Any advice for a first few runs?

Build up your fit, don't pull too many NPCs at once, and don't stay long.

1. Start in your faction's lower-tier breaches, which the enemy faction cannot enter.
2. Before undocking, put your most valuable cargo fully on the safety hold: the 2×2 square of four cells at the top left of every ship's cargo grid. Items there are kept if you die.
3. Scout around before attacking anything.
4. Kill a few NPCs, loot, extract, refit, repeat.
5. Back in the hub, recycle common drops for ORE: it repairs your ship and identifies modules.