Dateline to Deadline (short story)

Dateline to Deadline was the ninth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Christmas Around the World. It was written by Ian Farrington. It featured the Third Doctor.

Summary
Ben Anderson is a travel writer sailing around the world on the Neptune. He spends much of his time with the crew, especially engineer Vincent.

One day during a meal Ben is surprised to learn from the crew that, due to the ship crossing the International Date Line on Christmas Eve, they will miss Christmas day, which is fine with Ben as he doesn't like Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, the engines are sabotaged and Vincent is found murdered. A man named the Doctor arrives on board (Ben presumes he arrived by helicopter). The Doctor inspects the engines and takes Ben into his confidence. He repairs the engines, then confronts Captain Hatcher and Terry, who, he informs Ben, are aliens. They intended to strand the ship in the middle of the ocean on Christmas day, hoping they wouldn't attract attention, while they waited for their ship to arrive. The Doctor takes them into custody, and Ben helps the crew with their duties. The Doctor wishes Ben a "Merry Christmas", but Ben doesn't see him leave.

Characters

 * Third Doctor
 * Ben Anderson
 * Captain Hatcher
 * Vincent
 * Terry

Worldbuilding

 * Vincent and Ben argue over whether Italy or the USSR played West Germany in the European Championship.
 * The Neptune is a cargo ship. It is sailing around the world from California to Tokyo, South Korea, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Suez Canal, Halifax, New York and Panama.
 * Ben only brought three cassettes of music for his Walkman: one Neil Young tape and two Beatles tapes. He is particularly tired of Young's song "My My, Hey Hey".
 * Ben compares Vincent to Charlie Sheen in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
 * Terry compares their voyage to Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days.
 * Ben uses a Dictaphone to record the notes for his book.
 * Ben's first book is Abiding Timetables and Avoiding Tourists.
 * The Doctor mentions a Christmas party at UNIT HQ.
 * Ben sailed on the Diamond.

Continuity
to be added