Note, I am uploading these chapters quickly for a reason... I will add chapter 5 tomorrow, so that means 3 chapters in a period of less than 2 days. Wow.

I'm "cleaning out" the chapters for this story, and uploading all of what I've got so far.

Why?

I am going to focus on "Forgive Thy Enemy" now, and another upcoming project. If you like Fantasy and Adventure, my next Balto story will be one that you can't wait for.

1957

It's been about two hours now; the Pacific Ocean was closing at fast speeds, and as Far East as I could see, the tip of America, California. I tried to get up and move closer, but something was wrong, my paws didn't move me, instead , they just swept nothing and I fell on my face, or did I? I was falling, but very slowly, and a split second later, when my instincts caught on, I threw my front paws down before me, to lessen the impact. But I wasn't falling, instead my paws pushed the ground, and it sent me rushing up towards the curling of the cabin.

"Wow, so this is weightlessness." I thought as I gently bumped into the ceiling. My harness, and the instruments that were strapped onto my body, were not supposed to come off, but I didn't care. I was going to die on this mission, and I was going to at least enjoy my last few hours. I tore apart the single restraint that crossed my chest, and snapped a few wires on accident.

"Uh-oh" I thought. I didn't want to disable the vest, I meant to put it back on eventually, but now the lights tried off in it.

I could hear voices on my radio piece, and sighed, happily that it was still functional. I barked into it, knowing they could not hear me, that it was a one-way speaker. But to my surprise, I heard cheers, and a voice confirming that I was alive to a crowd, that once again cheered. I figured they probably had a hidden microphone or camera in here somewhere.

I smiled, so many people depended on this mission, I remembered why I was here in the first place, Laika would not want me to mess this up, if I was going down, I would at least do the mission right.

1956, troubled lady.

All three of us walked off the boat and headed over to Laika's house. She'd want us to be there to see her off, for she knew that it might have been the last time.

"Hey Kodi, forget about what I said earlier, call me dad, and call uncle Boris, uh, uncle Boris. Call us that as much as you can in front of your mother, she loves it. I will call you son, son."

"Haha, no problem dad." Kodi said with a smile.

"I can see the beacon of happiness on her face, knowing that you might have a father to grow up with after-all."

"I do, you're my dad, not that scumbag Yakov."

"Hey, he might be a deadbeat, but after all... Oh who am I kidding, he is a scumbag."

"He walked out on us, walked out on my mom. As far as I'm concerned, you're my papa, I love you the same."

"Good kiddo. Laika would have happy thoughts in her head while she's off training."

"Speaking of father, I want you to call me dad too, Balto." Boris said from the left, when I looked to him he smiled and started laughing.

"Yeah sure, dad" I said.

We walked around the last set of buildings, and something caught us by surprise, the car was already gone...

"No, they left already? It can't be!" I said, and ran off in front of Kodi and Boris. I scratched at the door crazily, and finally Katja answered, and only let me in, but closed the door and returned to the couch. I sniffed the air to get my answer, Laika and Fredriks' scents were absent.

"Balto, come here boy." Katja said from the living room. Her voice made my heart drop; she was sad, and crying. I lowered my head and walked over to her, expecting a pet or scratch on the head, instead she fell to the floor and hugged me tight. She was broken down, and I licked her head - not being able to lick anywhere else since she was holding me so tight - to comfort her.

This was new to me, when she held me; I felt new emotions and instincts. I felt like I belonged here and that Katja was now part of my pack. I would protect her from any and all dangers. "What the heck am I thinking?" I thought I was going crazy. She held her arms around my neck for a few more seconds, before finally speaking.

"Oh, Balto. I'm so sorry you had to live out in the cold all these years, you can stay here forever." When she said that, I was both happy, and sad, because I knew why she wanted me here so bad.

She knew Laika might not come back.

I licked her head again to show that I understood, and she released me and returned to the couch and flipped through the channels on the picture box. What an odd machine, it makes such terrible noises. I wondered I the humans could hear the piercingly high-pitched spam sound that it emitted (They could not). She stayed quiet for a while, not looking at me, so I laid down and my paws for a bit, figured I'd leave when she stopped crying. About five minutes passed, and before I started to fall asleep, she finally spoke, after clearing her nose. Her voice was finally normal, gentle feminine voice, and calm as ever.

"I'm sorry, I am just sad to see Laika off. When she left, I felt like my only child was leaving off to college forever." She explained. Not caring that it was a dog she was talking to, but I showed her that I understood, and walked over and placed my head on the couch beside her.

"You can come here anytime you want, I'll make sure you never go hungry or cold again. But you don't have I stay locked up here if you don't want to." She said as she rubbed my head.

I finally had a home of some type, though I wouldn't leave the boat, I'd just come over to visit, and take her up on offers of food sometimes.

