Heya -- let's see...
1. I imagine that those did arrive, but in the months that were spent with you recuperating after being KO'd, so were they. I'm sure they did some small damage while they were there, but not as much as they could have with your support had you not been KO'd.
2. That is indeed super odd, it sounds like possibly they did not have fleets available at the time that the quest was accepted, though they would have had to when the quest was started. That happening two times in a row is super duper odd, though. If you happen to have a quest of that sort pop up again soon, be sure to save before it, and please give us an upload if accepting it causes the same problem. It's possible that some of the recent changes to who is on what side in missions actually busted those missions, which is something Keith and I had worried might happen, but this would be the first indication of it if so (these things tend to be very case-specific).
my fighting skill is what you'd expect from a giant dragonish thing trying to pilot a ship made for relatively minute owls.
Oh my goodness, that made me laugh.