Soooo for my AP English IV class, we were reading the book Grendel and discussing how it blurs the lines between good and evil. Then, my teacher gave us the assignment of writing a short story in groups of three taking either the perspective of a hero, villain, or addressing a social issue in either an essay or short story. Guess which I picked.

And so, I managed to get into a group with two other fellow nerds, and the following is the brilliant creation that resulted from the combined power of our minds. NOTE: it is a bit gory-ish in one part, but it’s still very good. I guess I should say PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Hope you enjoy 🙂

DARTH VADER AND THE WAR ON EVIL

“I looked out through the window of my ship, the Executor, the ship that was so dreaded by the rebels against the Empire. Through the thick glass, I could see the brilliant spots of light explode on the vast battlefield as two forces rushed at each other with all of the fervor and passion that the war incited in their hearts. Brilliant beams of sinister color, marking the melee between the opposing factions, created devastating destruction on whatever they struck.

“A sense of hopelessness consumed me; how were we to maintain a peaceful state when such fanatic forces protested against us? Death invaded the lungs like a disease- the air thick with the stench of copper, the scent of blood. The screams of brave men shattered the air as they met their untimely ends, descending to their final resting place with all the pompadour of an animal.

“What of the glorious tales of war that pervade the annals of our history? What of the heroism, the magnificent tales of heroes past? These are all lies! Tales told to children to coax them to sleep with the promise of hope and excitement. The legends do not speak of the chill in the air as all that one knows and loves falls screaming and dying to the cold unforgiving earth below. Parents do not tell their children of the blood-stained garments adorning the victors who, raising empty swords to weeping skies, gain nothing for their strife.

“As the battle unfolding before me reached a climax, the Rebel forces miraculously drawing nearer to the Imperial base, I made the decision to join the fight. I exited the ship and strode across the field, slick with blood that turned the dirt into a brownish red. Withdrawing my weapon from the holster that held it, I found myself already grimacing inwardly at the lives I would be forced to take. Remember, Rebels. You brought this upon yourselves. I thought towards the churning masses before me.

“Approaching the first battalion of enemy soldiers, I swung my weapon casually at them, immediately slaying the first dozen in my path. With a cry of alarm and surprise, the doomed warriors began an assault, firing their weapons frantically or boldly rushing up to me with weapons drawn. Their attempts were useless against my skill. My blade deftly blocking the majority of their bolts I quickly dispatched them all, the few shots that made it through my defenses bouncing harmlessly against my impenetrable armor.

“My breath came calmly, slowly, methodically; the adrenaline rush that battle provided to so many warriors was lost upon me, so used was I to the art of war. And then I stood there, weapon drawn and relaxed at my side, in a sea of broken and bloody bodies, their faces frozen in the expressions of horror they felt before they died, eyes bulging and mouths gaping open in perpetual screams that would echo throughout eternity.

“Calm down. I told myself, the dread sense of realization at what I’d done beginning to hit me. It had to be done. You must protect the Empire. Drawing in a calming breath, I nonchalantly stepped over the bodies, my robe whispering taunts to the dead as it swished over their already-stiffened forms. I made my way to the next battalion, slaying them as I had done to the last.

“And thus the cycle repeated: I ventured from group to group, from battalion to battalion, killing the rebels and quashing their uprising, drowning the field and the bodies in blood. And finally, I stood there, panting slightly in the middle of the field, no enemies left standing. My legs shuddered; I feared they might give out beneath the weight of the deaths I had taken that cursed day.

“I never really understood why these people were so adamant about fighting this constant war, this unending struggle for some vague notion of whatever. They wage this war under the banner of peace, of a better state for everyone, but how can that be? Now, though, the only fighting that plagues the lands now are caused by these disparate people: this Rebellion, this group that so self-righteously fights for the good of all, only succeeding in spreading destruction and war to the systems that they spring up.

“The roaring fires, the blood, the tears, they are not my failing. I do what I have to, protecting that which I love so much. I follow my orders, however strange they may be, yet these people go and destroy what we all have worked so hard to achieve. Yet they have the guile to accuse me and my followers of being the thing that has caused this war, this strife. We are somehow the cause of all the pain the worlds know. I will never truly understand their mindset, I will never know what trigger-happy monster would throw the galaxy into this turmoil.

“I am its protector, I am the thing that will fight this evil. I know what is right, I have seen both sides, and I know my place, the galaxy’s place. I will do any and everything in my power to protect what I love, to sustain my Empire throughout the ages.

“I, Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, have devoted myself as humble protector, filling the role of those that failed before me so that my rule will be THE final rule, and we shall have peace as my master always intended.”