Space Adventures #44

Commander Berger Ross of the Space Patrol answers a distress call across the cosmos, only to discover the attacked ship belongs to Lura, an astronomist from the distant planet Ketos—and her people have been watching Earth for centuries with plans of their own. When Ross boards her vessel to offer aid, he finds himself caught between duty to his crew and an unexpected connection with this woman from another galaxy. As communication unfolds, hidden intentions begin to surface, and Ross must decide what truly matters in this first contact scenario.

For centuries, Earth and Centuria have waged a devastating war across the galaxy, each side knowing nothing of what the other looks like—until Captain Corey and Beck encounter an unexpected third faction that forces a shocking revelation. When a hideous alien vessel attacks a crippled Centurian ship, the Earth crew must choose between a convenient alliance and the truth they've just discovered about their supposed enemy.

Jim Hurley dreams of becoming a roller skating champion, but his constant falls on the rink keep that dream just out of reach—until his girlfriend Diana and her friend Helen cook up an elaborate scheme to convince him he's found the perfect pair of magic skates. When Jim takes the bait and hits the competition with newfound confidence, he finally gets his shot at the title, but the real magic might just be something else entirely.

A being of liquid mercury from a devastated world arrives on Earth with a desperate mission: to prevent humanity from repeating the catastrophic wars that destroyed his own planet. When the Mercury Man makes telepathic contact with Dr. Erika Penn in Washington, he learns of an increasingly unstable Russian dictator stockpiling intercontinental missiles, and decides to take matters into his own hands. As he tears across the globe dismantling weapons of war, the Mercury Man discovers that Earth's capacity for destruction may run far deeper than even he anticipated.