And, if you think that staying on board the ship would keep a Redshirt safe, you’d be wrong there, too.
If ever there were a choice between killing one of our main characters or making sure a Redshirt wouldn’t live to see another day, wherever they were, Star Trek opted for the Redshirt.
Unfortunately, being a Redshirt frequently meant that you would not return from said away mission with your life intact, as they were often killed before anyone even fully understood that danger was afoot.
In case you’re unaware of Star Trek lore, Redshirts (and, yes, that is one word and not two) were usually chosen to accompany the main crew of the Enterprise on away missions to dangerous planets in order to take readings, suss out new life forms and accomplish other space exploration goals.