It took him several minutes to arrive at the point where the object would enter the Earth’s atmosphere. He had a few extra minutes to spare. He activated the sensors and watched for it. He didn’t have to wait long.

It entered the atmosphere without burning up. It grew bigger as it approached the saucer. Jack guided the saucer to fly along the object’s path, wishing for more time to take readings. He had mere seconds since the object would outpace the saucer. The object split in two. One was still on its original heading. The other changed course to the southwest.