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In 4 cycles they would be arriving at the PSUMNT. The University had multiple campuses but the one they would be arriving at was a station that orbited Mihira.
Petrichor queried if it would be able to go to the planet. Captain Seth had said that he believes all the Secunits will be able too but there may be some issues that need addressing before they can. Before Petrichor could ask what the issues could be, Perihelion sent it a large file titled, "Issues that may be encountered returning to PSUMNT with 8 rogue Secunits and suggested solutions."
It seemed the Perihelion's goals (in priority order) were, MB staying with it, no humans getting injured and the other Secunits being able to do whatever they wanted. It had already factored in Bismuth's desire to study, which it had only voiced earlier that cycle.
After giving Petrichor several seconds to process the document, Perihelion spoke over a private feed channel. What do you plan to do on Mihira?
Petrichor decided to answer honestly, I've never felt rain on my skin before. I want to know what it feels like.
—
In the end it took 27 cycles to get approval for the Secunits to go to the planet. Petrichor checked the weather as soon as the approval came through. It would be raining in the early hours of tomorrow.
—
Petrichor had arrived on the planet shortly before sunset with Nosedive and Farida. The other two were still at the Machine Learning build. Probably getting into trouble but that was not currently Petrichor’s focus.
Petrichor was standing in a nearby park. There was no one else around due to it being the middle of the rest period and any humans that were awake were unlikely to want to be out in the cold.
The rain was due to start in approximately 13 minutes.
It was just wearing a short sleeved shirt and the pants the Perihelion had given it. It could smell the petrichor and it would soon feel the rain on its bare skin.
One of the few pleasures it had been able to access was being able to smell the rain. It would clean away all the destruction, all the misery and leave the world clean.
It had seen and done terrible things. It had followed every order and it had long ago given up trying to resist. It hadn't thought anything else was possible. It had been a tool and it thought it would die a tool.
Petrichor pushed those thoughts away. It was leaving that behind. It didn't know what it would do now, but it wanted to make a difference. It wanted to do something to make the universe better.
But first, feeling rain on its skin.
4 minutes before the predicted start time, a soft mist started. The tiny drops balled on the fabric of its clothes and splashed softly against its skin.
The rain went from misting to drizzling to pouring down in less than a minute. Petrichor could feel the water running off its nose and the tips of fingers. It could feel its clothes becoming wet and heavy. It could feel the drops hitting its arms and head. It had never felt better.
Petrichor felt like it should be doing something. It tilted its face to the sky and held its arms up. That felt right