something," she started, "During the serum run, you had a pretty quick change of heart. You went from picking on him to helping him in only minutes. What changed? What made him better than Steele?"

"What made him better was that he actually had a way home," Kaltag replied.

"Was that it? You only went with him because he was the winning side that time?" she retorted.

"Not exactly; when you put it that way, you make me look pretty spineless," Kaltag replied, gritting his teeth, "It wasn't just that. It was the fact that Balto cared about the team and the task at hand, while Steele only cared about his glory. He only wanted to help, and didn't ask anything in return. I guess… I guess it was because Balto was the leader that I had always wanted – one who treated us like a part of the team," he paused, "We didn't say it publicly, but we didn't have the highest opinion of our lead dog."

"Really?" Jenna asked with a raised brow, "I find that hard to believe; most of the time you were heaping praise on him."

"We were only doing that because it kept us on good terms with him," he said, "We were on the same team and the last thing we wanted was to have our lead dog turn on us."

"In other words, it didn't matter what you did, as long as it kept your rear end safe," she said venomously.

Her attitude was starting to agitate him, but he tried to maintain his calm, "Look, you don't know what it's like to be on a sled team. There a certain things you have to-"

"All I'm hearing are the excuses of a coward-"

"I AM NOT A COWARD!" Kaltag bellowed, scaring a few birds out of the trees, "Alright, I screwed up yesterday. You don't have to keep rubbing salt in my wounds! So we may have given in to Steele before, but we weren't exactly happy about it," Kaltag continued, "Despite the fact that we were a team, Steele acted like he was the only one that mattered. He rarely listened to us because he saw it as his way or the highway. On the odd occasion that he did, he passed the idea off as his own, not ours. He loved acting like he was the center of the universe."

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One year earlier

There are many reasons for a sled dog to train. Their owner could be a trapper, and need a way to transport themselves and their cargo between their home and the trapline. Their owner could be someone who delivers vital supplies such as meat and mail in between the towns in the north. Or, their owner could be someone like Kaltag's owner; someone who trained dogs so that they could bring glory through dogsled races. Only the best dogs could run the gauntlet that was the Trans-Alaskan Derby, and only one of those teams would win the glory that came with victory. Many had tried, many had failed, and now it was Nikki, Kaltag and Star's turn, as they had finally gained enough experience to run this race.

They had heard the stories from Steele and some of the older dogs on the team, as they had run The Derby many times. They had won for the past two years, and Steele was eager for a third victory. There was a small change from the previous years, as the officials had decided to extend the race from its previous end in White Mountain to their own hometown of Nome. This only added to the team's excitement, as they wanted to be able to return to Nome as heroes, "Yep, we'll be racing back home for this one guys," Steele said, "Let's not disappoint our friends."

It was the day before they were due to depart for Fairbanks, where the race would begin, and the town dogs had gathered in the old mill to wish them well before they left. A large group had gathered around Steele, all wanting to hear his stories from his previous runs in The Derby, while the rest of the team had a more subdued conversation with a few others. It was quite obvious who the real star of the team was, "It must be something, to be on the team, but still on the sidelines," a voice said behind Kaltag. The Chinook turned to see that it was Cain, whom had quietly joined the party with them.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Kaltag asked.

"What I mean is that you're nothing but baggage to him," Cain replied, "You've been a part of Steele's crowd for almost two years now - how well has that worked out for you?"

"It's actually worked out pretty well," Kaltag replied sharply, "I'm a part of a champion sled team now, and I'm going to be running the biggest race of the year. Once we win, all of Alaska.. no, the world will know our names."

"Is that how you feel about it, or is it how Steele wants you to feel about it?" Cain asked, "I mean, you are a part of the team, but does he ever thank you guys? Does he ever give credit to your ideas? Does he tell dogs to remember you, or to remember him?"

"Well… he is the lead dog and…" Kaltag stuttered, and Cain looked at him expectantly, "Okay, maybe he does like to take the spotlight a little," Kaltag admitted.

"A little? How about a lot?" Cain replied, indicating to the large crowd around Steele. Kaltag didn't want to say it out loud, but he had to admit that Steele was being a bit of a show off, "Look Kal, I know you're excited about running in The Derby, but I'm going to give you a little heads up. If you win, it won't be your victory, it will be his alone, but if you don't win, it will be your loss, not his. That's the way Steele runs things." Kaltag wasn't quite sure what Cain meant by that, but he decided to not dwell on it. He needed to keep his head clear for the coming race.

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The race started in Fairbanks, and from the second the starting gun went off, Steele and his team gave it their all in their race back to Nome. They wanted to be able to return home as winners, and to do otherwise was unacceptable. The long days of running through the wilderness had gone smoothly so far, but they had only gotten up to second position, something Steele wanted to change as quickly as possible.

"C'mon guys, at this rate the only way I'll win is if I go off and run the race myself," Steele barked.

"Steele, we've been running our best for days," Star replied, "Can't we slow down to catch our breath?"

"If we slow down, we lose any chance of winning," Steele replied, "I'm not going to let myself be slowed down by a bunch of whiny pups, so you will keep moving."

Despite their exhaustion, the team kept on moving, as none of them wanted to be the dog that caused them to lose. So, they continued to push themselves, trying to pull out every ounce of strength that was left in their tired bodies. They were traveling around a grove of trees, and up ahead, Kaltag could see that there was a frozen riverbed that cut through the woods in an east-west direction, while their current path led to the northwest, "If we follow our current path, we'll take a northern detour, but that river seems more direct," Kaltag thought, "That could shave some time off the trip and allow us to catch up!" "Hey boss!" he cried out, "Could that river act as a shortcut?"

"We're sticking to this trail Kal," Steele said.

"But Steele, I think Kaltag might have a point," Star said, "This path is the long way."

"No it isn't; I know it's the right way," Steele said. As they approached, Kaltag still wanted to take the shortcut, and started to pull his harness off the side. He couldn't explain it, but it just felt like the right path. However, the effect of his pull was minimal, due to the other dogs staying on the current path, "Kaltag, stop it! I'm the lead dog, and we go where I say," Steele barked. However, their musher noticed Kaltag's pull, and stopped at the fork in the path. He looked at both paths, and as he did so, a couple other dogs who agreed with Kaltag started to pull towards the riverbed, "What do you think you're doing?" Steele asked.

"We're trying to show our musher where to go," Kaltag responded, and after a few more moments, their efforts paid off, when their owner followed their pull, giving the 'Haw' order to turn onto the riverbed. Steele hesitated, but even he knew that he had to follow his musher's instructions.

"Alright Kaltag, we'll try your plan, but I'll have you know that it wasn't my idea," Steele said, "If this doesn't work out, I'll remember just who to blame for this."

"If you don't win, it will be your loss, not his. That is the way Steele runs things."

Steele's threat caused Kaltag to remember Cain's warning, and only now did he start to understand what he had meant. If they lost, Steele would surely blame him for it, because it was his idea. The subordinate would be blamed, while the lead got off free, "Well then, I guess I'd better not lose," he thought as he continued to run through the snow, "Besides, maybe it's high time that I got a little attention too."

Soon, they had followed the river through the grove of trees until it ended in wide open tundra. Only a few dozen yards ahead was what they had been hoping to catch up to. It was the other team; their shortcut had helped them close the gap between them, "It's the other team! Way to go Kal!" Star cried out.

"We're not home yet, so give it all you've got!" Steele barked, and the team obliged, racing ahead to catch up with their quarry. Foot by foot, they closed the gap between them until they were starting to get alongside them. Both teams were on their last legs, but each wanted to