Erik Bilicki's Short Stories, Novelettes, and Novellas

     The Æolus came off the thread with shields up, and was immediately bombarded with various weapons fire. Proximity alarms began screaming from the console, and the dual sources of blaster fire and explosions lit up the inside of the cockpit.      “Holy crap,” Christian breathed, taking in the sight. Thousands of ships of various sizes were spread throughout the immediate space surrounding Earth. Off to the starboard side an enormous Shalothan battlecruiser was engaged in a virtual slugfest with a USN scout ship, a Fe-Ruqian destroyer, and three Aormian vessels of various types. Directly ahead of the Æolus several smaller attack vessels from both sides flitted throughout the open spaces, dog-fighting to the death.      “Christian, bring up the battlefield AI,” Kursk calmly ordered. He was already pulling hard on the ship’s controls, juking it back and forth in an attempt to evade errant shots from the dogfights ahead of them.  ...

Glove Connection   Phillip lay in bed, swiping through the dating app, discouraged by all the "must haves" almost every woman had on their profile. The heart icon announced the few he saved that intrigued him. One he preferred – Emily – didn't live far from him and had many of the same interests. He focused on his own visage reflected on the phone screen. His chubby face mocked him, discouraging contact with anyone from the app. He got up and walked into his bathroom to shower. Phillip stared down the man in the mirror, daring him to say something. Studying his reflection, his hand gripped the folds of fat around his waist. Every flaw he studied, intent on finding new ones he'd missed. He took inventory of each in his mind. Overweight. Complexion marred by childhood acne. Red hair that was starting to thin at the top. Tilting his head to the side, he evaluated his jawline. Weak, he thought to himself in disgust. The names echoed in his head again. Fat Phil is the favo...