The system giving him a reward is pretty much a confirmation that his guess was actually correct. That being said, it certain didn't make him happy.
They're so far from the Last Bastion...they're on the other side of the planet actually.
This specific spot where the City M ended-up? Is the actually the farthest distance humanity managed to travel so far according to the history books. Those who participated in the expedition mostly died and only one managed to return home.
Even then, the survivor of the expedition only lived long enough to make a report before dying as well.
Sufficed to say, Ashton's pretty screwed right now. The more he discover things about their current predicament, the more it seems impossible for him to make it back home.
How is it that things gets worse first instead of getting better. It just doesn't make sense! What did he ever do to deserve this?