INSIGNIA & VORTEX, by S.J. Kincaid

The stories: INSIGNIA--The world is at war--nothing new about that, except that the wars are now being fought by proxy, and governments are always on the lookout for kids who can be trained as the new cannon fodder: fast at the controls, good thinkers, lightning-fast problem solvers. Tom Raines is a kid whose father is a professional gambler, and while Tom's attendance at school (and thus his grades) are spotty at best, he's a butt-kicking gamer. When he hits a never-before-achieved level on a virtual reality game, the government's alert light is tripped, and Tom gets recruited. He knows going in that he'll be fighting for the Indo-America, but he never dreamed he'd also be fighting kids on his own side as everyone scrambles for patrons and prestige. When Tom meets Medusa, it doesn't take him long to realize she's his equal in every way...but she fights for the enemy, and now Tom has to make a choice. VORTEX: Money, politics, friendship--who knew there were so many facets to becoming a warrior? Now in the second year of his training, Tom Raines has to decide whether to betray his friends, and his ideals, for the sake of his country. Tom thinks there has to be another way--but is he willing to die to prove it?