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:
“Hm, the beacon of the press. In the hell to which all journalists must descend when they die, Mr. Wiggam, we shall sit at red hot desks with quills of fire in our hand and spend eternity on eternity writing about the salubrious weather of that region. Let us serve our apprenticeship here thoroughly and intelligently.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)
“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)