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:
“Here thou art painted in the dress
Of an inhuman murderess;
Examining upon our hearts
Thy fertile shop of cruel arts:
Engines more keen than ever yet
Adorned tyrant’s cabinet,
Of which the most tormenting are
Black eyes, red lips, and curled hair.”
—Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)
“Good guilt is a product of love and responsibility. It is a natural, positive instinct that parents and good child care providers have. If bad guilt is a monster, good guilt is a friendly fairy godmother, yakking away in your head to keep you alert to the needs of your baby.”
—Jean Marzollo (20th century)