Red alert is a Starfleet alert state in the Star Trek fictional universe. It is the highest state of alert for a Starfleet vessel or installation, indicating an extremely dangerous situation such as entering combat.
When red alert is called on board a ship, the lights dim, audio alarms sound, the force field shields are activated, the ship's weapons are brought online, red alert lights are illuminated, the crew maintains a heightened state of readiness, and all holodecks must cease. A state of red alert may be called on starships, installations, regions, or the entire fleet. The red alert state in the fictional Star Trek universe is similar to a call to general quarters aboard United States Navy vessels.
In universe, the red alert is reverse-apocryphally named for Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, who suggested the system to replace the inefficient audio cues used by the earth starfleet at that time. It was jokingly named the "Reed Alert" by the Enterprise crew, following the suggestion of Trip Tucker, something that annoyed Reed.
Famous quotes containing the words red and/or alert:
“To-night the winds begin to rise
And roar from yonder dropping day:
The last red leaf is whirl’d away,
The rooks are blown about the skies;
The forest crack’d, the waters curl’d,
The cattle huddled on the lea;”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“One’s prime is elusive. You little girls, when you grow up, must be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. You must then live it to the full.”
—Muriel Spark (b. 1918)