Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net OPERATION BOOMERANG BY GEORGE REVELLE _There are all kinds of heroes. And the irony of it all lies in the fact that the bravest are those who are unknown and unsung._ [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, April 1957. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] Wade Boeman let his eyes wander up the hull of the huge silver ship. He thought; _if only Tomer were here now!_ He caught himself and quickly erased the thought before he remembered more ... things that were better left alone, hidden behind the thin veil he had created in his mind. The quick blink of a signal light from the tower caught the corner of his eye. H-hour minus fifteen minutes. The ground crews had cleared the area. He hadn't noticed. He turned to the huge, blond man standing beside him. "Well, Allen. This is it. I've checked everything myself. You should have no trouble. Be sure and strap yourself in tightly and don't forget to check the gyro. Its the only thing we can't double check from the tower." "You're all through instructing now, _teacher_," the blond man said. "I can take it from here. And I can't say I'm sorry." Wade wanted to say then all the little things that had been building up within him during the past long months. He bit back the words. It took much effort. He said: "Good luck, Captain. I really mean it." Allen gave him a tight smile. "Drop dead, Colonel." Wade dropped his outstretched hand as the big man ignored him. Ackerson turned his back and began to climb the metal rungs leading up the hull of the ship. Tomer, Wade thought. If only it could be Tomer instead of Ackerson. He waited until the blond man entered the hatch before he climbed into the jeep. He glanced once more at the silver hull of the _Starfrost_, then he jammed down on the accelerator. Hate was a word Wade seldom used. There was too much of it in the world already. But he was beginning to hate Ackerson. He parked the jeep beside the concrete and steel structure housing Operations. The instant his hand touched the door handle he tried to cease being Wade Boeman the man. He tried to become Colonel Wadon G. Boeman, senior officer in charge of 'Operation Boomerang,' with no personal feelings. It didn't come off fully. The four walls were lined with banks of instruments. Small lights flickered and died, only to come alive again the next instant. A man coughed. He nodded at a communications man, a civilian, as he hurried to the small table where the television set was resting. The closed circuit showed the _Starfrost_ resting alone on the sand with her nose pointed toward the sky.