Coolant Flush (beverage)

This article is about the energy drink. For other uses, see Coolant Flush.

"Coolant Flush" energy drink

"Coolant Flush" was the label on a BattleTech-themed energy drink that Catalyst Game Labs first brought to Gen Con 2018 as a gag – there was also a Shadowrun-themed counterpart labeled "Dragon Piss."

In-universe appearances

• In what may or may not be a reference to this, on page 17 of the 2018 BattleTech novel Forever Faithful, the protagonist is given "a green bottle of what warriors called 'Flush', a sweet-tasting drink packed with electrolytes and vitamins."
• The short story Ace Darwin and the Battle of the Beer Fridge (Shrapnel, issue #8) features Coolant Flush as a bottled beverage. A picture going with the story depicts capped bottles with a Warhammer wireframe background labeled "Coolant Flush" and "Energy Drink."

In-universe History

Coolant Flush was an insanely popular sports soft drink sponsored by the SLDF. Their fridges were everywhere around Star League offices after the Reunification War. It was so popular that Coolant Flush memorabilia was produced. A Lumire the Coolant Flush Action Figure was mentioned, but the company ceased to exist after the fall of the Star League, and the drink's recipes were lost.

In October 3044, a group of archeologists from Interstellar Expeditions was digging in an abandoned Star League–era city on the planet Anywhere, in the Lyran Commonwealth. The mercenary group Ace Darwin's WhipIts was hired to provide security, while the IE team performed a dig on an office of the Bureau of Star League Affairs. There, Ace's technician, Andrew Sevrin, found a fridge filled with Coolant Flush. Sevrin was a total fan of the drink, having collected all memorabilia he can about it, and as the IE personnel weren't interested in the drinks, they let him take it for himself.

Soon after, the local government attacked the archeological site, seeking to seize all Lostech. A battle between the police and militia 'Mechs and Ace Darwin's people followed, while IE personnel retreated. After learning that Sevrin had stayed behind in the encampment, Ace went to rescue him. The technician insisted that Darwin also take the fridge, which he did before escaping.

After escaping the planet, Sevrin explained than the fridge was filled with Coolant Flush bottles and SLDF neurohelmets. He and Darwin's team tasted the drinks, which had gone bad, before giving Sevrin a neurohelmet for each of the three MechWarriors. He was said to be planning to use the drinks to reverse-engineer them and begin production, as well as the neurohelmets.

Apparently, Sevrin succeeded, as in 3053, Coolant Flush was already being produced and popular among young boys. It was available in several colors and (presumably) flavors. One with pink coloring and another with lemon-lime taste were mentioned. Also there were Coolant Flush vending machines.

By 3057, Sevrin led a soda and tech empire, which produced and sold Coolant Flush. Ace was his partner and also spokesman, making holovids advertising the drink.

By 3150, Coolant Flush was still very popular; even some Clan MechWarriors enjoyed it, as Marotta Kerensky.

Drink Description

Coolant Flush was described as a greenish-yellow concoction vaguely resembling BattleMech Coolant. It tasted vaguely of citrus but was mostly raw sugar with strontium-based additives, supposedly to enhance electrolyte absorption. Those who drank it produced luminescent urine. It is said to have some BattleMech-grade coolant, which is lightly corrosive and radioactive, as an ingredient, to give it an air of authenticity.

Gallery

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  Three Coolant Flush original bottles

Bibliography

• Ace Darwin and the Battle of the Beer Fridge (in Shrapnel #8)
• Lucky Bastard (in Shrapnel #9)