Trigger

A Trigger (トリガー) is a product of Neighbor technology that manipulates and is powered by Trion. Despite being often used for combat purposes, Trigger technology also has other functions, and in fact it is regarded as the cornerstone of the entire Neighbor civilization. Combat-oriented Triggers have massive firepower, and are the only weapons capable of damaging and even destroying Trion Bodies.

Triggers can differ greatly among nations. Unlike the more powerful /Black Trigger/s, which are created through the self-sacrifice of a person with high trion, normal Triggers are produced through technology. Earth developed its own Triggers after its contacts with the countries of the Neighborhood. The organization responsible for manufacturing Triggers and fighting off trespassing Neighbors is called Border.

Activation
To activate a Trigger, it is necessary to touch the Trigger Holder and give a clear signal of one's intentions to switch into a trion body. Border agents and trainees often use the vocal command "Trigger on" (トリガー), whereas Aftokrator users declare the name of the Trigger. Black Triggers have been activated both verbally and non-verbally. Border's Triggers can be switched off at any given time, usually with the command "Trigger off," but none is strictly necessary. Aftokrator soldiers do not use any vocal commands to do so.

Normal Triggers can be activated by anyone, provided they have enough trion as even Operators can use trion bodies. Most, if not all, Triggers substitute the user's body for one made out of trion, storing the original body within the Trigger Holder. Trigger Holders are sent to the same dimension as the flesh and blood body upon activation, which is located somewhere in the Neighborhood. Trion bodies grant a Trigger user an increase in strength, speed and durability. Any wound inflicted to the trion body will cause a more or less severe leak of trion, but no physical damage to the user's flesh and blood body. When too much trion is lost, or when certain parts are destroyed, the trion body disappears.

In Border
See Border Triggers

Border's Triggers are manufactured with the aim of being used by a large number of agents. For this reason, their trion consumption, and therefore their power output, are lower than those of Aftokrator Triggers. Border's Trigger technology is generally considered crude by the standards of an advanced country like Aftokrator. However, soldiers from both Aftokrator and its vassal nation Galopoula have expressed admiration for their versatility, which is due to the great number and variety of Triggers in existence and the possibility of equipping and combining several of them. The engineers of Border are constantly working to improve their Triggers and create new ones, and indeed, the speed of Border's technological progress is extolled as outstanding.

Triggers in Border are classified according to their functions, and define the role of an agent in their team or on the battlefield. The main three categories are Attacker, Gunner and Sniper. They encompass the vast majority of Triggers capable of causing damage on their own. Border personnel in general are given an uncategorized Trigger for self-defense (トリガー) with very low trion consumption whose sole function is to create a trion body, in the event of an encounter with Neighbors or Trion Soldiers. It does not come with any sort of additional equipment.

Border is currently in possession of three Black Triggers.

Mechanics
In Border, the actual Trigger is installed in a chip located inside a device called Trigger Holder (トリガー ホルダー), which contains eight slots that can allocate one chip, and thus one Trigger, each. Reiji Kizaki's Trigger Holder is custom-made and can allocate up to 14 chips.

Each Trigger occupies one slot in one of two columns, the Main and the Sub, each composed of four slots (seven in Reiji's case). Main Triggers (トリガー) are automatically set to the user's dominant hand, whichever hand that is. Sub Triggers (トリガー) are automatically set to the user's non-dominant hand. Typically, the user can only activate two Triggers at a time, one from the Main and one from the Sub, with few exceptions.

Border Triggers that shoot bullets have built-in safety measures to handle strays. If someone in their flesh and blood body is hit, instead of being wounded, they will be knocked unconscious from the pain and the impact. A further safety measure makes it so that if a Trigger is deactivated in an unsafe environment, the flesh and blood body will be summoned in a location away from immediate harm.

In Aftokrator
Aftokrator is a powerful military nation, and its Trigger technology is extremely advanced. Aftokrator engineers have developed Trion Receptors that become a part of the body of the person they are embedded in, increasing their amount of trion to create soldiers with enhanced abilities. Another impressive accomplishment is the creation of Trion Soldiers with abilities mimicking those of specific Horn and even Black Triggers. Furthermore, some (though not all) of the nation's Black Triggers come with an armored cape, although it is currently unknown whether Aftokrator possesses the technology to alter Black Triggers or the Black Triggers included them from the start. Seven years prior to the invasion of Earth, Aftokrator was in possession of 13 Black Triggers.

Mechanics
In Aftokrator, each Trigger Holder seems to contain only one Trigger, aside from the equipment that comes with the trion body. The guiding concept at the heart of Aftokrator Triggers is the treatment of such weapons as an extension of one's body, which is transformed as a result. Trion Receptors prevent the trion body from being destabilized by this process. At least some of the Aftokrator Trigger Holders are worn around the wrist like bracelets.

Standard Triggers and Equipment
Trion bodies formed by Aftokrator Triggers come with different equipment from their counterparts on Earth. They are more suited for battle, but can be said to be lacking in terms of logistics, since at the time of the invasion, Aftokrator's fighters could leave the battlefield only through the wormholes created by Speiraskia and did not seem to possess Radar. Since soldiers from Galopoula, one of Aftokrator's vassal nations, were recently endowed with an emergency escape Trigger identical in principle to Bail Out, it is possible Aftokrator has developed the same technology. This is further supported by Yūma Kuga implying it is not a technology found in the Neighborhood, and by Border's Development Chief Motokichi Kinuta suggesting that it was copied from Border.

