Military Pilot Points and Military Rank?

[SyDaemon]

Hi guys and girls,

I'm several (real-time) days into my very first game of Space Rangers 2 and am puzzled by how the military pilot points and ranking system works.

After killing about 9 Dominators (mainly small ones, I haven't upgraded by hull yet), I'm still at the rookie rank. I've visited the military bases and they mentioned that I need 14 points to get to Cadet.

Can I tell how many points I've actually got at the moment? Do the small Dominators give no points whatsoever?

Also, the guy at the military base mentioned about a loss of points if I display cowardice or leave the battlefield. What constitutes such a case? I've had my fair share of retreats due to being out gunned, do they count?

Sorry for the question bombardment and thanks in advance for any help!