Project Izumo

Serizawa orders Niimi to commence Project Izumo.

Project Izumo was an early attempt by the leadership of Earth to save Terran survivors from the devastation of the Garmillas War. It was organized under the Far East District Military Affairs Bureau. Following its scrapping around 2198, it was replaced by Program Yamato, but a faction within the United Nations Cosmo Force plotted to reactivate it.

History

Early history and interruption

After years of lost confrontations with the Great Garmillas Empire and an ongoing bombardment that had nearly wiped out all life on Earth, humanity was facing its own extinction. Project Izumo proposed transporting a small portion of the remaining population out of the solar system and away from Garmillas attention, settling a habitable world, and re-starting human civilization. It was organized under the Far East District Military Affairs Bureau and the bureau's director, General Kotetsu Serizawa of the United Nations Cosmo Force, was placed in command of the project and preparations moved ahead. The work was interrupted in 2198 when a message from an alien planet, Iscandar, offered a device that could restore Earth's ruined biosphere and an advanced engine to power the ship that would transport the device. The Izumo Plan was officially scrapped, and personnel and resources were diverted to the more ambitious and riskier plan of launching the space battleship Yamato one year later on a round-trip voyage to Iscandar.

Infiltrating Yamato

For this topic in more detail, see Mutiny on Beemela 4

The heads of the mutiny, Itou and Niimi

Despite the successful departure of Yamato from Earth, the fight for Project Izumo was not over. Serizawa falsified records, created a security force for the ship headed by Lieutenant J.G. Shinya Itou and staffed by other loyal officers, and concealed a Ki-8 prototype air boat aboard the ship for planetary reconnaissance. Just before Yamato moved out of communications range with Earth, Lieutenant Kaoru Niimi secretly made contact with Serizawa, who encouraged her to move ahead with the plot to restart Izumo. Niimi first attempted to sway Admiral Juzo Okita by asking to investigate a suitable planet orbiting Gliese 581, but her request was immediately and unequivocally turned down.

She collaborated with Head of Security Itou to find additional supporters among the crew and waited for an opportunity to act. That moment came following the discovery of Beemela 4, a world covered with liquid water and rich plant and animal life. With Yamato's food processing system failing, the ship heavily damaged in a nearly fatal encounter with Garmillas forces, and Okita in poor health, Niimi and Itou initiated a mutiny. After they and their collaborators secured the ship, the mutineers' plan to return to Earth, pick up as many survivors as possible, and begin colonization of Beemela 4 was announced. The mutiny was stopped hours later, in part due to a young security officer and six other security personnel with their own secret orders from United Nations Space Planning Office chief Heikuro Todo to watch for any activity related to Izumo.

With the failure of the mutiny, Project Izumo ended once and for all.

Legacy

During the Battle of the Rainbow Star Cluster, most of the imprisoned project Izumo supporters were killed when the Yamato's cells were hit by a garmillan attack. Only Itou, Niimi and Petty Officer Sukeji Yabu managed to survive, but while Niimi was reaccepted into the crew, Ito and Yabu hid on the ship and became accidentaly involved in the Riot on Prison Planet 17, were Itou was killed and Yabu remained stranded on the planet. The main mind behind the mutiny, Serizawa, menaged to maintain his position in the military, and continued to serve as a General in the UNCF.

Some of the materials which had been sneaked aboard the Yamato by the Izumo Faction, such as the Ki-8 prototype air boat and the ARGO system were later used during the Gatlantis War.

Notes

• Izumo is currently the name of a city in southwestern Honshu, the largest island of the Japanese archipelago. In the past, it was the name of the surrounding province. In the Shinto religion, Izumo is the realm of the gods; the Izumo-taisha shrine in Izumo City was built in honor of the god Ōkuninushi, who granted the land of Japan to descendants of the sun goddess Amaterasu. Their subsequent descendants eventually became the Japanese people.

Japanese language information

イズモ計画 Izumo keikaku