My thoughts:
Option 1
Along with Attack, Defend, and Escape, a fourth option Call Reinforcements (and possibly Distress Signal if attacked by pirates). This checks the game world for nearby allies (and neutral, if pirates) and their distance. If they are within a certain minimum distance, they may respond (depending on factors such as fleet sizes, fleet comp - a fuel convoy won't save you - and current damage). The distance from the player dictates how many minutes the player must wait for the third party to arrive and deploy ships.
Option 2
Very similar to above, but when selecting Call Reinforcements, if a fleet responds to your call, is starts the battle with a "Survive for X minutes" victory condition. Any ships that survive until backup arrives escape unharmed, but you only get to keep loot from ships destroyed before the ending triggers. This way, if you accidentally run into an enemy you can't handle, you have a chance of escaping with most of your ships and eliminating the enemy, provided you were close to friends when it happened.