Lexia found that being part of Animalia Ambassadoria isn't just about doing reports on certain events, but editing the footage afterwards. Mostly in deciding what should be kept and what should be cut out. Usually it's more for time restraints than any flubs. Lexia had seen Miles's initial coverage of Aeaea and she knew live reporting like that can have rather unexpected turns. Not necessarily bad, but it wasn't an option for her. She had spent a week waiting for the SS Joyous Bounty to arrive at Miene Atoll and be docked into its new cradle to be a semi-permanent residence for the people who actually live here full-time. And while she waited for her ship to come in, she had other things to cover.
There were still the main aquatic events for the IAC that were still yet to be held, as well as the Beach Bod competition. But at least Lexia had taken some time to interview some of the participants. She started rewatching one she was going to be editing later. This one featured a newcomer, the jaguar herm named Nio.
"So, Nio, I've heard you were a late entry for both the bodybuilding competition and the masked wrestling tournament," said Lexia, "I'm guessing you just narrowly managed to sign up for the Beach Bod competition as well."
"Yes, it was a pretty close shave," said Nio, "But I'm sure I made the qualifications."
"Any other events you've gotten into?" asked Lexia, "Are you part of the swimming competition too?"
"No, I've gotten into all that I can," said Nio.
"So, how are you feeling about the Beach Bod competition?" asked Lexia, "You know there will be a lot of other competitors."
"Oh...I'm-I'm sure it'll be...great..." Nio's smile seemed a lot more forced now and there was a noticeable nervous look in her eyes.
Lexia paused and spoke in a less official tone, "Nio, is something bothering you?"
"Uh, I'd rather not talk about it," said Nio.
"I think it might help," said Lexia, "Look, this can be completely off the record. I'll erase this part later."
Nio sighed and said, "I'm worried. I told my family that I'll be able to support myself as both a bodybuilder and a luchador. I thought with my bigger-than-average size, I would be a shoe-in. But I'm finding out that there are a lot bigger and better bodybuilders and luchadors out there than me. I'm hoping the Beach Bod competition would help people notice me more and get the interest of advertisers who'd like to use me in their commercials and ads. I don't want to tell my family that I won't be able to keep my promise."
"I don't think you'll be struggling to support yourself as much as you think," said Lexia, "I mean, look at me. I was nothing more than an ordinary parrot. I was mainly uplifted so I could give testimony against the poachers and smugglers who captured me and other animals. I started out with nothing and I'm doing ok now. So you might not be an instant success story, that doesn't mean you won't do better later. The reason the other competitors are doing better is because they've had the time to train. You've started a lot later and still need to catch up. Maybe this won't be your year, but there will be other competitions later. And you're not going to be starving until then. Animalia's provided for other newcomers until they've fully gotten on their feet. Including snakes and eels."
"Why would- Oh, because they don't have feet," said Nio, chuckling a little. Shi seemed more relieved. "I guess I've been expecting a little too much."
"It's understandable. You're still an impressive jaguar," said Lexia.
"This is all confidential, right?" asked Nio.
"Of course it is," said Lexia as she edited out that footage and moved it to the trashcan. Part of her wanted to keep it, but needed to respect Nio's privacy. She wasn't going to be like one of those horrible reporters who'd expose anyone's secrets just to get more publicity. She hoped Nio would do well with her competitions.
Then Lexia turned her attention to another big part of her coverage of Mieni Atoll. Namely the arrival of the SS Joyous Bounty. One of the advantages of being a parrot Animalian was that she was able to show the cruise ship's approach to the cradle where it will be spending most of the time as a residential area. But one of the disadvantages of flying was that the wind up high tended to be quiet noisy, not to mention the constant flapping of her wings. That's why she was recording a voiceover to go with the footage that could be clearly heard now.
Lexia cleared her throat before speaking into the microphone. "And here we see the SS Joyous Bounty coming into harbor. As popular as Mieni Atoll is, it's no wonder so many people want to stay here. The problem is that the islands themselves can only provide so much space for permanent residential areas. That's why this cruise ship, which has been so generously donated, is being set up to provide more living space here. Of course, this ship isn't going to set anchor for the last time. Once a year, this ship will sail to a dry dock for maintenance and cleaning. The residents will get to be tourists without technically leaving home."
That was a good start. She may need to rework it if she had gotten some facts wrong. And she'll be showing a tour inside the refitted ship. But there was still work to be done, other events to cover. Lexia was starting to realize what the term 'working vacation' really meant.