Ferry Station Lost in Space (short story)

Ferry Station Lost in Space was a Dateline 2066 short story printed in TV Century 21 that contained elements from the Doctor Who universe.

Notably, Unity City, a location introduced in The Daleks comic story Duel of the Daleks, reappeared here.

Summary
As mystery diasters continue to sweep across the face of the Earth, the world population learns that one of the nine ferry stations orbiting the planet has vanished. After H6 fails to report at 0700 hours, a World Space Patrol investigation craft is launched to find the cause of its silence. The craft fails to locate any trace of H6 within an hour, resulting in the World Government escalating their efforts to an out-and-out search involving over twenty other craft. However, this also proves fruitless. Meanwhile, havoc and chaos soon ensues as the daily traffic which normally uses H6 builds up. The backlog is promptly cleared with normal services resuming when the substitute station G3 is sent up as a replacement. More search craft are later ordered to scour the solar system in search of H6 but the questions of how and why it left its static position in orbit remain on the minds of the populace.

In Unity City, the World Government headquarters announce that the Earth Space Empire Governing Senate is to have its final session before the November elections on a date still to be fixed. Invitations are sent to the governing senators from the eight major planets within the Earth Space Empire.

Worldbuilding

 * H6 deals with over fifty spaceships a day and also acts as a fuelling depot for larger space freighters.

Story notes

 * By referencing the World Space Patrol, this story was also a crossover with Fireball XL5.

Continuity

 * This would be the last meeting of the Earth Space Empire Governing Senate presided over by World President Nikita Bandranaik because T.J. Younger was chosen as his successor in the 2066 November elections. (PROSE: Solar Streak A.O.K., Information Service)