I'm a poor strategy gamer, and in-game I tend to be weak.

So I went on my merry way, building a starting fleet of an Akkan and more than a dozen Cobalts. I was convinced that I was well-insured against any early-game threats. The first pirate raid was successfully destroyed. As I started to colonize other worlds, a new attack came. This time, they came with about 20 ships. I tried to muster my forces to fight them off, but as I was fighting reinforcements came and turned the attack fleet into a frightening horde. They smashed everything I had and picked off the ships I desperately tried to throw at them.

Surely the pirates aren't supposed to be that dangerous. Am I doing something wrong?