I was sad about Laika too, so I yipped quietly to signal that I was leaving, and walked over to the stairs. I looked at her one more time, and saw that she watched me walk to the stairs, knowing that I was going to Laika's old room. She shook her head to prevent more crying, and returned to watching the noisy box.

I walked up stairs, and pushed the door open. An empty room was all I got, it still had her smell, and it was still fresh. She was here just an hour ago. I didn't know why, but I pulled my head back, and let out a loud howl. It sounded sad, like I had just lost a member of my pack, and then mentally scolded myself for letting my wolven instincts take control of me again. I tried to cut it off, but only could once the door bursted open. I starred at Katja, embarrassed; it must have been loud, since I just howled inside her home... She looked at me and I saw tears return. I expected her to remember that I was a wolf, and kick me out, but instead she pat me again and walked around the room.

"You miss her too boy, I know." She hid her tears well

"That was beautiful by the way, I have never heard a wolf howl before, and stupid me just realized that you were half wolf. I knew Laika had wolf in her, but she never howled even once." She said.

I picked up Laika's blanket and brought it over to her.

"Ah, this was actually a gift, a baby shirt that was given to me for my baby shower two years ago." I frowned right away, as I put all the pieces together. This lady was strong; she should be crying her eyes out, because I was on the verge myself. I knew exactly what happened. And she explained it to me, seemingly noticing my change in behavior I a sadder one.

"Yeah, two years ago me as Fredrik were happy, I was six months pregnant with our first child, and my friends and family threw together a big baby shower for us. We got many gifts, but two weeks later..." She paused, and I responded by licking her hand to continue.

"Well, it was bad news of course." She said unexpectedly. She had obviously gotten over it long ago, and could probably joke about it now. What terrible thoughts I was having...

"It was a miscarriage, and then the doctor told me that I was unable to have kids of my own." She seemed relieved to tell someone, even I that someone was a dog.

I could only do what I did best, and lick her again to comfort her.

"You're a good dog Balto; Fredrik always saw that in you. We talked about you once, when we first got Laika, and how you two were actually related. The soviets took her from this very town and unknowingly to us; you were the long lost uncle of the stray that we kept." She said as she scratched my ears.

She stopped and sat in the chair at the corner if the room, reading something, it looked like important papers, it was in English, and from what Boris taught me to read, I think I was old adoption papers for Laika.

I walked around a bit, exploring the rather large room that they seemed to dedicate to their dog. I pulled a toy out from under a pile of old clothes the was now used as a place for Laika to rest, and Katja turned to watch me as I placed the toy gently down in Laika's bed. Only when I took in more if the room, did I finally noticed the wallpaper, it was a colorful -well colorful to a dog, who could only see shades of red and green - and had funny looking cute characters drawn onto them. They looked like it was from a TV show aimed at babies and toddlers. I looked to the corner and noticed what I thought was just a table, was actually an old crib that they used now to hang clothes on. It made me sad, as I knew this room must have been dedicated to their child, if it ever made it to life. I whimpered in sorrow when I sniffed the crib.

"Yep, you've got it. This room was supposed to be a nursery for my child. We bought a bigger house when I found out I was pregnant, poor Fredrik took up a second job just to save up for the down payment. Hah, he has no problem paying ten times the bills now." She said, but it didn't even use any hint of sadness. I, on the other hand, felt terrible for her. I don't know how I would react if I prepared this much for my child, only to be told that the child would never be born.

"In going back down, my show is coming on. You be good in here now, Balto." She said, and then pat me on the head before slipping out the door and downstairs quickly. This room was a bit depressing, not only was it designated for a lost human child, it was again, designated for a lost dog, whom to Katja, was her child.

1957, breed for the cold, not like this.

I had fun jumping from wall to wall in my tiny 5 by 5 by 10 foot cabin. Then I stopped at the window, grabbing onto a metal handle with my teeth. When I stopped moving, I took in the scene before me. It was America, full and true, I could see from New York to California, all from this very window. Half of the country was night now, as the sun was faded from a low light in California, to pitch black darkness around the Midwest of the country. I looked over at New York area, and what I saw was not pitch black, all of the north-eastern seaboard was lighted with billions if sparkling lights from the many miles of street lights that connected the major cities in the area. All of America dark, except for the lights that makes out cities and highways connecting them. It was amazing, I've always wanted to visit America, and here I am, seeing the entire country before me as I floated 150 miles above it. I sighed in relief, finally calm in this capsule in space. My heartbeat and blood pressure was normal now, but the people on the ground would not know it, since I destroyed the instruments that were meant to report it.

"Sucks for them." I thought, I knew what this mission was for, and soon the main event of it would occur.

