Grey used to hold a similar type of event in our ancient history, though it's no longer actively practiced. I grant you permission to hold this ceremony tomorrow, and all aboard that are willing to attend may do so. As for the salute, this is a research vessel without weapons, but it may be possible to launch a drone with some leftover thermo-phasic material."

"Thank you," you replied, and then headed for the door.