The 13th Star: An Action Adventure Sci-F Apocalyptic Novel by Adam Peled Page B

selected them carefully and uncompromisingly. Only those he thought could return the vehicles safely— t he ten very best—were selected to receive instruction from him.
    Rettoul assumed the final training and practice of Mattoui’s ten selected representatives. To him, being able to come home
     was significant, but one couldn’t forgo tactics and maneuverability. The hours spent with Rettoul quickly become hours of
     heritage and focus. He planted something of his soul in each cadet to the point that they became his younger brothers.
    Sometimes bitter disputes were heard between Mattoui and Rettoul regarding one cadet or another. Rettoul’s personal demands
     sometimes contradicted Mattoui’s training, but neither one gave up. As part of a summary meeting held twice a week at the
     end of a dinner shared by all five of them, they would raise the issue in dispute and the rest of the team expressed its opinion.
    Rettoul was also responsible for the curriculum and the connection to the High Command, including the chief of staff . Rettoul developed the training program and curriculum, but the senior staff didn’t approve. They didn’t believe in a different
     system—only the one familiar and known for years. Rettoul, however, insisted on his system. He assured the other instructors
     that all the processes, all the results—everything that occurred under his control during the course—would be completely transparent
     to all, and they’d be entitled to respond and comment. He further promised that he’d take on the most problematic group of
     cadets, the one that no one else wanted, whose grades were expected to be the lowest in the
     bunch. He’d supervise them and, at the end of the training period when presenting the data, he’d alter and replace his approach at the
     request of the senior faculty if he hadn’t met the challenge—to position his pupils at the top of the cadets’ groups.
    They were called “the magnificent five” by everyone. All eyes were riveted on them, especially those of cadets who weren’t
     lucky enough to enjoy their guidance, obviously jealous. The other instructors also visited and examined all their actions.
     Some awaited their failure and others suffered for not being part of the quintet. But no one could ignore them.
    The end of the course arrived and students from all the groups in the camp presented the skills and abilities acquired. The
     students of the quintet were hugely successful. The scores were so high that even their human, reasonable failings were no
     longer visible. The five demonstrated it was possible to get high results in another way, too.
    The camp Steering Committee sought to expand the scope of the training, so the five trained additional teams in their methods.
     No one had any doubt because they’d succeeded in the past, and apparently not by chance. The five saw humanity and friendship
     as a key to success.
    Their success soon led to a rise in the administrative and command hierarchy. Four years after Rettoul became responsible
     for the once-troublesome bunch, the quintet became the most senior staff in the camp. The only camp staff of higher rank were
     Bar and his deputy. Those men both occasionally expressed skepticism about the training process, but they couldn’t argue with
     the results, especially when accompanied by such great admiration and respect by the students, as well as other training teams.
     Many cadets clamored to enter the quintet’s training, as they now only taught one course a year. The other unfortunate cadets
     considered themselves lucky if only they met or heard the quintet.
    Rettoul, their idol, had something indescribable—some said charisma, some said a halo. Modestly, amiably, and professionally,
     he inspired every student and instructor, or even a person he’d just met, to want to be near him.
    As the main contact person between the quintet and the senior command staff in the camp, and the entire galaxy, Bar