1. The problem asks for the median of the numbers: 12, -6, -9, 1, -13. 2. To find the median, first arrange the numbers in ascending order. $$-13, -9, -6, 1, 12$$ 3. The median is the middle number in the sorted list because the number of elements is odd (5 elements). 4. The middle element is the 3rd number in the ordered list. 5. Identify the 3rd number: $$-6$$ Therefore, the median of the numbers is $$\boxed{-6}$$.