Edward Nichols was an English officer who served as the Second Mate of the Obra Dinn during its final voyage in 1802. He was shot by passenger Chioh Tan upon returning to the Obra Dinn, after surviving most of the events of chapter IV, The Calling.
Story
After a thwarted attempt to steal the Formosan chest, Nichols killed passenger Nunzio Pasqua, who walked in on the scene. Nichols then framed another passenger, Hok-Seng Lau, whom he had knocked out earlier, as the murderer. As per Captain Witterel's orders, Lau was executed by a firing squad.[1]
Nichols formed a mutinous group with his steward, Samuel Galligan, and seamen Aleksei Toporov, Patrick O'Hagan, and Alarcus Nikishin, and topman Li Hong. They kidnapped two Formosan passengers, It-Beng Sia and Bun-Lan Lim, and stole the chest. Topman Timothy Butement confronted the group, but Nichols quickly shot him down, though some others who attempted to stop them were simply incapacitated. The group then left the ship on lifeboats.
During the expedition, the group was ambushed by mermaids. The mermaids killed everyone except Nichols, who hid between the boat's seats, and It-Beng Sia, who opened the chest and unleashed columns of energy that stunned the mermaids, but died in the process. As Nichols returned to the ship, the sole surviving Formosan passenger, Chioh Tan, shot him.
The East India Company insurance assessment on the Obra Dinn incident finds Nichols guilty of murder of 2 crewmates, attempted mutiny, and theft of cargo. His estate is fined £100, the highest of all fines of the crew.[2]
Identification
Nichols can be identified during Murder, part 1 as Nunzio Pasqua calls him "Signor Nichols" (Italian for Mr. Nichols).
Nichols can also be identified during The Calling, part 3 as Samuel Galligan calls out to him by last name, desperately asking for him to help fend off the mermaids.
Appearances
Nichols appears in nine dioramas. Chronologically, he first appears in Murder, part 1. He perishes in The Calling, part 6.
- Murder, part 1
- Murder, part 2
- Murder, part 3
- The Calling, part 1
- The Calling, part 2
- The Calling, part 3
- The Calling, part 4
- The Calling, part 5
- The Calling, part 6
- His corpse can be interacted with in Unholy Captives, part 1
- Justice at Sea sketch
References
- ↑ Seen in Murder, part 2.
- ↑ Shown in the epilogue if Nichols' fate is deduced correctly.