Wing Commander CIC

I'm hoping this is a bug, because if it's not it means I just suck. It seems that if I have a mission that spawns enemy flightgroups and I die and respawn, the attacking flightgroup gets more ships added to it. If I die again, the process repeats. All I know is that I keep getting stranded on bases where I'm attacked by 20+ ships the second I launch, and every time I die, the group gets larger. I end up with no choice but to go back to a previous saved game to continue playing (I can't defeat or outrun that many). This is happening so often that I'm about ready to give up on the remake.

Also, I get attacked all the time by a Kilrathi "Shadow Patrol" consisting of 4 Dralthi and a Gothri. Are they after the artifact? My ship isn't upgraded enough to deal with them. I'm afraid I may have to start over.