Alert Status

Ship's Status

Federation Starships have been devising means to call for different levels of alertness from their crews depending on a given situation since before the founding of the Federation. The earliest Earth starships used systems similar to that world's navies- "General Quarters" was a state of heightened readiness when the vessel was in danger or in combat. But the system did not ultimately carry over to the Federation.

Instead, Starfleet implemented a system that used the three primary colors in the visible spectrum, those that most Humanoid species would be able to perceive. By far the most common of these are Condition Yellow and Condition Red. Less often used conditions include: Condition Blue, Condition Gray, and "Black Alert."

Implementing an alert status (assuming the computer does not automatically do so) is done from the Operations Manager console on the Main Bridge. The Operations Manager directs crew and resources as defined by the alert status and special instructions from the Commanding Officer.

No Status (Green)

When a ship is under no form of potential or imminent danger, it is at normal operations, has no status, and is sometimes called Condition Green. This is indicated by an inert gray condition icon on most consoles. During normal operations, a starship has power diverted to necessary systems as everyday ship function demands. No systems are prioritized over any other, save at the direction of the Operations Manager.

Condition Yellow

A Commanding Officer, Operations Manager, or the ship's computer can call Condition Yellow. Criteria for Condition Yellow (or Yellow Alert) is that a heightened state of awareness and readiness is called for. The starship is in potential danger and may be operating with reduced resources not at immediately threatening levels. Conditions that call for a Yellow Alert include:

A computer core failure (but the other remains online as do most or all subprocessors);

Structural Integrity Fields see an unexpected drop of up to 20% while at Warp Speed;

An isolated, containable life support failure;

An unplanned Shuttle departure;

A hostile vessel is on long-range sensors but has not yet activated weapons or shields

A friendly vessel passes inside the 50,000 kilometers zone and has made no attempts at communication, automated hello, or hail.

A containment field failure in a Sickbay or Science Lab containment forcefield (often quickly upgraded to Red Alert).

Proximity Alert

A Proximity Alert is when an object large enough to do harm to the starship's hull is detected on a collision or near-collision course by the sensors.

Condition Red

Battlestations

Intruder Alert

Abandon Ship

Condition Blue

Condition Gray