okay... so to avoid your wingmen from vanishing, just don't give them any orders - they'll respawn after they die (and they WILL die). You'll probably die a few times too, just play it conservatively. I stayed stealthed at the start of the encounters and let my respawning wingmen take the brunt of the fight. It's done now.
The npc squadron that is supposed to help the player is horribly bugged. As soon as the mission launches, I ask them follow me. They head my way, then disappear. When I give orders to attack my target, nothing happens.
you need to be right over the Forcas System when you enter your ship. Essentially, when the quest wizard pops up explaining what to do, you need to turn your engines off as soon as you click 'continue', then enter your ship, head to the crew deck, then the mess hall. setup a floor trophy and the option to place it should…