Well, I did miss the fact that my ship initially had hopeless equipment, not even able to stand a Fighter ! I did buy better engines, more shields and armor, then was able to progress, avoiding the cruisers and even downing some pirate Destroyers !
Also discovered that the game can be played at 1/2 or 1/4 speed, making battles more manageable to my paltry reflexes !
The game is quite fun now
. Thanks to all !