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Master Codebreaker

This article details a subject that is considered canon.

The title of this article is a nickname, call sign, or alias.

This article is about a subject that has not been identified with an official name and is known only by a nickname, call sign, or alias.

Master Codebreaker

Descriptive information

Species

Human^[1]

Gender

Male^[2]

Pronouns

He/him^[1]

Hair color

Black^[1]

Skin color

Light^[1]

"He's a master codebreaker, an ace pilot, a poet with a blaster."

―Maz Kanata to Finn, Rose, andPoe Dameron^[1]

TheMaster Codebreaker was ahuman male codebreaker who had an association with thePirate Queen Maz Kanata and a love for gambling.

Biography[]

Tomorrow never dies[]

"Perfecting the arts of infiltration, espionage, and high-stakes bluffing requires that I rub extremities with the most valuable players in the galaxy."

―Master Codebreaker, in theSmuggler's Guide^[3]

Sometime afterSupreme Leader Snoke's assumption of leadership within theFirst Order, Master Codebreaker stole theSmuggler's Guide from theKanjiklub chief in the middle of negotiations for the domination of Rim territories, and wondered ifMaz Kanata intended thebook for him as another one of their tests of intellect. Before trying to uncover the enigma, Codebreaker visited the betting parlors ofHosnian Cardota, where he played with thearms dealers, steadily decreasing their money supply to their offense. Eventually, one of them tried topoison him, but the toxicity was nullified byhullepi-culturetongue sheath. He claimed to exit the parlor from the 350th-floor balcony using apara-wing glider. Master Codebreaker then returned to the enigma of the logbook and wrote an entry detailing this exploit in theSmuggler's Guide.^[3]

Top-flight arms dealers and syndicates[]

"Furthermore, my experience in the Hosnian system made me realize that you neglected to credit the galaxy's true powers—perhaps by design?"

―Master Codebreaker, in theSmuggler's Guide^[3]

Following his experience in theHosnian system, Codebreaker noticed that Maz's list of powerfulcrime syndicates wasdecades out of date and that she neglected to mentionthe galaxy's true powers. He then wrote in theSmuggler's Guide new list of powerful syndicates:Black Sun lost their place in the list; theCrymorah Syndicate was replaced byDroid Gotra;Crimson Dawn was replaced bySon-tuul Pride and theGuavian Death Gang; thePykes andHutts were replaced byKanjiklub and theRed Key Raiders. He also added corporate entities that Maz neglected to mention:Sienar Fleet Systems,BlasTech,Kuat Drive Yards,Mining Guild, andCorporate Sector Authority.^[3]

Cipher machine[]

"I am reminded that very little ever really changes."

―Master Codebreaker, in theSmuggler's Guide^[3]

Taking a break from ciphers to earncredits, though he also said he wouldn't be againstChandrilan cocktail, Master Codebreaker paid a visit to theBrentaal Trading Houses onBrentaal IV, one of the fewworlds that still allow Codebreaker to play the games of odds which he recorded in the logbook.^[3]

After his sojourn on Brentaal and parts spinward, he continued trying to uncover the secrets of the logbook, and suggested that it could bebio-hexacrypted and that he only needed to determine the biological sample Maz selected for encryption to crack this. He was also reminded that regardless of which faction holds power,Galactic Republic orGalactic Empire,New Republic orFirst Order, business interests retain their grip on manufacturing. Eventually, Master Codebreaker managed to decode the meaning of the logbook, concluding that it is an elaborate cipher that Codebreaker claimed means "HappyFete Week," wondering if it was an elaborate way by Maz to wish himNew Year Fete. He recorded his attempts to decode theSmuggler's Guide in it.^[3]

Later, Master Codebreaker tried to send theSmuggler's Guide back on course toTakodana as a thank you to Maz, so he decided to place it in theMillennium Falcon. He managed to locate the^[3]YT-1300f light freighter,^[4] and sneak the logbook on board, thinkingHan Solo wouldn't notice it. The book then ended up being discovered byGannis Ducain.^[3]

Rolling on Canto Bight[]

The Master Codebreaker was sought byRose Tico andFinn on amission to stop theFirst Order'sflagship, theSupremacy, fromtracking theResistance throughhyperspace. They were sent to him by Kanata because they were desperate for someone of his talents. When they finally spotted him in theCanto Casino inCanto Bight, they attempted to run up to him, but were apprehended by theCanto Bight Police Department for illegally parking theirstarship on the beach.^[1] The Master Codebreaker's companion—a woman going by the name "Lovey" who hoped to take his title^[5]—asked him about the disturbance, and he responded that he thought it was of little consequence.^[1]

Personality and traits[]

"You'll find him with a red plom bloom on his lapel, rolling at a high stakes table in the casino on Canto Bight."

―Maz Kanata^[1]

Master Codebreaker was only known by his title, and kept his original identity a secret. However, he once posted all of his personal information to a public node, encrypted bybio-hexacrypt, and anybody who uncovered the information was welcome to take his mantle. However, nobody was known to have retrieved the information.^[5]

Matching his levels of secrecy, the Codebreaker's companion kept her real name hidden from him, and he only referred to her as "Lovey". At theCanto Casino, Master Codebreaker was only allowed to play dice games, and he was forbidden from electronic entertainment.^[5] He regularly wore a brooch in the shape of a redflower, aplom bloom, pinned on his lapel, which Maz told Finn and Rose about as an identifying mark. On the day he was sought out by the pair, he was sporting a thin black mustache.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

The Master Codebreaker is a character created byRian Johnson for the2017 filmStar Wars: Episode VIIIThe Last Jedi. He was portrayed byJustin Theroux, who was cast one day before filming.^[6]

In earlier versions of the film's script, Finn and Rose met the Master Codebreaker inside a cabaret room of theCanto Casino. The Codebreaker enlists their help to steal jewels from an insectoid warlord known as theButcher of Brix. The three climb onto thecasino's rooftop intending to break into the warlord's room, but are spotted by a surveillancedroid. The Codebreaker is abducted using a "taser beam" from a huge prison ship, and Finn and Rose are arrested by theCanto Bight Police Department.^[6]Jason Fry, the author of the film'snovelization, originally wanted (along with Johnson) to include this alternate meeting between the Codebreaker, Finn and Rose to shake up the fans' expectations, but ultimately it was decided that presenting an alternate version of a major scene would shake up expectations too much, so the idea was dropped.^[7]