What Arkansaw said is the key to any battle in Infinite Space. You don't really need Kira's ability , especially since putting her as First Officer makes your leadership stat take a big hit, and that means reduced Command Gauge replenishment speed. Put Nia Lochlain there (until you find someone better).
This is how I usually attack against a group of 3 ships:
1) Move your fleet forward, get within weapons range for all your ships (and I mean all weapons) and fire "Normal" at the ship at the front row. There is a good probability that it will go boom.
2) If you're early in the game, your Command Gauge will probably replenish slowly , so go backward beyond enemy weapons range and wait for yours to hit red. Else, fire one more normal shot and retreat.
3)Now that your gauge is red , hit Dodge and move forward. By this time, the enemy fleet's gauge should be at red too. 8 times out of 10 they will fire a barrage at you when you get within range.
4)Once you've avoided their barrage , open up with a barrage or normal shot. You should be able to get two normal shots off since your gauge was already at red (even counting the Dodge move).
5)Repeat from 2.