Keleres strategy vs Winnu

Hey y'all, I've got a game coming up in a few weeks where I'll be playing Council Keleres (with the Mentak start), with the rest of the table being Winnu, Argent Flight, Titans, Sol, and Saar. Winnu and I are neighbors and I'm wondering if there's a good strategy to dealing with them, since both factions are pretty Mecatol-focused but Winnu feels "better" at taking/holding it than Keleres.

For background, here's the map. Winnu is also starting Speaker with me picking second. This is our third game this year with the same group, so assume everyone knows what they're doing by now. What can I do to improve my chances of winning?

The way I see it, best case for me is Argent picks Sarween and Winnu picks DET so I can take both of them as starting techs. Then hopefully I can double tech into IIHQ Modernization and Gravity Drive to get to MR round 2 and have a better chance of holding it. Should I just give up hope of taking Mecatol first, or hope that I can snag Tech round 1? What are my other options? With that empty space outside the Winnu home planet I wonder if he's forced to take Warfare (especially if he picks DET for starting tech). If he takes tech I'm not even sure what I should do R1, which takes me back to my original question.

There's also the question of longer-term strategy. With the factions we have, I figure I'll be happy to get one or two points off Mecatol, including Custodians if all goes well. Otherwise with IIHQ Modernization I'm less bothered if someone else holds MR, and I can chase whatever other objectives are available. I understand the importance of the faction techs and a forward dock to take advantage of Agency Supply Network, but aside from that it might depend on my starting techs and the available objectives. Any tips are appreciated- thanks all!