Horn Triggers
Aftokrator's primary combat Triggers are known as Horn Triggers (トリガー), or Enhanced or High-Powered Triggers (トリガー). Although only one of them can be wielded by each fighter, they more than make up for it with their versatility and power output. The two revealed thus far have high offensive and defensive capabilities, as well as remarkable supplementary abilities. Their raw power is so overwhelming that normal Triggers from Galopoula and Border cannot compare.

Unknown Classification Triggers/Devices
Paraphernalia created by Neighbors which do not seem to be part of standard equipment.

In Galopoula
Despite Galopoula being a small nation, its Trigger users are extolled as exceptional warriors. Their Triggers are said to be suitable for fights against multiple opponents, so it is not uncommon to see them on the battlefield even if they are outnumbered. Aside from combat, some of their Triggers are also ideal for infiltration.

Mechanics
Much like Border Triggers, Galopoula Triggers have a wide array of effects, and a single user can equip several of them. A major difference is the employment of pellets or tokens that are used up to activate certain Triggers, after which they disappear. Galopoula Triggers generally require one such token, but some may expend more or none at all. Once a token is consumed, it cannot be replaced. Each soldier can carry up to 14, stored in a holster on their lower back where they can be reached easily. However, if a larger supply is available, nothing prevents its usage. Galopoula Triggers can be divided in two main types: Triggers that consume a token and Triggers that don’t. The latter can be turned on and off at will, but that does not appear to be the case with the former.

Although there does not seem to be an upper limit to the number of Triggers requiring a token that can be used simultaneously, or, rather, that number corresponds to the quantity of tokens available, it is possible that Triggers of the other type follow a distinction vaguely similar to the Main-Sub binary of Border Triggers. However, it remains unclear if there is a maximum amount of them, or if they are equipped to specific body parts. The exact operating principle of tokens is also unknown. It is unconfirmed whether each of them is dedicated to a specific Trigger (Wen Sō's fear of running out of Dogs lends itself to different readings), or there is no substantial difference among them and which Trigger they activate depends on the will of the user or the circumstances.

Standard Triggers and Equipment
The basic equipment of trion bodies created by Galopoula Triggers is not much different from Border's. "Operators" from Galopoula can assist frontline soldiers with a radar-like Trigger extremely similar to the monitor of Border's Operators, but it is currently unknown if every agent is equipped with a radar Trigger per se and/or if the one used by Reghindetz is an enhanced version exclusive to him.

Named Triggers
These Triggers may be the most powerful in the arsenal of a Galopoula soldier, since each of the members of the infiltration in Border had one. At least some of them require the expenditure of one or more tokens.

Unnamed Triggers
The names of these Triggers were not revealed. Some consume tokens, others don’t. It is unknown how many, if any, of the Triggers falling in the latter category are common to all Galopoula soldiers or should be classified as standard equipment.

Unknown Classification Triggers/Devices
Paraphernalia created by Neighbors which do not seem to be part of standard equipment.

In Calvaria
Calvaria is known to have few Trigger users, at least compared to Spinthir. In fact, it seems the vast majority of its military forces do not utilize Triggers, so the planet-nation relies on Trion Soldiers (Marmods in particular) for defense. Aside from their firearms, soldiers from Calvaria also wield spears, curved daggers, and swords, although these weapons may not be Triggers or, if they are, they do not generate trion bodies.

In Spinthir
Spinthir's Trigger users are easily distinguishable due to their black armor. Like the warriors from Leoforio, soldiers from Spinthir occasionally ride Trion Soldiers (specifically Bamsters) in battle, although they are more frequently seen fighting on their own after breaching the enemy's defenses. This planet-nation seems to have more Trigger users than Calvaria. All of those introduced thus far dual-wielded their weapons.

In Menoeides
Extremely little is known about Triggers from Menoeides, except that their Trigger Users are shaped like hexagonal prisms or parallepipeds, with dots and lines arranged in different motifs on at least one of the broader faces.

In Ergates
The Ergates Triggers revealed thus far revolve around the generation and control of Trion Soldiers. The nation is in possession of at least one Black Trigger.

Triggers of Unknown Origin
Triggers whose country of origin is not known.

Trivia

 * The names of Border's Triggers can be roughly grouped in five categories: meteorology, animals, foreign language words, kanji and astronomy.
 * In addition, Gunner Triggers are very often named after existing missiles, rockets or firearms.
 * Although this has never been openly stated to be a rule, the Trigger Sets of nearly all known Border agents include two Shields equipped in their Trigger Holder. Kyōsuke Karasuma and Osamu Mikumo, who have only one, are however in possession of another defense-oriented Triggers.
 * Another possibly compulsory Trigger is Bagworm, as the only four agents to lack it are the three Trappers and Asumi Amakura, whose Bagworm Tag occupies the entirety of their Sub.
 * All three known Tamakoma Triggers have been activated with the command "On" at least once, which, among Border's normal Triggers, is unique to this class.
 * Despite the vast majority of Border fighters being male, most Triggers with only one user are part of the Trigger Set of a female agent, with a ratio of 4 used by males (Full Arms, Geist, Kogetsu: Spear and the minigun) to 6 used by females (Connector, Enhanced Radar, Idaten, Makō, Sōgetsu and Timer).
 * Thus far, all trion cubes summoned by Shooters have been divided according to the principles of and have produced exclusively  bullets.
 * All of Border's prototype Triggers are Optional Triggers.
 * Much like the nations themselves, Triggers from the Neighborhood have Greek names. Additionally, such normal Triggers seem to follow specific patterns:
 * Aftokrator Triggers are named after animals.
 * Galopoula Triggers are named after titles, occupations and other terms related to women.
 * The author listed Vorvoros, Viper, Lead Bullet and Escudo as the Triggers he would like to try out, although he stated he would enjoy doing stunts in a trion body even more.