Okay, so the EDTO have two basic combat mecha (Valkyrie and Desdroid). Both can be fitted with a variety of additional pods to fill specific roles. For example, FAST packs on the Valkyrie provide the Super (space combat), Strike (anti-shipping) and Elint (Electronic Warfare) packages without preventing transformation. There are also the Armored and Monster packages that confine the Valkyrie to Battroid and Gerwalk modes respectively but add massive armour and weapons, bringing them to near Desdroid levels. (I'm downsizing the Monster significantly here of course), Desdroids can be configured in a wide variety of roles (including an Engineering package) but the main combat packages are the Tomahawk (heavy combat), Spartan (close combat), Defender (air defense) and Phalanx (artillery missiles).
Characterwise, keeping the nationalities about the same would keep the continuities about the same. So:
Rear Admiral Isidor Pyotrvich Prokopy (Russian)
- a veteran carrier commander in the Pan-Asian(?) Pacific Fleet, Prokopy commanded the military escort for the first study of the SDF-1 and ran the security of the site for the first few years. He then commanded the first ARMD for several years and was the first choice to command the relaunched SDF-1.
Commander Lydia Sigiswald (American)
- daughter of Admiral Harold Sigiswald (currently EDTO CINCPAC) and a third-generation naval officer. Distinguished herself as junior officer on an OTO carrier during the later stages of the war and served on Mars Base early in it's construction (her fiance served there until the base was destroyed). She returned to Earth to serve on the SDF-1 as Airboss but after the loss of the XO in the early stages of the Zentreadi attack, she become de facto second-in-command.
Estavan Frade (Mexican)
- son of ace Mexican pilot Rafael Frade, Estavan grew up to love flying. After his father died late in the war, his mother made him promise never to join the military so he joined a flying circus right out of high school. He remained close to his father's protege Manfred Korbinian, who invited him to the launch of the SDF-1.
Lieutenant-Colonel Manfred Korbinian (Austrian)
- one of the top OTO aces of the European theatre later stages of the war, Manfred was nicknamed 'the Baron' in honor of the legendary ace with the same first name a century before. After the war, be was one of the test pilots for the VX-0 prototype variable fighter and for the VF-1 Valkyrie. He was a contentious choice for command of the SDF-1's air group and is generally at odds with Commander Sigiswald. He flews with an elite squadron of hand-picked Valkyrie pilots who have red trim on their fighters and a skull&crossbones insignia.
Susumu Katsuro (Japanese)
- the son of engineers employed in the reconstruction of the SDF-1, Katsuro is among the civilians in the shelters carried along by the SDF-1 when it folds out into space. A devoted and very competitive videogamer, he is recruited into the military at the same time as Estevan but has to go through pilot training so he joins active service later and is assigned to fly under Estevan's command.
Ningshui Jialan (Chinese)
- a teenage girl whose parents were refugees from Shanghai, Jialan grew up in Singapore and she and her younger brother moved to Macross City to live with with their maternal aunt and uncle after their father died. Jialan's father was prominient in the peace movement during the War and her cousin Jiang Dong is a prominent member of the local pacificst movement.
Major Kamaria Malaika (Kenyan)
- Kamaria had no military background before she enlisted in the EDTO Space Force, she was a scientist who wanted to get into space. However, she proved to be a very efficient weapons officer and server with Prokopy on ARMD-01 and came to the SDF-1 with him. She has an on-again-off-again relationship with Manfred.
For the Zentreadi:
Ukko
- commander-in-chief of the Zentreadi that remained loyal to their creators, Ukko is dedicated to remaining in control of his forces and defeating the Others' rebel Zentreadi. He's very old and survives only with massive medical effort but has a corps of fanatically loyal officers supporting him.
Joukahainen
- one of the Zentreadi's most famed commanders, Joukahainen has built up one of the strongest fleets among the loyalist Zentreadi. He is not one of Ukko's clique however, and believes that changes are needed to prevent the Zentreadi from extinction as their support base collapses. His assignment to recover the SDF-1 after it went missing with the last of the Antedeluvians aboard is a form of exile by Ukko.
Nyyrikki
- young and ambitious, Nyyrikki is a notoriously reckless and cruel Zentreadi but his personal charisma has made him one of Joukahainen's most powerful subordinates as many ships follow him. He is outwardly loyal to Ukko, but privately wants to overhtrow Ukko and Joukahainen to found his own Empire.
Louhi
- a respected Meltran rival of Joukahainen, Louhi is sent to Earth by Ukko to replace her rival when Ukko uses the excuse of Joukahainen's failure to retrieve the SDF-1 to weaken the commander's position. Louhi has no more success than her predecessor however and her decision to send iniltrators into the SDF-1 ultimately leads to the Zentreadi defeat. Louhi and Nyyrikki are uneasy allies since Louhi really is loyal to Ukko to begin with.
Kyllikki
- the most respected Meltran ace in the galaxy, Kyllikki is a contempary of Louhi and has commanded troopers and Power Armour for Louhi since Louhi's first ship command. Ruthless and proud, Kyllikki and her corps of Power Armour troopers meet their match against the SDF-1 although they do succeed in killing Manfred and many other pilots. Ultimately, her rivalyr with Katsuro brings Kyllikki onto the SDF-1 and they fall in love. Her pilots follow her in the first mass-defection of Zentreadi to Earth.
