Dana Sterling was a half-human, half-Zentraedi woman, the eldest child of Max Sterling and Miriya Sterling. Dana was left on Earth when her family traveled with the Robotech Expeditionary Force to Tirol. Unbeknownst to them, the Robotech Masters had actually left years before, and made the first attack on the Earth only 4 years later, in 2029. Dana graduated from the Robotech Military Academy in that year, and eventually became the commanding officer of the 15th Alpha Tactical Armored Corps.