I've recently been working with the leaders of other factions (Azoreans, Iromakuanhe), setting up first contacts.
You see, we're thinking about, at a certain point in the future, running a plot focusing on us minor factions. This was meant especially to encourage new players, since the minor factions have next to no players if compared to Nepleslia or Yamatai... and this mostly because they have little or no active plots.
Freespacers are an exception, of course, since they can join Nepleslian plots freely, but... if, with each faction my itself, we don't have enough players for a plotship, and we don't have a plotship to get players to join... then, by making a plotship together, we can make it work!
Of course, right now it's in planning stage, both IC (first contacts are just being had) and OOC (we have only the basic idea outline right now).
Anyway, right now the Free State is having first contact with the Azoreans,
here.
They don't have advanced spacefaring technologies (or what passes for "advanced" in the Free State, given their "rugged low-tech" approach), but they have a lot of water.
How about being a tech ambassador for a while?
Go there, visit their place, teach them about some more advanced tech and make friends. Learn from each other's culture and all that. Consider it a temporary assignment (It's not permanent, certainly: the main purpose is to trade tech for water and make friends).
In the meanwhile, you'll have all the time to check other plotships to join, or wait for out joint minor-faction plotship to be written up, (hopefully) approved and launched! (and, since you're a gearhead, you might have your part in designing it and building it IC! We have too little designing and building of ships IC!)