No Quarter, NO QUARTER! You damn well earned your fate.
Give Harrington our compliments; we're sorry you are late.
- No Quarter, Echoes Children
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
Characterwise, keeping the nationalities about the same would keep the continuities about the same. So:
Rear Admiral Isidor Pyotrvich Prokopy (Russian)
- a veteran carrier commander in the Pan-Asian(?) Pacific Fleet, Prokopy commanded the military escort for the first study of the SDF-1 and ran the security of the site for the first few years. He then commanded the first ARMD for several years and was the first choice to command the relaunched SDF-1.
Commander Lydia Sigiswald (American)
- daughter of Admiral Harold Sigiswald (currently EDTO CINCPAC) and a third-generation naval officer. Distinguished herself as junior officer on an OTO carrier during the later stages of the war and served on Mars Base early in it's construction (her fiance served there until the base was destroyed). She returned to Earth to serve on the SDF-1 as Airboss but after the loss of the XO in the early stages of the Zentreadi attack, she become de facto second-in-command.
Estavan Frade (Mexican)
- son of ace Mexican pilot Rafael Frade, Estavan grew up to love flying. After his father died late in the war, his mother made him promise never to join the military so he joined a flying circus right out of high school. He remained close to his father's protege Manfred Korbinian, who invited him to the launch of the SDF-1.
Lieutenant-Colonel Manfred Korbinian (Austrian)
- one of the top OTO aces of the European theatre later stages of the war, Manfred was nicknamed 'the Baron' in honor of the legendary ace with the same first name a century before. After the war, be was one of the test pilots for the VX-0 prototype variable fighter and for the VF-1 Valkyrie. He was a contentious choice for command of the SDF-1's air group and is generally at odds with Commander Sigiswald. He flews with an elite squadron of hand-picked Valkyrie pilots who have red trim on their fighters and a skull&crossbones insignia.
Susumu Katsuro (Japanese)
- the son of engineers employed in the reconstruction of the SDF-1, Katsuro is among the civilians in the shelters carried along by the SDF-1 when it folds out into space. A devoted and very competitive videogamer, he is recruited into the military at the same time as Estevan but has to go through pilot training so he joins active service later and is assigned to fly under Estevan's command.
Ningshui Jialan (Chinese)
- a teenage girl whose parents were refugees from Shanghai, Jialan grew up in Singapore and she and her younger brother moved to Macross City to live with with their maternal aunt and uncle after their father died. Jialan's father was prominient in the peace movement during the War and her cousin Jiang Dong is a prominent member of the local pacificst movement.
Major Kamaria Malaika (Kenyan)
- Kamaria had no military background before she enlisted in the EDTO Space Force, she was a scientist who wanted to get into space. However, she proved to be a very efficient weapons officer and server with Prokopy on ARMD-01 and came to the SDF-1 with him. She has an on-again-off-again relationship with Manfred.
For the Zentreadi:
Ukko
- commander-in-chief of the Zentreadi that remained loyal to their creators, Ukko is dedicated to remaining in control of his forces and defeating the Others' rebel Zentreadi. He's very old and survives only with massive medical effort but has a corps of fanatically loyal officers supporting him.
Joukahainen
- one of the Zentreadi's most famed commanders, Joukahainen has built up one of the strongest fleets among the loyalist Zentreadi. He is not one of Ukko's clique however, and believes that changes are needed to prevent the Zentreadi from extinction as their support base collapses. His assignment to recover the SDF-1 after it went missing with the last of the Antedeluvians aboard is a form of exile by Ukko.
Nyyrikki
- young and ambitious, Nyyrikki is a notoriously reckless and cruel Zentreadi but his personal charisma has made him one of Joukahainen's most powerful subordinates as many ships follow him. He is outwardly loyal to Ukko, but privately wants to overhtrow Ukko and Joukahainen to found his own Empire.
Louhi
- a respected Meltran rival of Joukahainen, Louhi is sent to Earth by Ukko to replace her rival when Ukko uses the excuse of Joukahainen's failure to retrieve the SDF-1 to weaken the commander's position. Louhi has no more success than her predecessor however and her decision to send iniltrators into the SDF-1 ultimately leads to the Zentreadi defeat. Louhi and Nyyrikki are uneasy allies since Louhi really is loyal to Ukko to begin with.
Kyllikki
- the most respected Meltran ace in the galaxy, Kyllikki is a contempary of Louhi and has commanded troopers and Power Armour for Louhi since Louhi's first ship command. Ruthless and proud, Kyllikki and her corps of Power Armour troopers meet their match against the SDF-1 although they do succeed in killing Manfred and many other pilots. Ultimately, her rivalyr with Katsuro brings Kyllikki onto the SDF-1 and they fall in love. Her pilots follow her in the first mass-defection of Zentreadi to Earth.
No Quarter, NO QUARTER! You damn well earned your fate.
Give Harrington our compliments; we're sorry you are late.
- No Quarter, Echoes Children
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.