Three Steps to the Left (short story)

 was a short story in the Brief Encounter range in Doctor Who Magazine. It was a pseudo-historical story that revolved around the actual historical event of Skylab's unceremonious 1979 return to Earth.

Summary
Paul Forbes is in trouble. Rather stupidly, he's chosen to drive across the Gibson Desert on an ill-advised summer trip between Darwin and Alice Springs. His Landrover doesn't like it. After it overheats near Barrow Creek, he's forced to stop in the blazing sun in the hopes that his engine will somehow cool down. In the distance, what he assumes to be a mirage forms before his eyes. Why, though, is it in the form of a British police box? A man pops out of the box and asks him to move three steps to the left. A baffled Forbes complies — just in time to avoid being struck by a chunk of falling Skylab. The man with the police box pops back inside, muttering something about a person named Ace, who hates it when he does this sort of thing — because she thinks he's just showing off.

Characters

 * Seventh Doctor
 * Paul Forbes
 * Ace (implied to be in the TARDIS)

Continuity

 * The Doctor is specifically said to be wearing his dark coat and carrying a red-handled umbrella.