By the year 1999 the world was spinning out of control. Strikes, famine, natural disasters, civil strife, and unexplainable phenomena were happening at an alarming rate. A select group of researchers from the US, Britain, and Russia were provided with the most accurate and sensitive intel available. After six months of study the panel came to the conclusion that most of the current chaos was in fact a secondary effect. The secondary effects seemed to correlate with strange phenomena. The nations funding this found the data to be very disturbing. Since, at the time, magic was completely ludicrous the experts at the time became convinced that the phenomena were extra-terrestrial in origin. So they decided to do something about it. Select nations from around the globe pooled resources to establish a secret paramilitary organization with the express purpose of defending the planet against the percieved invaders. The organization, X-Com, gained a deeper understanding of the behavior, if not nature, of the otherworldly phenomena over the next few years. Then, in 2011, all at last became clear. The strange occurances were not alien, but infact mana spikes. Once it's raison d'etere evaporated the X-Com program was mothballed. Until 2029. When the super secret Echo Mirage was being trained and equipped to fight a war on an alien battlefield, certain members of the intelligence community realized that the governments still needed an organization ready to fight against emergent threats to global survival. Thus they dusted off X-com. This time it's primary mandate was to provide overwatch of megacorporate abuses of technology. Then several years later the key figures learned of the danger that the astral planes presented and the mandate of X-Com was expanded. The current goal of X-Com is the defense of Earth from threats otherworldly and aberrant.

In 207x X-Com is fighting a two front war. On one side they are trying to stymie the Dissonance. One the other they have to stem the tide of metaplanar incursions. In order to remain clandestine X-Com cannot afford to have many investigative personnel on standby. Therefore they utilize Shadowrunners to investigate incidents not extreme enough to dedicate in-house personnel to. Eventually when certain 'runners have proven themselves able and worthy, they are given the chance to save the world.

So, what do y'all think?

thats an old and used Story.Every couple o'years someone comes up with the X-Com-SR-X-over
I Like the idea,and I've played (once or twice) with Aliens (No I don't mean the Players )
Go for it if your Group likes the Idea.
the main Problem I see are the Psionics of the Aliens,they're not magic !!

who dances with Aliens
Medicineman

For all we know the Exchange VPN is actually a semi-autonomous knowbot that serves the functions of X-Com by tapping into the runner community.

@ Medicineman: I haven't seen such a crossover here before. Additionally my X-com does not fight space aliens but fights metaplanar and dissonant threats. Before 2011 the idea of magic being a rational explanation for anything was fairly ludicrous, thus the misidentification of manaspike incidents as extra-terrestrial in origin. In stead of creating a whole new super-secret paramilitary organization they just used what they already had in place and changed it's directive.

@ Sir_Psycho: that's a really cool idea, thanks

@crash2029: Actually Ive read a German SR-Novel where you can find something equivalent to the X-Com you want to come up with. The main char Daniel P Fox, a Human MI-6 Agent if Im not wrong, starts a regular Shadowrun for a Seattler Johnson in which he and other Shadowrunners have to protect a Female Decker.. Anyways to cut a long story short before the Finale the Team receives support from a Group that calls itself the 'American-Canadian Council'. The Council intervenes cause during their run the Team gets confronted with a twisted Mage, which refers his power from a giant Maggot that lives hidden in some cavern Undercity somewhere in Atzlan. The Maggot that somehow survived the Mana loss during the 5th World, has send out the twisted Mage to find the Key to open a gate that works like a portal between our world and some freaky metaplane. Guess what, the key to open the gate, is that Girl that the main char Daniel P Fox has to protect. If she gets sacrifced the gate opens, and more Maggots can come thru into our World and spread their terror..

Anyone who has read the first Earthdawn Novel 'The Longing Ring' by Christopher Kubasik will be familiar with those Maggots. Anyways, I like the idea of an possible X-Com-a-like Team that fights Magical Threats. At the latest since Chicago there has to be somekind of half independent Special Taskforce that operates national, or internationl against Magical Threats like Bugs, Maggots, Horros aso.

I recall reading somewhere (perhaps here), that an unofficial rule with SR writing was "No aliens"?

not trying to spoil anyone's creativity, but that was why they never appeared in canon.

crash2029 was talking about metaplanar and dissonant threats that would be fought..

Conspiracy X IMHO works better for X-com. Especially 2.0 unless you don't like Unisystem. Both versions have plenty of alien threats, psychics, base creation, alien tech research stuff, strings to pull, and advanced aircraft. My 2¢

That would be the Draco Foundation and Hestaby....

- J.

Draco I know, but on Hestaby I have to check. Looks like I missed something again..