Meteor

"An explosive that affects a wide area: Meteor."

- Shiori Usami about Meteor.

Meteor is a Gunner Trigger.

Appearance
Meteor is a projectile which appears as a luminous trail once shot. On impact, it explodes with a flash, releasing a large amount of smoke. Its trajectory becomes curved when fired by a grenade launcher.

Overview
The origins of this Trigger are unknown. It was initially used exclusively in trion cube form, until firearms were invented.

Abilities
Meteor is one of the mid-ranged options available to Border agents, which can be fired as a trion cube or through a firearm. It is slightly less powerful than Asteroid, as part of the trion allocated to the bullet is spent on its signature ability. Meteor lacks the penetrative power of the other Gunner Triggers, but its explosive properties allow it to inflict damage over a much wider range on impact. The radius of the blast scales with the amount of trion used. A trion body can suffer fatal damage from being engulfed in the explosion without direct contact with the bullets. As a Gunner Trigger, Hound is less powerful than Attacker Triggers in normal circumstances and consumes more trion than the latter. The higher the trion amount of the user, the more of it can be allocated to its three basic parameters, enhancing its performance, to the point that the blast caused by Chika Amatori's undivided Meteor cube is powerful and large enough to obliterate half of a massive, six-story mall.

Meteor has a variety of applications. Apart from being fired at the opponent directly, planted Meteor cubes can be set on the ground and detonated remotely with another Trigger when the target is in range, or combined with Spider to create tripwire-based booby traps. Strategically placed fragments may be set off by the opponent themselves upon contact, even after the user has bailed out. While these applications are unavailable to Gunners, channeling the projectile to grenade launchers grants them an arched trajectory which allows them to bombard a target without a visual. A Meteor user on the verge of defeat has the option to launch a suicidal attack in order to take out a more powerful opponent. More indirect tactics include creating fast-dissipating smoke screens and the demolition of structures not made out of trion, whether to bury or obstruct the opponent, to clear lines of fire, or destroy crucial infrastructure and hiding spots to flush out the opponent, among others. It can also counter tactics centered on the creation of a thick web of Spider wires.

However, many of these applications have a downside. The creation of an escape route or other structural demolition may grant the opponent a line of fire, and the wide blast radius carries with it the potential for inadvertent self-destruction due to the enemy detonating the bullets by shooting at them or by erecting an obstacle close to the user. Friendly fire is also a concern, although, like other ranged Border Triggers, Meteor should be endowed with a safety mechanism that prevents it from injuring flesh and blood bodies, knocking the owner unconscious from the pain and impact. The use of explosives on home turf may also result in the devastation of useful infrastructure as well as an influx of negative public opinion. Some agents may be unwilling to use Meteor in the vicinity of civilian homes, even if they are abandoned.

Users
See also: Meteor Users

Meteor has 20 known users among official agents, 12 of whom utilize it as a shooter bullet and 8 as a gunner one. Among the latter, 6 utilize it in conjunction with an assault rifle and 2 with a grenade launcher. This list excludes an unknown number of trainees as well as agents who do not participate in rank wars. Akane Hiura also used Meteor while she was a Border agent.

Trivia

 * Like other Gunner bullets, Meteor is likely to have been named after a missile, the MBDA Meteor, commonly known simply as Meteor.
 * Meteor is the only bullet used in conjunction with a grenade launcher.
 * It is also the only Gunner bullet not to be used in conjunction with a handgun.
 * The list of Meteor users includes Akane Hiura and Yūko Kumagai, who equipped it in preparation of round three, since it was featured in their Trigger Sets in the databook.
 * Hyuse equipped this Trigger in round seven.