New player help, I think I soft locked myself

the asteroid field was easy and I had medium funds, around 4k, enter the garden of Kadesh and my whole fleet was wiped out within one minute, then my resource collectors. I recycled my last ship, the resource hub one, which allowed me to research the multi gun frigate and get one resource collector. I then warp to the cathedral of Kadesh and the pittance of resources and ships I have are eaten away immediately and I get blown up. I've tried looking at some beginners guides but man I feel like I'm failing at this game. Do I just re-start the campaign?