Sorry if this has been mentioned before, I'm new to this forum.  I've just started playing Rebellion again after obtaining the DLC (except for minor factions) ... I've played 3 x games so far 8 player FFA (or teams) on normal difficulty and realised the following:

Most of the early stages of the game I've spent clutch defending against pirates, when I finally manage to stabilise against them, I look up and realise that pretty much all of the AI players have been wiped out by the pirates already ... even before I manage to interact with them?   Those AI that remain are so weak they're a pushover, and it's a matter of time before the pirates dominate them ... Is this normal?  

Note: I'm using the Star Trek Armada 3 mod.