Wait, I just watched the whale movie Voyage Home and I just realized why I kept thinking that the whales were aliens.
In the second holo movie Crisis Point ep where Tendi was heading the fake mission, the Romulons were trying to stop the Federation from welcoming alien Octopuses to Starfleet or something by traveling to the past.
I knew that Voyage Home had whales and assumed that Lower Decks Crisis Point was parodying the movie but replacing alien whales with alien octopuses.
(Can't find a clip with the octopus shown)
So I kinda assumed, before finally watching Voyage Home, that it was going to be about alien whales joining the Federation. Or something.
Haha, I can just laugh at myself, hehe.
Edit - found the octopus clip. Huh, the Crisis Point plot was kidnapping an octopus ancestor. Guess I forgot about that and just remembered octopus stuff.
Another thing but... Tendi realized she wanted to be a Captain in the holo... and she achieved her dream! She was captain of the Orion ship with a crew of three lady pirates. It's not the same as being captain of a Starfleet vessel out to explore new worlds but successfully commanding a ship is a big deal and something to note on her skill set when she's gunning for a promotion.