Marineville Ablaze (short story)

Marineville Ablaze was a short story printed in TV Century 21 that contained elements from the Doctor Who universe. Framed as the front page of an in-universe periodical, the titular article detailed events relating to a Stingray story while other articles mentioned Unity City, a location first introduced in The Daleks comic story Duel of the Daleks.

Summary
Black smoke hangs over Marineville as the oil tanks to the west of its control building roar with flames. Every few seconds the air is struck by more explosions as the fire continues to dig deeper into the fuel stores. Fire engines from WASP centre and the nearby World Army Air Force base rush to the scene while WASP jets move towards Titan's closing invasion fleet in the Pacific Ocean. The sound of rockets fill the sky as the fighters blast the water with their Shark missiles. The Marineville Tower retreats down into its underground shelter and at the same time two Hydronic missiles are moved into their firing gantries.

Elsewhere, the monorail from Paris to Milan is disrupted when a train derails in the French Alps, causing seventeen of the twenty-two carriages to be smashed beyond repair but no loss of life. In its aftermath, engineers theorise that a landslide may have fractured the rail while others speculate that an obstruction was on the line and local Spectrum agents refuse to rule out sabotage as an explanation. With the line blocked and rail communication between France and Italy sure to be disrupted for more than twenty-four hours, Unity City detectives begin to investigate the disaster.

Meanwhile, various heads of state meet at the Supreme Headquarters Earth Forces to discuss the three dangers of top priority currently faced by the Earth. Of such a magnitude that any one of them could keep the major part of the World defences busy at any one time, TV 21's military expert deems the Mysterons to be the greatest threat, followed by the Solar Monster and Titan. The expert also states their belief that the leaders must solve these problems quickly or else face a civilisation battered beyond repair.

In London, three men await their appearances at the Old Bailey to answer the charges of attempting to steal money to the tune of five million pounds, posing as captains of Spectrum, and using false identities to get access to the Bank of Britain's vaults. Bank employee and brother of Spectrum's Captain Scarlet Ronald Metcalfe tells TV 21 how he foiled the robbery before the trial begins. Ronald explains that he sounded the alarm after overhearing the men announcing themselves to the bank manager, one claiming to be Captain Grey and another Captain Magenta. He further elaborates that his brother Paul, better known as Captain Scarlet, had visited him with Grey and Magenta several times, immediately exposing the men as frauds.

Also in London, Cory Finance of London Wall agree to make a reduction on any new agreements with the Government in the construction of a new London Car Vue. However, the London Labour Force chairman Martin Leiberman quickly comes out in opposition to the idea, saying "Any new contracts, and the building of a new Car Vue would be a complete waste of the taxpayer's money!". Countering that point, Lesley Kellett claims the first Car Vue was a great tourist attraction and puts forward their belief that, with the LLF going ahead with their plans to rebuild all of London's riverside, a new Car Vue would positively thrust Britain into the fore as a holiday centre, thus justifying its cost.

In White City, a rugby match between Great Britain and Australia begins in perfect conditions. The action is fast and furious right from the first scrum, swinging from one end to the other. Watson of Australia achieves a perfect break, drawing the British defence clear for a cross-kick which is successfully touched down by Allan, beginning the scoring. The British forwards then breach Australia's defence allowing Pyne to score his team's first try under the posts, making the score five all after ten minutes of play. The lead changes hands again no less than five times before the final whistle is blown, with Britain the final victors 18-15 in a match which both critics and enthusiasts alike promptly hail as one of the most exciting spectacles in rugby's history.

Finally, in other sporting matters: the Alston v. Heralden replay match is fixed for 16 December with Donaghue and Simpson stepping in as replacement left wing and right back respectively; the European TeleVision staff hover-polo team beats the All-Stars 6-4 at a charity match in the new London Stadium; world record holder Greg Loeman announces his plans to retire from professional swimming at the end of the year; and the entrants for the Universal Grand Prix, set to be held at the Silver Wheel Circuit in Ohio, are elected.

Characters

 * Ronald Metcalfe
 * Martin Leiberman
 * Lesley Kellett
 * Greg Loeman
 * Watson
 * Allan
 * Pyne
 * Donaghue
 * Simpson
 * Military expert

Worldbuilding

 * TV 21 describes the "War" at Marineville, which WASP has "got to" win, as the "final and long expected showdown" between the World Aquanaut Security Patrol led by Commander Shore and Titan and his Aquaphibians.
 * Earth would be at the mercy of the Mysterons in a conventional rocket ship attack if Spectrum's chain of observatories fell.
 * Everyone in Unity City has been "chilled" by the news that the Solar Monster is on the loose in South America.
 * World President T.J. Younger has expressed confidence in International Rescue's ability to successfully contain the Solar Monster.
 * The impostors claiming to be members of Spectrum were arrested by the bank's security police following a brief struggle in which shots were fired but no-one was hurt. Their trial is expected to be brief.
 * Great Britain have been playing Australia at rugby for "well over" a hundred years.
 * Th charity hover-polo match is sponsored by ETV, following the previous month's challenge by Jimmy Whiteburn of the All-Stars.
 * The Universal Grand Prix entrants who have their names available for election are John Strathmore of Britain, Elgy Karso of Krata, Ivan Lee of Kahra, and Joseph Peele of Australia.

Story notes

 * This story is another crossover with Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

Continuity

 * The Mysterons are currently engaged upon an attack on Spectrum's Observation defence chain. The organisation has their "best men" on the case. (PROSE: Mysterons Strike First)
 * In himself, Titan is an "old problem" to Earth's defence organisations. (COMIC: Power Play, Titan Declares! et al.)
 * Titan has a new freezeray gun, making him a force to be reckoned with. (PROSE: Mysterons Strike First)
 * The original London Car Vue was destroyed in a battle between Spectrum and the Mysterons. The mysteronised Captain Scarlet fell to his death in said battle but was subsequently revived and brought back under Spectrum's control. (COMIC: We Will Destroy Unity City, PROSE: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Scarlet Kidnapped!)
 * Cory Finance eventually started work on a new Car Vue on 19 April 2069 and it was officially opened by later that year. (PROSE: January to June, Thunderbirds Film for Sale!)
 * Left wing Cooper and right back Grant were suspended from Heralden for foul play during the aborted match against Alston, necessitating their replacement. (PROSE: Mysterons Strike First)