[Loser]

In order to regard the squares on the system or tactical map as realistic I've felt that they could not be assumed to correspond to distances.

I think it is best to think that the X- and Y-Axis do not represent anything like an X- or Y-Axis in space, but rather various aspects of an orbit, distance and speed. We don't have to know what those aspects specifically are, because I think we'd be hard pressed to get something that fits exactly.

This would explain why 'thrust' appears to provide 'movement' and not 'acceleration'. If velocity is already figured into the sectors, then acceleration would just move you from sector to sector at a constant rate. Still, QNP makes more sense than stock propulsion.

This would also fit with the way that a one-sector asteroid collection is labeled an 'asteroid belt', as that one sector comprises a whole orbit. As well, this fits with the way that the planets do not move.