Jasper’s physically incapable of drowning, but with the fuss she’s kicking up right now that might be hard to believe. One of the planet’s natives has her by the wrist, too close to the water, and her enraged bellowing can be heard for a long way around. She slams the first of the lake denizens against the ground hard enough to make them go limp, but there are more of them, wrapping their clammy hands around her thick arms, and she’s bigger and stronger than they are individually but she can’t fight the overwhelming, irrational panic rising inside her so easily.

“Get your hands off me!” she snarls, trying and almost succeeding in keeping the fear out of her voice. This is what she gets for being so certain she’s equipped to explore this planet solo: her literal worst nightmare.