The origins of the warp drive, that most essential marvel of Mankinds lost technology, have long since been lost. Much of the terminology and phenomena surrounding its operation is unknown even to the most learned of the tech-magi of Mars 一 we understand the practical uses of such arcana as Cellar fields and Hohne translation apertures, but not the origins or meaning of their peculiar titles. This is also true of the so-called Mandeville point of a given star system.

亞空間驅(qū)動(dòng)是人類失落科技中最為重要的奇跡，它的起源在很久之前便遺失了。哪怕是最為博學(xué)的火星賢者也不知道很多關(guān)于其運(yùn)作的術(shù)語(yǔ)和現(xiàn)象——我們明白諸如蓋勒力場(chǎng)和霍恩轉(zhuǎn)換光環(huán)之類神秘技術(shù)的實(shí)際用法，但并不明白它們奇異獨(dú)特的名稱背后的起源和意義。這種現(xiàn)象也存在于給定星系中所謂的曼德維勒點(diǎn)。

In the most brief and incomplete terms, a Mandeville point is an area of a given star system that is far enough from any large gravitational fields, thus allowing the stable formation of a warp drive's entry or exit point. Attempting translation to or from the Warp outside of the points increases the stresses generated within the warp engine to dangerous levels, and will likely result in the destruction of the vessel, or worse, stranding it within the Warp permanently.

曼德維勒點(diǎn)最簡(jiǎn)明的解釋是：給定星系中的某個(gè)離任何大型重力場(chǎng)都足夠遠(yuǎn)的區(qū)域，這里能夠穩(wěn)定形成亞空間驅(qū)動(dòng)進(jìn)出點(diǎn)，嘗試從該點(diǎn)以外的地區(qū)轉(zhuǎn)入或轉(zhuǎn)出亞空間會(huì)使亞空間引擎內(nèi)產(chǎn)生的壓力激增到危險(xiǎn)水平，這將會(huì)導(dǎo)致艦船的毀滅，甚至引發(fā)更為嚴(yán)重的情況——艦船永久性擱淺在亞空間中。

For most systems, the Mandeville point is simply a certain distance from its star and any other large planetary body. With most non-critical transports, this forces chartist captains to translate into realspace at the edge of the system and move to their destination under more conventional power. Some systems, such as Chondax, feature a complex orbital structure that allows a deviation from this standard. The presence of the inner binary and distant companion star allows for a narrow Mandeville belt between their two orbits, and skilled Navigators can use such a belt to translate into the middle of the system rather than at its furthest edge. It is such a manoeuvre that the Alpha Legion conducted upon arriving in Chondax, using a positional beacon on Phemus IV to align their ships and cutting off the Khagans fleet from the systems edge and their outlying garrisons.

在大多數(shù)星系中，曼德維勒點(diǎn)和主序恒星以及其他大型天體有著一段確定的距離。在大多數(shù)非關(guān)鍵運(yùn)輸活動(dòng)中，這迫使契約船長(zhǎng)們?cè)谛窍档倪吘夀D(zhuǎn)入現(xiàn)實(shí)宇宙，并使用更為常規(guī)的動(dòng)力前往目的地。但諸如Chondax之類的某些星系擁有著允許艦船偏離這套標(biāo)準(zhǔn)流程的復(fù)雜軌道結(jié)構(gòu)，內(nèi)部雙星和遙遠(yuǎn)的伴星（機(jī)仆：驚了，三體抄襲戰(zhàn)錘40k實(shí)錘??…開(kāi)個(gè)玩笑，現(xiàn)實(shí)中多恒星系統(tǒng)其實(shí)并不罕見(jiàn)）的存在允許在它們的兩條軌道之間存在一條狹窄的曼德維勒環(huán)帶，技藝高超的導(dǎo)航者能利用這條環(huán)帶在星系的中央而非其最為遙遠(yuǎn)的邊界處轉(zhuǎn)入現(xiàn)實(shí)宇宙。阿爾法軍團(tuán)就是通過(guò)這種機(jī)動(dòng)策略抵達(dá)了Chondax，之后他們利用Phemus IV 世界上的定位燈塔來(lái)校準(zhǔn)他們的艦船，并切斷了察合臺(tái)可汗艦隊(duì)與星系邊緣和外圍駐軍的聯(lián)系。