Send For Stingray! (short story)

Send For Stingray! was a cover story printed in Action 21 that contained elements from the Doctor Who universe. Framed as the front page of an in-universe periodical, the titular article made joint reference to three crossover comics, specifically Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons We Will Destroy Unity City, Stingrays Curse of the Crustavons and Fireball XL5's Assassins Escape!.

Summary
On the front page of Action 21, Kylie Walker proclaims that "the fate of the world" lies in the hands of Troy Tempest; sightings of a "lake-dwelling monster" are reported near the crash site of a Fireflash in South America, while Spectrum request assistance with finding and rescuing Captain Scarlet, currently a prisoner of the Mysterons beneath the South Pacific. However, Unity City is the source of the most urgent summons. Trailing the conspirators behind the assassination of the Kaplan, Colonel Steve Zodiac asks for help, meaning Troy Tempest is about to launch Stingray!

Meanwhile, bookdealers report record-breaking advance sales of Lady Penelope's autobiography, crediting its success to the extracts being published in Action 21.

Characters

 * Troy Tempest
 * Penelope Creighton-Ward
 * Captain Scarlet
 * Steve Zodiac
 * Kylie Walker

Worldbuilding

 * The Fireflash which has crashed in South America is flight W 06.
 * The Kaplan is the leader of the Astran race.

Story notes

 * Send For Stingray! acknowledged the especially high involvement of the titular ship in this issue of Action 21. In addition to the regular Stingray story Curse of the Crustavons, it made special crossover appearances in the Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons story We Will Destroy Unity City and On the Trail of the Kaplan's Killers..., which was Stingray's contribution to the Fireball XL5-based multi-series Space War arc.

Continuity

 * Captain Scarlet's imprisonment by the Mysterons was depicted in COMIC: We Will Destroy Unity City, where Scarlet was later taken to California by a Mysteron agent who had stolen Stingray.
 * The downing of the Fireflash was caused by the Crustavons while the "lake-dwelling monster" was their Lobot, as seen in COMIC: Curse of the Crustavons.
 * The Kaplan's assassination was shown in COMIC: Assassination!.
 * Steve Zodiac's pursuit of the Kaplan's assassins was documented in COMIC: Zodiac Makes An Arrest, COMIC: Army In House To House Search and COMIC: Assassins Escape!.
 * After their services were requested by Steve Zodiac, Marineville's launch of Stingray occurred in COMIC: On the Trail of the Kaplan's Killers....
 * The fact that Action 21 would be publishing extracts from Lady Penelope's autobiography was first announced in PROSE: 'Jinx Ship' Blasts Off For Mars.
 * Lady Penelope's autobiography is said to detail her life prior to becoming International Rescue's London agent, which happened in COMIC: The Vanishing Ray.