Ship Combat: Romulans/Remans

[BlueBard]

My Science Captain (Lt. Commander 5) faced off against Reman Birds-of-Prey for the first time... Wow!

Compared to fighting the Klingon faction, the level of difficulty went up significantly.

I was mashing and clicking like crazy for survival, let alone victory, and had significant battle damage after each encounter.

Any tactical advice?  How do you keep from getting hammered by heavy plasma torpedoes?  I've got Fire-At-Will slotted to blow them out of space, but the cooldown makes that defensive tactic very hit or miss.  Tab targeting the torps is too slow.  With Klingons, I can close in for the kill... with these guys, it seems like I might be better off keeping my distance.