|
21.
COMBAT CABB
  Taking
up
the north side of Camden Court, Combat Cabb is the
most well known feature of the Zone. With a
successful television show, and loads of tourists
hiring the cabs so they can go “slumming” through the
Zone in a veneer of safety, this business is known far
and wide.
 There
are
two sides to the business. The foundation of the
business is providing transportation
for Zone dwellers who lack any means of transport on
their own, or who have to travel through dangerous
territories. And of course the other side is as
the tourist vehicle. The Tourist runs are
managed through a local travel agency, and are what
provide the income for Combat Cabb to continue
operating.
 When
calling
for a Combat Cabb for the first time you will be
directed to one of two options. If you are calling for
a tour of the Combat Zone, you will be transferred to
the travel agency. If you are calling to be
picked up from, or taken to, a specific location in
the Zone, you will be transferred directly to the
Combat Cabb dispatcher.
 The
tourist
routes are designed on a weekly basis, and are
coordinated with a member of the Digital Renegades
named Ditto, who keeps them apprised of the safest
routes, as well as the ones to be avoided at all
costs. The deal gets the Renegades free
rides. The tour route usually begins in the
Northwest corner of the Zone, in Bushido Territory,
then around the
North and South edges of the Gauntlet down to Kings
Cross. West from there to the edge of
Slaughterhouse territory, then north
to the wall and East skirting the edge of Stomp
territory to exit back at the Northwest corner.
Objects are constantly hurled at the bus, and the
vehicle is often fired upon. However everyone
knows that if the Bus is seriously damaged, or the
driver killed, then Combat Cabb will no longer send
their cabs into that territory. Since Combat
Cabb is often the only safe means of travel through
the Zone, most people don’t push it too far. It
also doesn’t hurt that the bus driver and tour guide
are both heavily armed.
The
buses
used are heavily armored, with flip down steel plates
for the windows that can be dropped at the flick of a
switch by the driver in the even of serious
threats. Solid rubber tires and a reinforced
chassis complete the vehicles protection. As
added insurance, Combat Cabb has an arrangement with
the Walking Dead in the event something goes seriously
wrong… the ETA after the distress call is sent, either
manually by the driver, or if the buses GPS stops
giving a signal, is between 5 and 10 minutes,
depending where in the Zone they are. In fact,
many members of the Walking Dead hire on themselves as
drivers.
 The
cabs that service the Zone itself are used sedans,
with makeshift armor applied. The company is
always looking for new vehicles, and will pay a pretty
decent price for any 4 dour sedan with at least a V6
engine. Some of the cabs are armed, but this is
done at the drivers expense. Most of the drivers
for Combat Cabb never leave the Zone, so a license is
not required, and getting a job with the company is
actually one of the few, and definitely higher paying,
legitimate jobs in the Zone. Drivers who do have
a license and no warrants can pick up and deliver
outside the Zone, though the cabs must go through the
same checkpoints as the rest of the vehicles, so
passengers trying to leave the Zone should have their
ID’s in order. Combat experience is definitely a
bonus, but what really counts for potential drivers is
how well they know their way around the Zone, how to
navigate around the most dangerous areas where
possible, and how to drive under fire. Drivers
are responsible for their own cabs, and may choose to
arm them if they wish out of their own pocket.
Most don’t, at least not externally, as it has been
seen as antagonistic, but most of the cabs are rigged
with rear facing shotguns built into the seats to deal
with unruly guests. Combat Cabb cars are tuned for
torque and acceleration, as top speed is sacrificed
for armor and the ability to maneuver quickly.
 Combat
Cabb
is owned by Mike “Chooch” Manveh. Chooch was
serving the area well before the walls went up.
Marsten was still called the Combat Zone back then,
but its borders were very ill defined. When the
walls went up, it offered the company a monopoly on
the Zone. A chance meeting with a TV exec who
had been stranded and left in the Zone led to the
formation of the TV deal, which made Chooch fairly
wealthy. He reinvested a lot of the money into
the few local businesses, and sets the rest aside for
emergencies. At one point Troubleshooter Cabs
tried to move in which led to what is referred to in
the Zone as the “Taxi War”. Initially it was cab
drivers from the two companies undercutting each other
and stealing fares … but quickly escalated into
running fights between cabbies, often with fares in
the back. After a Troubleshooter cab cut a
corner too hard trying to chase one of the Combat Cabs
down, and ran into a group of Maelstrom, Chooch was
able to buy them out for pennies so they could get out
before the gang took their revenge. There are,
at any given time, around 15-20 cab drivers. 2
bus drivers, 3 dispatchers, 5 repairmen, and 4 medics
on staff. Of the many drivers for Combat
Cabb, one man has been working for Chooch longer than
any other.
Rashnu
Antar has been with Combat Cabb from the beginning,
and has earned the implicit trust of Chooch and the
rest of the staff. He drives a cab 4 nights a
week, and drives a bus twice. He also picks up
extra shifts whenever possible. In his off time
he has been known to enter underground fighting
tournaments, particularly ones thrown by the Voodoo
Boyz. Rashnu often talks about his wife and
children, whose numbers vary depending on how much
sympathy or good will he is trying to garner for a tip
or other consideration. Those close to him know
the truth however, in that while he is married, it is
to a woman he does not care for, and they have no
children. However he has never cheated on his
wife, and has a very very soft spot for kids. He
often volunteers to drive the bus in the mornings for
the Elder run School that sits adjacent to Combat
Cabb.
The
average stats for a Combat Cabb taxi are:
Top
Speed: 100
mph
Acc/Decc:
15/30
Crew:
1
Range: 275mi
Passengers:
4
Cargo:
500KG
Maneuver:
0
SDP:
40
SP:
15
Type:
Car
Mass:
1.1tons
Cost:
N/A
(For more information on Combat Cabb, please
see the Night City Sourcebook by R. Talsorian
Games.)
|