You could send a few more experienced units from your other bases?
I did so with my previous run. This time, a lot of them got injured shortly before the new base's barracks finished building.
Edit to prevent double-post:
Finished my first year, and I'm feeling mixed about the results so far. Interceptors are researched, and we're looking into building (once I have storage space) first gen while researching higher generation vehicles. We're ready to join the mutant alliance, as soon as we've got better transportation (although I can buy shadowbats, which are great if a bit small - 9 gals). Our third base is being built, and the other 2 are mostly filled. Laser construction will come online shortly after I have a library. Most of that feels like I'm behind schedule.
For the good news: I've fully researched members of the church up through priests (all that I've seen), academy up through engineers found on excavators, and guild up through security/hostess without warehouse wars (stapler from some dogs who kidnapped a government agent). I also have reticulan peons and hybrids researched with sirens started. Good luck with landing ships lately (because I've been following them). Also, fully researched government agents, traitors, and ninja gals, plus the young uber from arm wrestling a ninja. 3 plantations and 25 courtesans help offset enough costs that infamy is higher than maintenance fairly regularly. The last reticulan ship I successfully got (grumble grumble stupid mechoids) gave me 2 plasma guns. I've also got mutant alliance files completed (I only needed to make 1), and decrypted data disks half finished, with 10 available for research. Hopefully that means the odds of getting good techs from data disks is pretty good.
Being able to rob all of the hostages means Jack has given me some decent prizes. The early electric lassos have gotten me several academy drones to dissassemble, although stun rods have also done their part there. The young uber kept me from a lot of research, so I should have tried a mutant pogram earlier (I think I finished 2 ratling/ghoul pograms), and the assassination trophy from the mage kept me from getting mutant alliance. I'm guessing some of the early-game slowness has been added intentionally (ratlings don't know apples, hoes don't know pimpcraft, you need 950k for personal labs, etc.).