When I exhaled, I saw it condense into liquid and it was like back home, when the temperature went below 30 degree, which - for northern Siberia - was almost year-round. I started shivering, for a dog that had both wolf and husky genes, it was really starting to get cold in here. I looked at the thermal control part of the cabin, next to the fan, and saw that it was reading a temperature of -3 degree Celsius.

"24 degrees Fahrenheit" I thought to myself. Boris raised me on America's measurements, but also taught me how to convert Russia's into standard units. Once again I thanked him for that. After looking outside for just ten seconds, I looked back at the thermometer; it read -7 C now. It was getting cold, and fast. The sun was gone from the sky, so I figured the deathly cold from outside was seeping into my cabin.

"Oh crap." I said. I barked into my radio piece, figuring that they might have heard me, but then remembered that I was almost in the other side of the world from my homeland.

"What will I do once the temperature gets lower?" I thought. The temperature now, was nothing. I've braced -70 F before in my hometown, and slept just fine under a thin blanket, which froze almost solid by morning. I looked around, seeing what I could change, any levers I could flip, buttons I could press, not much. I was not trained to do anything but sit here and be monitored. Ha. As if I would stand by and do nothing. I pushed off the window and soared to the other side, it was much warmer here, odd. I found the source of the heat; it was coming from a pipe that almost burned my paw when I felt it. I huddled close to this pipe, as the thermometer across the cabin was nearing -30 c now... It was getting cold fast.

1956, late night howl.

I woke up in Laika's bed, and barely remembered that I had fallen asleep here. I thought about Kodi and Boris waiting for me outside, and figured that they returned to the boat b now. I looked outside the window, the sky was dark. I got up, and walked around the darkened room, and made out the figure of a clock on the table beside the window. Boris taught me how to tell the time, and that there were 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds in a minute. I counted the lines that the hands passed, and after a while, made of oh to be around 2 am.

"I shouldn't have fallen asleep so early. . ." I thought. I looked around, and found a stable place to jump on, i wanted to look outside and maybe see if Kodi and Boris were at my boat. I figured that there was only one way up; it was the same table with the clock on it. I briskly jumped up and tried my hardest not to fall. I didn't make that much noise, until I knocked over Laika's old metal bowl. It fell to the hardwood ground with a loud noise. Then I heard Katja get up in the next room. "Crap" I said. After I broke out of being frozen, I turned to jump, but the door opened and Katja walked in and saw me on the table.

"Balto, what are you doing up there? Nothing for you to hunt in here." She said with a chuckle.

"You must be hungry for a late night snack. I'll get you something. She walked over and picked up Laika's bowl, and pulled out a bag of dog food from the cabinet below. Over the last few months, I've gotten used to eating dog food. I knew it wasn't healthy for a wolf to eat such low protein content food that was meant for dogs, who didn't need the extra nutrients, so I still ate a nice amount of meat at least once every week. She poured me a big bowl and put it in front of me, still standing on the table. She didn't seem to mind.

"Eat up now; you look like skin and bones!" She said, and I noticed the motherly tone in her voice. It made me comfortable, but at the same time, filled me with sorrow that it wasn't her child she was talking to. I finished the food quickly, but I knew about humans and their manners, so I ate as neatly as possible. She walked over now, and opened the window that I wanted to look out of. Cool Siberian air filled the room quickly, but I didn't bother either of us. She pulled something out of her pocket, a cigarette and lit it. Sun a terrible smell, I was at a loss for why humans wanted to breathe in such disgusting chemicals. I could smell everything that was in the smoke, and none of it was good for you. I ignored it, and walked over to the window will from the table and sat by her. There, the town was asleep, and off into the distance I could see my boat. I couldn't see Boris or Kodi, so I walked a bit forward and sampled the air.

"What amazing creatures you are. I bet you could smell my husband and Laika miles away by now."

We both knew I couldn't smell that far away, but I acted like I tried it, for her sake.

"Haha, Balto. No way you could pick them up this far." She said with a laugh, and scratched me on my head. I barked, seemingly arguing with her, and she just continued smiling.

"Balto look outside, it's a full moon." She said, and I knew what she was hinting at.

"Howl for me Balto. Stick your head outside and not give a damn what anyone else thinks." She added.

I liked this lady's attitude, but there were people sleeping, resting for the day tomorrow. I took a second to listen, but the town was actually not silent, there was a big party somewhere across town, and in-between, I could hear people outside, enjoying themselves, some BBQ'ing, some just drinking and enjoying company of friends and family.

"Well, if I won't be bothering people too much." I thought, as I looked to her. It was almost like she read what I just thought.

"Then do it!" She said excitedly.

