Not that I know of, I assume you've tried Google etc?
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Re your Python & NPCs, well that depends a lot on the spec of your ship & how good you are.
If you've got some wimpy shield & hardly any weapons then yea you're going to be in trouble, that said you can always hyperspace your way out, although that is a PITA of course!
Also bear in mind this latest update (err, 2.1.0.2 I think) has toned down the weapons on some NPCs (see it's change log).
But as a little perspective, I did once nearly get in trouble with my Python & an Adder! (pre the above update) I couldn't believe how close he came to dropping my shields! But basically the problem was with him (& other small ships) is that I couldn't turn quickly enough, IIRC, what I did in the end was boost away, put full pips to engines (2 to weaps) turned back from a little distance off & then got him on the way back to him.
Oh, my Pythons spec at the time, A5 shields (not 6 because I want the cargo space), 2xA0 shld boosters, 1 PD turret, A6 thrusters (ain't cheap!

), I think at the time I had 2 medium mining lasers, 2 large beams (class 3?), & 1 medium multi cannon (I'd forgotten they'd added a large 1 to the game!).
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In my last mining runs I ditched 1 of the mining lasers, added a large MC, ditched 2 out of 7 collectors & fitted an SCB. I like to fight rather than run!

. Which btw didn't make much of a difference to how quickly I gathered metals & minerals overall because I found I was more limited by how quickly I could find the right stuff, rather than how quickly I could gather it. Although I did also decide to gather all the lower value stuff (Praes, Samar, & Os) I found rather than just a little.