A long while back I had made a fan character based on the webcomic Intergalactic Truckstop. The character was a GELF named Bixby, made by Dienna Labs as competition for AndroGenus's own. Things didn't go well, as Bixby was particularly unstable and seemed to like running around and doing whatever his mind seemed to come up with at the time.

I had long since imagined the story of Bixby's ultimate fate, but never really got to put that story together. His typical guard, a Nikitak named "Thaxter" (Bixby kept calling him "Thatch"), would be so frustrated with Bixby after suffering a major injury that he quit his position, leaving no one to help keep Bixby contained. But one of the scientists involved in his creation figured out how to resolve the issue, which ended up being another GELF! And it would be based on Thaxter, with a number of modifications -- including the necessary coding and processing to properly understand and communicate with Bixby. It could in turn make the GELF also seem weird and unstable, but it was meant to steer Bixby's train of thought in the right direction. And naturally, Bixby was given the task of choosing the GELF's colors and patterns.

The result is the eight-legged Nikitak GELF named "Patch." Acting as much like a good friend as she does a mother, Patch seemed to be the perfect match for Bixby. Strong enough to hold him down when necessary, but caring enough to know not to force herself on him. She always informed confused folks about the strange demeanor she sometimes has just to communicate with Bixby, and always did so respectfully. These two would be living their lives together happily under the ownership of the aforementioned scientist, helping out with some basic tasks.

I don't know if I'll ever write or draw in-full the whole story leading to this, but I wanted to make them finally appear together after all this time.

GELF concept and Intergalactic Truckstop ©
Nikitak concept ©
Art © 2022 Malamite