Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is about characters in different books who should team up, which is …difficult for me given that fiction is less than a third of my reading. So, what I decided to do was give Bing a list of 20 characters and ask it to sort them into ten random pairs, and then I shall try to think of a story that would bring those characters together. This should be interesting, spanning so many potential settings and times. Character’s names will link to books they appeared in when applicable. But foist, the ol’ Tuesday Tease:

And then, with the space shuttle turned upside down, and with two large windows making up most of the cockpit’s ceiling, he floated into what felt like a bubble of Heaven. There, filling his eyes with a warm, soft light, was a panoramic view of earth, of white clouds and blue ocean, half of it bright with sun and half of it dark with night.

Out of Orbit

And now, randomness!

Richard Sharpe & Katniss Everdeen
Richard Sharpe is wearing the rifleman’s green, and sent with a unit to investigate a small band of terrorists causing problems. In due time Sharpe is ambushed by the freedom-fighter Katniss, but they have a mutual enemy in one of Sharpe’s superior officers, Simmerson. Recognizing one another as kindred spirits despite being on opposing side, Sharpe and Katniss find a solution that serves both: in a dastardly attack by Katniss and her allies, the Royal Army loses its beloved Colonel Simmerson and his lackies — I mean, aides de camp — but the ‘vigorous defense’ from Sharpe drives Katniss and the other terrorists out of the district, off to plague some other officer.

Uhtred of Bebbanburg and Arthur Morgan
Uhtred of Bebbanburg is on the verge of recapturing his family estate, Bebbanburg, when one of his many friends/allies/people-he-needs-to-make-happy requests his urgent assistance. Uhtred quickly realizes that one way to complete this latest distraction from his eternal quest is to enlist the help of a local outlaw, the blackguard Arthur Morgan. This is a tricky move, for Uhtred knows working with the notorious thief will make King Alfred’s council hate him all the more — and when, quest solved, the king sends an emissary to compel Uhtred to betray Arthur to royal justice, Uhtred instead allows Arthur to escape and once again bids goodbye to the chance for Alfred’s support in retaking his own home. Uhtred is, if nothing else, a man of honor.

Marcus Yallow and Ellie Arroway. Dr. Ellie Arroway has discovered definitive proof of extraterrestial life, but has seen her research squelched by the oppressive government — until it’s unwittingly exposed by social activist/hacker Marcus Yallow, trying to destroy the government’s ability to hoover up everyone’s data. When the truth starts coming to light, Ellie abandons her reserve to convince the public that First Contact has been made, and that the government should devote its resources to exploring the possibility of exploring space instead of building a creepy techno-dystopia.

James Crowley and Idgie Threadgoode. Crowley, Black Badge, dedicated destroyer of supernatural terrors like werewolves and vampires, is seeking the devil in Dixie. Or at least, one of of the devil’s minions, Frank Bennett — who can seduce with his charming words and then turn on those around him. Though alone save for his faithful horse, Timp, Crowley finds an unexpected ally in Idgie Threadgoode, a woman with the mysterious ability to charm bees — and who is already on Frank Bennett’s bad side for urging his wife Ruth to flee the abusive relationship. Together, James, Idgie, and Ruth will drive Bennett back to the abyss from which he came.

Ove and Hermione
When Deatheaters begin taking over a small English town, Swedish expat Ove is first to notice. Faithfully making his morning rounds to ensure all is in order — no recycables in the trash bin, no cars parked on the street — Ove can’t help but notice there are strange people in robes graffiting the streets with arcane symbols. He can’t kill himself while there are such sorts as THESE around in the neighborhood. Fortunately, an intelligent and helpful young woman has just showed up. Together the young witch and the curmudgeonly widower will destroy the Deatheaters’ latest scheme.

Thomas Trumbull and Dagny Taggert. Thomas Trumbull has deep connections to the US government, particularly its departments of intelligence and defense. DC’s latest plans keep being forcefully opposed by a railroad woman, Dagny Taggert, and thinking she’s the reasonable sort Trumbull invites her to dinner with him and the Black Widowers in New York. Scotch and soda followed by a dinner will lead to good conversation and convince Dagny of the error of her ways, surely. Dagny, knowing the Black Widowers’ penchant for mysteries, proposes one to the club — and as they winnow it out, Trumbull realizes to his horror that Dagny is using it to convince him that DC’s policies are not only misguided, but absolutely evil. Ending the night thoroughly shaken, Trumbull will never sleep peacefully again until he answers the question…Who Is John Galt?

Bertie Wooster and T’Pyrnn. When Vulcan spymaster T’Pyrnn’s best agent, Jeeves, is kidnapped, she is forced to put up with his ‘boss’, Bertie Wooster, the man he serves while maintaining his butler undercover identity. Though at first Bertie’s silliness and schemes distract and hamper T’Pyrnn from her serious work of keeping tabs on the Klingons and Tholians, she suddenly realizes that Bertie can be weaponized. Sending him to the Klingons as an ambassador, Bertie soon has the Klingons so mystified and confused that T’Prynn is able to steal a march and inflict great sabotage on the Empire’s dreams of expansion.

Mark Watney and Susan Calvin. Mark Watney is dispatched to Mars to investigate an issue with US Robotics’ operation on the red planet, but things go disasterously wrong and soon Earth is willing to abandon Mars to the mutinous robots, hit it with an EMP, and write Mark off for dead. Susan Calvin becomes his only defender — not because she cares about Mark, but because she recognizes his innovative talents and sheer stubborness are the only hope she has of saving US Robotics.

Ro Laren and Benjamin Weaver. Captain Ro Laren, Commander of Deep Space Nine, inexplicably wakes up to find herself in 17th century England. A fish out of water, she stumbles into trouble almost immediately, but attracts the attention of the mysterious thieftaker/private detective/bounty hunter Benjamin Weaver, who realizes she is not guilty of the crimes she’s accused of, but is nevertheless definitely lying about who she is. Taking a chance, Ro Laren tells Weaver that she’s from the future, and together they work to discover who is truly guilty of the crime she’s been sentenced to death for, and expose them to the public. Then all disappears, and Laren discovers that her chief medical officer had decided she was overworking herself, and had her transported to the holosuites during her sleep with an active program running.

Risika and T’Ressa Chen. Risika is a creature of the night, a vampire who was turned against her will centuries ago. She has fought against the worst tendencies of her kind and roamed the Earth far and wide. One night deep into the 24th century, she witnesses a young Starfleet officer attacked by her old arch-enemy, Aubrey, the evil vampire who destroyed her family and forcefully vampirized her. Intervening at great cost to herself, Risika is then nursed back to health by the very officer whose life she saved, T’Ressa Chen, and together they try to find and finally destroy the ancient adversary.