I smiled to let her know that I will do as she asked. After all, I wanted to howl at the moon as much as she wanted me too. I walked over to the edge of the table, and carefully crossed the small gap, and sat at the window edge, half of my body would not be where it was if the window was not open, as it was built somewhat at an angle. I could look straight up, and saw that the moon was not all that light up the night sky. The northern lights were there, dancing, bright and vibrant as ever. It was beautiful, as many times as I've seen them over the years, it never ceases to amaze me. Katja balanced her head on her arms, with elbows supported on the window platform next to me. She looked at me, as I waiting for something. "Eh, why not." I thought.

I took a deep breath, and pointed my nose high in the air, and let loose.

I let out a long and powerful howl, one that would reach a dozen miles away. I paused and took another breath, and continued, at a lower pitch. I kept the same pitch for half a minute and finally lowered my head and closed my mouth. I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my mind, and replaced by happiness. Katja didn't say a word yet, and continued staring at me, then turned her head to stare outside.

"Beautiful. I don't mind living with a wolf, you guys are amazing creatures, and much more well-mannered than dogs." She joked.

Katja yawned and stretched her arms high, obviously still tired.

"Well in going back to bed, thanks Balto, you sleep well now." She rubbed my head then walked off, leaving the door cracked open in case I wanted to leave.

"Sleep?" No way I can sleep. I was still sad, I mean, my only family was leaving and might bit come back. I thought for a while, and figured that I needed a plan. I could not let my niece die on this mission...

I had just laid down on Laika's old bed, but I shot up instantly. I wondered if Kodi and Boris were awake.

I figured I should go talk to them, ask what they thought about my plan, and tell me if I was crazy or not. So I shoved my muzzle to the door and forced it open, the hallway was still lit, as Katja had seemed to leave the lights on for me. I quietly walked out, and even quieter when I passed her room, then wondered downstairs. When I reached the living room, I enjoyed the soft, warm carpet for a few more seconds before heading out. It was dark down here, the only light source seeping through from the upstairs hallway, but only when I looked at the front door did I realize, and also remembered, that they did not have a dog door for Laika, as she simply scratched the door when she wanted out.

"Crap..." I thought, and snapped a bit at the air to the right I me. Ever second I'm trapped here, Laika nears her death...

"I guess I'll have to wait until morning... It's about three am; she should wake up in five hours or so." I thought. Instead of walking back upstairs to rest in Laika's bed, I stayed down here and sunk into the main rug in the center of the room. It was amazingly soft, like the furs of puppies. I had to mentally assured myself that the rug was not really made of puppies.

I laid my head on my front paws, staring into nothing, for all five hours. I thought about everything, how Laika would not deserve such a fate, who would miss her, Kodi, her three daughters, and Boris, Katja and Fredrik. More importantly, I would miss her over-all. I lay there, two hours now, thinking more, how the puppies still needed her guidance, how she would find love again in the future, and maybe have pups again, and this time, hopefully, they will have a real father to call their own. Another hour passed by, I started thinking about my earliest memories about Laika, back when she was just a pup, and I wasn't far from being one myself. I only learned about my lost relative, after she was adopted by Katja and Fredik. She had grown up on the very same streets I have, but I never saw her before. I first met her when she was five months. Ha, at the time, you wouldn't know it, since she was tiny for her age and looks. Even though Laika was only part wolf, and part husky, she had the appearance of a husky-wolf hybrid, but was tiny like her Terrier part dictated. She told me that her brothers and sisters would pick on her, because she was always the smallest one, and the one that did not look like them, who were simply Terrier mutt puppies to the humans. She wasn't adopted along with her siblings, and was simply abandoned by her family. They all moved away, all except for her father, my brother. Laika was on her own though, something happened to my brother, long before I even knew Laika existed. Over the years, it has simply never been brought up exactly what happened to him.

I sighed and turned my head over, laying it to the left of my paws now. All this thinking was doing was convincing me to do something crazy. And everything else was just making me sad.

Laika can't go in this mission...

"What does this shit have to do with Balto while he is in space? It's like I'm reading two different stories!" Understood response.

The way I'm writing this is a bit weird but it my first try at an alternate setting for the story. The way I'm doing this, is that both points of view will "meet up" eventually, with the 1955-1956 parts leading up to the 1957 launch. We will eventually get to Jenna. This story will be a long one, so you don't have to worry about that.

I also love writing "caring scenes" like these, and loving family moments, and bonds between a human and a certain wolf-dog. I didn't grow up with the best family, and have literally ZERO extended-family contact, so writing about loving adoptive fathers, or Balto comforting a woman while she's lost her child and her dog, makes me happy.

This story won't be updated for a while, sorry. In the meantime, look out for Forgive Thy Enemy. Or, if you haven't already, you really need to read Blue Moon ยป by MajorBalto243. He's constantly updating it, and it's well worth a read. Check out my story, or his, or BOTH!

Balto lives on, he don't need no Universal or Amblin.

See ya!