Theft of the SCAT-15

Panther wants you to steal SKAT-15, the advanced military exoskeleton prototype, from a rogue mercenary outfit on the Construction Site.
== Walkthrough ==
Panther knows exactly who Strelok is. After asking her about the missing girl, she doesn't know where she is, but tells you for sure that she isn't a daughter of one of C-Consciousness bosses, and she is being held captive by some stalker. Regarding Panther herself, she came into Zone for the specific reason - she wants to obtain 3 shards of the Monolith, and you know where to get one of them.
She wants you to infiltrate the mercenary group at the Construction Site led by Cranky, and steal the SKAT-15 prototype from them. This is the same place Demobee sent you earlier for the stuffed pseudodog.
=== Stealing the SKAT-15 ===
Head over to the Construction Site, into the [ warehouses]. Look for the canteen set up inside one of the hangars.
The guard in front of the mercenary canteen will charge you 30,000 RU to come through. Pay up and grab the Stuffed pseudodog at the back of the room.
The rucksack with the SKAT-15 is in a slightly open cupboard drawer.
Crudface's safe in Jupiter Factory (peaceful option only)
After picking it up, Cranky will spawn and block your way out. After not falling for your bluff, he'll give you 20 seconds to change your mind.
At this point you will have three options:
* Give the SKAT-15 back to Cranky immediately. He will let you leave without a fight, and you'll have to return to Panther without the SKAT-15, paying her 50,000RU for failing the job.
* Refuse giving it back. Cranky will give you time (25 seconds) to think. After at least 5 seconds, talk to him and agree to give the suit. He will let you leave without a fight, giving a tip on the location of another SKAT-15 in Jupiter, which happens to be in possession of the Monolith leader named Crudface. If you finished the Black Doctor's exoskeleton storyline, you can travel there and grab it from Crudface's chest.
* Refuse giving it back. Stay there and wait for the mercs to turn hostile after 25 seconds, then bunker up in the canteen. Laying landmines or plastic explosives around Cranky and other immediate threats can help the fight. You can also abuse the save/load feature to teleport outside the canteen; this will turn the mercs hostile immediately. You can fight or run away. Mercs won't despawn so you'll have to fight them later anyway. This is a large fight with backup slowly coming in just like Mercenaries' suitcase and the other mercenary ambushes, so make sure you completely clear the camp before leaving the area or moving loot.
=== Warlab ===
Return to Panther in Warlab, and give the stuffed pseudodog to Demobee. Talk to Panther and give her the SKAT-15, or pay her a 50,000RU fine for failing the job if you returned without the suit. In any case, she will warn you that the word is out and the mercenary boss is about to arrive to end your short career as a mercenary.
The boss will appear at the opening to the room along with his entourage. His dialogue with you is short and to the point; after swearing at him the dialogue will immediately end. This sets your faction back to Loners, and all mercs besides Panther and her bodyguards will be hostile.
Use quick-draw guns (anything that goes into the pistol slot) to deal with the M60-carrying merc behind your back. Provided you can survive the initial salvo, Panther and her crew are invincible and will clear Warlab of hostile mercenaries.
Exhaust Panther's dialogue and talk to Demobee for a final reward.
Check twice that your reputation with major factions remained the same.
After the quest, you'll need visit Fang, who is in the Bar now. This is communicated in the dialogue, but Strelok had no way to know. This is probably an oversight. Then you'll need to give the signet back to Lukash.
== Notes ==
* Killing Cranky and his goons is not necessary to progress the quest, but leaving behind 86 mercenaries' worth of loot is rather sinful.
* Cranky will disappear after the quest even if it's ended peacefully. He won't participate in any quests after that.
* Wandering into illegal areas will turn the mercs hostile, like going past the canteen guard or moving too far away after being accosted by Cranky.
* Aside from Cranky, his bodyguards, and possible natural merc spawns, no mercenaries use big guns in this fight, so you can play quite aggressively after clearing out of the canteen.
* The stuffed pseudodog can be grabbed from outside through the gaps in the walls. However, you'll need to go in to grab the SKAT-15 regardless.
* The stuffed pseudodog is 10kg, and the SKAT-15 is 11kg.
== Bugs ==
* Panther and her bodyguards will very often get stuck targeting enemies outside of their range. Save and reload to reset them.
* After loading a save, the mercenary boss has to walk all the way from the beginning of his lab to his blocking position. Abusing this can lead to a much easier shootout, as you can accost him in an abandoned or less populated part of the lab.