Free Redwood: Servant of the State by Jaxon Reed

the most part, to be non-violent, and any tendencies otherwise will be dealt with harshly. At the same time, you offer us a fascinating opportunity to learn more about our primary exobiological interest, and we’d like to know as much as we can about your condition.”
    I nodded. Several people around the room were nodding. Dee Dee smiled. Connie furrowed her brow and wouldn’t make eye contact. The O’Donnell triplets were grinning ear to ear.
    “It’s settled, then. As for accommodations, the triplets have requested you room with them. Are you amenable to their request?”
    “Sure.”
    The three burst into cheers.
    “Yes!”
    “Alright!”
    “Hoo-wah!”
    And the meeting broke up.
    -+-
    The triplets lived at the highest elevation in the tree house city comprising the Ranger station. I gathered details as we headed that way after the meeting ended, all of them speaking at once and excitedly assuring me their quarters were awesome.
    Evidently, Mr. and Mrs. O’Donnell concluded the boys could stay in their own place when they turned 13, the standard age of accountability for the State. Everybody pitched in to build separate quarters for the boys above and away from the family’s main house.
    The triplets thought this situation to be outstanding, and often expressed amazement they had the tremendous good fortune to live on their own. Over time, I came to suspect the real reason the O’Donnells suggested the arrangement was simply to get them out of their home.
    The boy’s tree house was in fact above and to the side of their parents’, about 50 feet up. To enter, we climbed up a rope ladder. Another suspicion crossed my mind after living there for a while, climbing that ladder every day: the triplets’ house was higher than everybody else’s in a deliberate effort to make them burn off energy.
    This was, after all, a community of extraordinarily bright researchers and Scientists. I wouldn’t put a conspiracy like that past them.
    One great advantage in starting out the day from the highest point: you could get to other parts of the station quickly. A fireman’s pole offered a quick exit straight down. I burned my arms from friction the first time I used it, then learned to control my descent better. Other exits to points all over the station were provided by zip lines.
    I had to admit the zip lines were a lot of fun, but they were extremely dangerous. Letting go meant plummeting to certain death. But they were a lot of fun.
    The triplets’ tree house was pretty simple. It had a large bedroom with bunk beds, which was perfect since there were three of them and four beds. I didn’t feel like I was imposing on anybody. A bathroom, a small common room, and a large porch where the fireman’s pole, the rope ladder, and zip lines were attached comprised the remainder of the house.
    Meals were mostly eaten with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. O’Donnell seemed generous and polite, and never questioned me too closely, which I thought was classy. They were both Scientists, exobiologists in fact, and had been with the Redwood team since the beginning. The triplets were their only children. I really can’t blame them not trying for more …
    Bert O’Donnell was a short, thin man with a shock of red hair on top that rarely stayed combed for long. I’d never seen a naturally red haired person before. His wife Margie was a natural blonde, which is also unusual, at least on frontier planets. It wasn’t the same shade as mine, though. Mrs. O’Donnell had a bubbly personality. She was talkative, polite, and always made sure we had plenty to eat. Mr. O’Donnell was more reserved and spoke less. But he often seemed to have a twinkle in his eye, as if relishing some private humor.
    After breakfast with the O’Donnells on my first full day at the Ranger station, I made my way toward the garden to see if I could help out in some way. I figured I was best qualified for menial labor, being a Servant and all. On my way there