Viktor looked down, smiling a little at the big dog at his feet. "Hey there," He greeted, uncrossing his arms and leaning forward to give her a few rubs on the back. By the time he stopped, Nikita himself had arrived. The man's dogs were never far from him when he was around the base. The truck made a slight clanging noise on contact with his hand, as metal did when it was knocked on, albeit muffled by the tarp. Viktor's smile grew a litte when Nikita asked about it. "Damn right it is. I've been waiting to take it out for a spin ever since I finished the cabin."<br/><br/>Before he revealed the vehicle in its full, Nikita passed him a piece of technology that Viktor immediately recognized as a modified power cell. Turning the thing over, he admired the little details of the piece. It was in good condition, seemed to be full, and had some unique looking markings on the outer case. "Oh, this is definitely gonna help out. This here could power this thing for the next few months, at least. Thanks, man." It would be one of the most important finishing touches for the vehicle. Impressively engineered as it was, without a power source, it wouldn't be going anywhere. He was visibly excited to put the cell in and finally give the thing a try.<br/><br/>Nikolav's arrival and inquiries about the truck only helped to increase Viktor's already obvious hype over the thing. He nodded in response to her signing on to the job, as he'd been curious to see her display those skills she claimed down in the Underbelly to come along in the first place. "This is pretty much my life's work. Fully customized, made from all kinds of things that have been brought in here. It's built to be stronger, faster, and bigger than our caravan's usual cars." As for what it was built for, the answer was reasonably simple. "Can't always depend on the caravan for long jobs. They have their own things to do, so I can't take one of their trucks out for longer than a few days. Not ideal for jobs like this one. But this one, it's my own personal vehicle. No restrictions or anything like that."<br/><br/>Not wanting to waste any more time hyping the thing up rather than showing it off, he turned away from the two for a moment to take hold of the tarp and yank it off of the vehicle. The hulking vehicle beneath the cloth stood tall, a sort of heavily modified long-nosed semi truck at its most basic. The cabin had been entirely cut out and rebuilt, extended into a spaciously seated interior that utilized an entire smaller car's rear end, carefully positioned at a slight raise so that the trailer hitch could still be freely used. Welding marks and rivets littered the truck, sanded down to smoothness where applicable. The engine block was modified as well, vents coming out of spaces cut into the front hood, and a device made of a snow plow and backhoe hinges replaced a normal bumper. Multiple hinges were visible at various parts of the truck, both the back doors of the cabin and a sort of rooftop opening, in front of which was mounted a tripod that a gun could be mounted on. The exhaust pipes were impressively sized, the headlights were supplemented by mounted spotlights above the front windshield, and on the driver seat's door, a stenciled on design of the Stalker's symbol was applied with red spray paint.<br/><br/>Chain link fencing saw use in the truck's construction as well, reinforcing the front windshield and entirely replacing the windows of the back doors. A section built onto the rear of the cabin acted as a climbing aid, as did various steps made of bent and welded diamond plate metal across the vehicle on various points. Similar metal acted as a reinforcement to the truck's frame, armouring it to a degree that could resist small arms fire - evident in some minor dents left by risky testing in the past. The whole thing was meticulously planned out and put together, years of hard work and effort behind it. Viktor glanced back at the others for a moment, then got right to climbing atop the thing, using steps leading from the driver's seat to the top of the front hood to ascend in seconds. It was clear he'd been practicing maneuvering on the thing even before it was finished.<br/><br/>Once crouched atop the hood, he undid a few latches on a section and lifted it, hinges carrying the hood sideways to reveal a section of the engine. It was an advanced piece of machinery, but clearly something of a hack job compared to what it might have originally been decades ago. Viktor hoped that it worked, and with Nikita's gift in hand, he could finally find that out. A few more small latches were undone, opening the cell's awaiting plug. Slowly and carefully, he slid the metallic object into the plug, trying to avoid any possible last-minute failures if something broke. When it was fully nested, he gave the top a small twist to lock it in, then closed it in again, locking everything together once more.<br/><br/>"Okay, moment of truth. Let's see if this thing works." Viktor hopped down from the hood, about to climb up into the driver's seat. Inga's approach stopped him, and her question made his smile drop. Other people approaching seemed to have some similarly concerned reactions, and he shook his head. "Look, this job is going to be dangerous. What we went through a few days ago, that doesn't quite compare. There was a lot of shit going on, yeah, but going through urban ruins is extremely high risk. Those could crumble at any time, and there are a lot of bad people hiding out in some cities. Monsters are one thing. Murderers with guns are another. Sorry." He patted Inga's shoulder, and while he admired her readiness, she was just too young. Stalkers weren't the type to employ child soldiers. Labor around the base, sure. Everyone had to play a part there if they were able to. But giving a kid a gun and telling them to go on mercenary work wasn't something he was behind doing.<br/><br/>He looked to the pup that she was holding, noting that he'd already gotten a bit larger since their arrival, and a hell of a lot more upbeat. The dog pressed his ears back as Viktor's hand neared, giving his fingers a momentary sniff and lick before he started to nibble on them. "I don't think this little guy would have a good time out there, either." He gently wrestled his fingers away and rubbed the small dog's head, considering his decision. "If you did come, and that's a big if, you'd have to stay in the truck. I don't want you in any dangerous situations out there." A very slight give, but one that could be misconstrued by a particularly stubborn child as an invitation to come along. He immediately realized this, and silently cursed his poorly thought out wording. If Inga had proven to be anything so far, it was stubborn.<br/><br/>Before anything else happened, he looked over the crowd surrounding the truck to see who all would be accompanying him, tugging his PDA out of its pocket to type out the names of the team going on the job. Along with a few folks who were officially Stalkers, like Nikita and Stefan, he listed the names of the newer company that made themselves present. He paused when he noticed Halak standing there, only having a vague idea of who the man could have been. "New here?" He asked, casually switching to the PDA's messaging system. A small inquiry was sent to the armoury, as to whether the giant mutant with that stone hammer was still hanging around the area, and whether he was busy if he was. That done, he returned to the list function, his thumbs tapping away at the keyboard.