Blue Alert (Star Trek)

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Blue Alert is a type of ship-wide alert used by the United Federation of Planets' Starfleet on vessels equipped with an unusual or non-fleet wide capability, and is used to alert the crew to prepare for an unusual occurence.

To date only four starships have been seen to actively use blue alert on-screen; The USS Enterprise D (when oxygen systems begin to shut down on the bridge, forcing the crew to evacuate),The USS Voyager (which initiates a Blue Alert for surface landings) and the USS Defiant (which originally used Blue Alert to signify preperation to cloak),

When a Blue Alert is called, a number of procedures are performed depending on the end function. On Intrepid class starships before entering a celestial body's atmosphere, the warp drive is shut down, plasma in the nacelles is vented overboard and structural integrity fields are set on high. Loose articles are secured and the crew is informed to stand by.

Blue Alert is a recent addition to Star Trek. During the Star Trek series in the 1960s, special effects were not available to allow the Enterprise to land. By the time of the Star Trek: Voyager series, special effects had reached the point where the Voyager could occasionally land on a planet and then take off, as well as conduct atmospheric operations without landing. While some technical drawings of the Defiant class starship showed landing gear, the Defiant was never seen landing on a planetary body and thus its capability to do so is not canon.

Blue Alert is also seen when the Romulans whom have taken over the U.S.S. Prometheus activate its MVAM (Multi-Vector Assault Mode) "VOY:Message in a Bottle" .

[edit] Parodies

In the spoof british television series Red Dwarf a "blue alert" is a parody of the Star trek alert system in that there are only four members of the crew, usually situated together on the bridge where all are already aware of the dangerous condition. All "Blue Alert" accomplishes is to light up a backlit sign that says "ALERT". Blue Alert on Red Dwarf is equivalent to Star Trek's yellow alert. A red alert condition is present in the regulations, but it does entail changing the bulb in the "ALERT" sign and is thus rarely used.