Djanzer's Ballroom
The man strode confidently down the flight of stairs that formed beneath him with each step, the colonnade of massive humanoid statues to each side of his route - stage automatons all - kneeling and presenting a metal tray to bear the weight of each footfall like obedient slaves. The man knew how to make a stylish entrance, Kade was forced to admit. One of the man's arms was shod in a baroque amalgam of decorative brass mechanisms and auto-pneumatic actuators, the mechanical hand of which carried a comically oversized revolver etched with decorative patterns; in the other hand, the man carried a wineglass brimming with some blood-red vintage. Dr. Callus raised his weapon to fire on the man, but Eavor checked him, directing his attention to a long groove running the length of the archway - evidently the footment of a massive sheet of bulletproof glass intervening between the crew and their target, the surface of which had been nigh-on invisible in the gloom. "Imperialists," the man hissed as he descended from the third-floor balustrade. "Fallen into my trap, I see. The temptation to seize what isn't theirs comes naturally to the Voxelian animal, of course. I expected no less from their mercenary lapdogs." He spread his arms wide in a dramatic flourish, casting the glass of wine aside with a tinkling crash. "Welcome, welcome to my ballroom! I hope you have not pinned you're hopes on leaving, because you've suffered a flip in your fortunes this time. Now, men, let's bump off our unlucky guests!"Tiberius Djanzer is a Holdsman inventor and military industrialist known for toying with Voxelian agents sent to assassinate him as a means of testing his newest dieseltech gadgets. "Djanzer's Ballroom" is an elaborate kill-box constructed beneath the Craterhold Innovation Expo Park for just such a purpose. The name is a pun; initially appearing as a secure residence where the famous mogul entertains high-society guests with an extensive banquet and dance hall, the 'Ballroom' is actually a scaled-up pinball machine filled with both automated deathtraps and remote-controlled vehicles, including a unique class of experimental auto-armor called the "Hamster" Spherical Kinetic Kill Vehicle.
Architecture
Like many underground bunkers constructed for wealthy clients after the initiation of the War of Reunification, Djanzer's Ballroom is decorated and furnished on the inside like an expensive manor one might find above ground, albeit with sunlamps cleverly concealed behind shades or curtains rather than actual windows to the outside world. The 'residential' half of the manner opposite the entrance foyer and 'great hall' is split into three tiers via mezzanines and separated from the rest by a partition. An archway provides access to the residential portion, but is itself inset with a thick pane of bulletproof glass through which Djanzer and his allies can observe any visitors who stumble into the trap.
Rather than traditional stairwells, casual access to the upper tiers of the residential section is provided by a unique set of stage automatons resembling massive statues. Each statue carries two large tray-like implements which might be mistaken for broad braziers or serving trays. The first and second tiers have four pairs each of statues forming a colonnade oriented towards the entryway. When a permitted guest approaches this colonnade, the statues stoop and present the trays at alternating heights to form a staircase, but victims of Djanzer's trap will instead be attacked, the statues swinging the trays like cleavers.
Defenses
Djanzer can remotely trigger the facility's defenses; indeed, he is often only 'present' in the form of very carefully disguised stage automatons in various locations within the facility, appearing only in person to gloat over enemies and observe his creations' activities from the safety of a reinforced control room nearby. When in defense mode, the front door locks shut, the floors of the whole facility cant towards the entrance, and some edges of the residential-side mezzanines extend to form ramps. Two couches on the first floor near the entrance and one on the expanded second floor mezzanine come loose at one end and swing back and forth on pneumatic pivots to act as flippers, while circular serving tables on the first floor rise out of the ground to expose gnashing, sliding bumper mechanisms. Multiple Hamsters (see above) are disgorged from hidden chambers in the walls and rush in to crush the guests, rebounding off the flippers and bumpers to gain momentum. Gunmen appear in pillboxes secreted around the perimeter to harass guests who make it past where the Hamsters can reach.
Various pit traps corridors filled with choking gas, and moveable walls also serve to victims who manage to press deeper into the facility to find the mechanical rooms and dieseltech labs beyond. A rotating cast of mercenaries, private security personnel, and even Coalition Defense Forces special operators watch over the festivities and participate in the defense of the deeper facilities. Should guests find their way into the relatively modest offices of Djanzer himself, they will discover that the person who fights them to the death there is actually a dieseltech automaton rather than the man himself, the executive inevitably slipping away through concealed escape tunnels that collapse behind him as soon as anyone breaches the boundaries of the Ballroom.
Type
Military base / complex
Parent Location
Owner
Owning Organization
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