Not entirely sure what Version I have.   I can find out when I get home tonight, but I would presume it is whatever the Latest Version is, as I bought the Trinity Package online from Impulse and just did the digital download from there.  I will presume that this forces the user to have the latest and most updated version?

As for those pirates...

I kinda don't have a choice other then to fight them off, they always show up almost right away, and they always arrive with a large fleet of well over a dozen ships and they never arrive from the Phase Lanes...

So unless my own Fleet is there to fight them off, then they start destroying my orbital structures and move in on the planet, and my Beam Platforms, though numerous, just can't get the job done by themselves...

So my first thought has always been.. "Defend the planet!" .. keep the fleet close! haha.

I eill experiment with that scuttling option on the Platforms when I get home, see if that gives me the option to put up Hanger Defenses and other structures that will allow me to not have to keep my Fleet of ships so close all the time...

ok did i understand you right, NOT from the phase lane?????

It sounds like Vasrii pirates, I hope not.....IAnd i thought i had the newest version]

I hope you are mistaken.

You almost certainly are.  These things are notoriously pricey and the bane of many beginners.  You need to be out expanding your empire early on.

Strongly recommend turning off pirates when you're learning the game.  The game's got a steep enough learning curve as it is.

I've heard reports of this before, but never been able to reproduce it.  Keep in mind that you cannot see enemies that are using phase lanes unless you've researched the appropriate upgrades.  If you use scouts, though, you should be able to see them coming as they move from one gravity well to the next.  If you're certainly they're just appearing spontaneously out of nowhere, providing a replay could determine if this is a bug or not.

Hangers and turrets are poor investments.  In smaller quantities, these structures won't deter any serious threat and you'll get way better value out of a mid-sized fleet left on defensive duty.  In larger quantities... just go with a starbase.  A repair platform nearby will make the installation virtually impregnable to everything except a dedicated attacker. 

Your best defense - particularly against pirates and the AI, is to set up blockades on all your front worlds so they have no way to reach your inner worlds.  Don't bother wasting precious money defending worlds that may never actually see a fight,

Phase lanes do have a pretty wide margin. It's something like 30 degrees in either direction from the center. The pirates may seem to be arriving from nowhere, but they aren't. Get the phase lane prediction tech and you'll be able to see exactly where they're coming from while they're on route.

And if the enemy player has all other planets except your homeworld... you're probably already lost, unless you're extremely good at turtling.

Pirates slow down your early expansion (fighting and colonizing other planets) way too much, even as a good player. That's why I'd turn them off.

If you're ready to build frigates, build scouts. They're the best for killing siege frigate militia, which are the only ships you REALLY need to kill.

If you're planning on fighting pirates, I highly suggest building turrets (and repair structures) instead of stationing frigates there: turrets do a whole lot more damage and have tons of hull and armor, although they don't have shield mitigation. Unless I have a huge mass of frigates defending (impractical in the early-game), any frigates I have at the attacked planet generally just do little damage and then die. If you really want to use frigates (LRF probably?) it's probably a good idea to send them in only after pirates have started attacking your cap or your turrets.

For the initial raid at least, I've found that you rarely need more than 3 turrets and a repair platform. That's a much better investment than in fragile frigates or an expensive and rare capital ship.

Defense Guns are best used as follows:

Group your civilian structures together and near the planet as much as possible. Then put repair platforms and guns around the structures. Pirates and AI will try to attack the civ structures but have to fight off the guns to do it.  Usually I can protect my planet and my labs/trade etc with 2 repair and 4-5 guns. This is the most you would ever need to delay until your fleet arrives

I believe it's AI level dependent. Most times when I play with Pirates they just attack the closest structure or ship when they first phase in. Though I have noticed they will chase down merchant ships and colony ships first.