After a devastating campaign by the planet Gamillas, Earth has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Between countless exchanges between human and Gamillan spacecraft and an intense bombardment from asteroid bombs, Earth's surface has been rendered completely barren and uninhabitable. The few surviving humans hide in underground cities, terrified that the radiation plaguing the planet's surface will eventually penetrate their living area.

When all hope seems lost, a strange craft crashes on Mars. Inside is a message from the planet Iscandar—if humanity can successfully utilize the enclosed blueprints for a wave motion engine and make the 148,000 light-year journey to Iscandar, their leader, Starsha, will provide them with a device that can restore Earth's natural environment.

With no other options, humanity pours all of its strength into the daring plan. Repurposing the once-magnificent World War II battleship Yamato into a space battleship with warp capability, an elite crew sets out on a desperate mission to save their dying planet.