"What do we do now?" Rose asked.

"Maz said that this master decoder would have a red ploom on his lapel," Finn replied, frowning. "Let's find him and get out of here."

He glanced down, then reached for his comlink and activated it.

"Maz?" he said. "Is that union dispute you were talking about over?"

"We're in the period where both sides consider one another's offers," Maz informed him. "The executives consider if they want to accept our demands, or if they'd rather find out if the bombs I told them about were real – and we consider if our barricades will hold off their hired security."

"You're in a union?" Rose asked.

"I'm a consultant," Maz replied. "I'm guessing you're asking for advice?"

"How do we find this master decoder?" Finn said, glancing around in case anyone was paying them too much attention. "And how do we get him to work for us, if we do?"

"Oh, the second bit's easy enough," Maz answered, cheerfully. "Tell him that Maz is calling in the favour! He'll want proof, but I might be too busy to give it – if that's the case, the word is 'Purrgil'. He'll know what it means."

She paused. "As for the first bit… I said, you'll find him on the high roller tables. You shouldn't have trouble getting to him, right?"

"The high – you mean the bit behind the security checkpoints?" Finn asked. "Okay, there's no way we can get to him in that case."

Maz was silent for a moment.

"What has Leia been teaching you?" she asked.

"Leia hasn't taught me anything!" Finn said. "When would she have taught me something? I was out cold from Starkiller Base until shortly before leaving the Resistance ship, we haven't even spoken except for when I gave part of a briefing, and that doesn't count!"

"Oh, that explains it," Maz said. "I'll have to apologize to her when I see her next… okay, I'll have to give you a quick lesson. One of the most useful tricks in the Jedi arsenal is the Mind Trick."

"That sounds ethically dubious," Rose frowned.

"When the alternative is to try and fight your way through, a mind trick becomes much more ethical," Maz replied, sounding amused. "Getting past guards, causing distractions, avoiding a conflict – all of these things. The key is that your will that this will resolve the situation amicably is expressed through the Force. Fortunately, even an improper execution of the technique is usually difficult to notice for the target, so they do not realize you were trying to influence their minds-"

"Why are you telling me this?" Finn asked. "How can you think I'm some kind of Jedi?"

"You're not a Jedi only because you haven't been trained as one," Maz said. "I'm not a Jedi either. I could have been one. You could be one. Now, listen closely. Do you have fifteen minutes and someone to practice on?"

Finn glanced up at Rose, who swallowed.

"Yes," she said. "He's got both."

"Good!" Maz declared. "We're already making progress. Now, listen. The only true boundary on what you can achieve with the Force is your own perceptions. What exists is consensus reality, which is what exists even when you cease to believe in it, but with the Force you can override consensus reality with your own personal willpower. Your belief becomes a privileged viewpoint and you observe what you wish to, bringing about a change that persists past the end of the exertion."

"What does that even mean?" Finn asked, blinking. "I have no idea what that means!"

"That's good!" Maz chuckled. "We don't have time for the slow way so I have to get your mind expanded fast. But keep listening…"

AN:

With Finn being canonically force-sensitive, this seems like it might have been what Maz meant in the first place.