The Terran Independent Alliance (TIA) is a terrorist organism which claims jurisdiction over a volume of space twenty light years in radius which is centred on the Zelleg System. Six class one planets are located in the volume.
The professed aim of TIA is to secede from the Terran Commonwealth and to gain full control over its borders and laws. Support for these goals is limited within the volume claimed by TIA and even at its peak has never exceeded 33% of the populace of over 100 million.
Among Cosfor and intelligence agencies it is widely known that the head of TIA is James Bridge, the President of the official Commonwealth government of Zelleg Four. However, Bridge has skilfully avoided any connection which could be used within the Commonwealth's legislation to evict him from office. In addition, Zelleg Four harbours the greatest concentration of pro-TIA citizens and his position is currently secure.
TIA's first act of terrorism was the bombing on 19 March 2279 of the habitat section of the Benedict Lunar Colony located in the Sea of Storms. Multiple other attacks have since occurred and do not discriminate between military targets and civilians.
As well as the high level of skill with which TIA carries out its acts of terror are its ability either to liberate or assassinate any of its operatives who are arrested by the Commonwealth authorities.
Good relations are believed to exist between TIA and the
Arlosian Empire albeit that no open support has been given to TIA by the Arlosians and the Empire typically issues carefully judged statements distancing themselves from TIA's actions whenever an atrocity takes place.
Despite its status as a terrorist organisation, TIA is able to use the infrastructure of Zelleg Four and the nearby worlds to support its campaign and even boasts a small fleet of
corvette-class warships.