"Roger, 442. We show no transponders or primary targets in that area. Keep us advised."
She pressed the lens against the glass to eliminate the reflection of the cockpit lights. On the small screen, the object became terrifyingly clear. It wasn't a formation of separate crafts. As they passed near a thin layer of cirrus clouds illuminated by the moon, the silhouette became visible.
The hum of the Boeing 787’s Rolls-Royce engines was a steady, comforting vibration through the soles of Captain Elias Thorne’s shoes. At 37,000 feet over the North Atlantic, the world was reduced to endless gradients of indigo and the soft, amber glow of the flight deck instruments. It was 2:40 AM. Most of the 280 passengers behind the cockpit door were asleep, chasing time zones on their way from London to New York. 2022---A--V--shaped-object-filmed-by-the-crew-of-an-airliner
"We have visual on a cluster of lights, looks like a V-formation, high off our left side," Elias replied, his voice measured and professional.
Maya didn't wait. She reached into her flight bag and pulled out her company-issued iPad, flipping on the camera. "I'm going to record this. Nobody is going to believe us." "Roger, 442
The V-shaped craft didn't accelerate in the way a physical mass should. There was no slow build of speed. It simply shifted. In the span of a single frame on Maya's video recording, the object shrank to a pinpoint on the horizon and vanished into the upper atmosphere, leaving no trail, no sonic boom, and no trace of its existence.
To the left of the nose, about twenty degrees off their heading and slightly high, a cluster of lights appeared. "Maya, you see that traffic at ten o'clock?" Elias asked. On the small screen, the object became terrifyingly clear
"Too low for satellites. And they're holding formation relative to us," Elias noted. He keyed his microphone, switching to the oceanic frequency. "Gander Center, this is Global 442. Do you have any reported traffic in our vicinity, flight level 370 or above?"