Red alert
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
A red alert (also condition red (alert) or code red) is the highest alert signal status on Starfleet vessels, one stage above a yellow alert. In this status, weapons systems and shields are brought to full power, as the ship prepares for combat. Red alert is also ordered during various other emergency situations, such as a ship being boarded, radiation exposure, a security alert, massive systems failure, an imminent warp core breach, and an evacuation order among others. During a red alert, lights are dimmed, alarms blare, and computer terminals show constant red graphics. The Klingon equivalent of this status is defense condition one. (DS9: "Once More Unto the Breach")
A red alert may either be activated manually by the Commanding Officer, the officer in charge or automatically (when a ship is attacked, enters a dangerous area, etc). (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver")
In 2372, Captain Benjamin Sisko ordered red alert on the USS Defiant, shortly before the cloaking device was deactivated and the shields raised up, to prepare for the battle with three Klingon Birds-of-Prey. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")
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[edit] Background
"Red alert" comes from the naval tradition of general quarters, and in fact the command "general quarters" may be used interchangeably to bring the ship into red alert. In TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before", Captain Jean-Luc Picard issued both commands. The Klingon equivalent for red alert may be a reference to the American alert system DEFCON.
In ENT: "Singularity" it is hinted at that Lieutenant Reed had developed the term red alert, as it was jokingly referred to as "Reed alert". It was never mentioned again until Star Trek: The Original Series, so the exact date of its implementation remains a mystery.
In VOY: "Scorpion, Part II", Chakotay mentioned that the USS Voyager would remain on "full" red alert. This may signify that there are multiple levels of red alert status, or that certain aspects of red alert, such as manning battle stations, can be stood down while allowing other aspects such as charged weapons to remain active. It may however simply refer to the fact that Voyager would remain at red alert for the duration.
