Hehe, that is going away in the next release. It was a one-time thing for Alpha 13, so you were "lucky" to experience it
You took a shortcut to a distant place in the world, via a route that's especially hard on beginners and pretty likely to appear. Don't worry about it--the release next week is shortening the distance that route can take you, so it'll be less punishing. Any caves, on the other hand, can be pretty tough to tackle if you're not ready for them, though!
...hm, now that I look at your sheet more closely, though, you did take the shortest possible route between those two locations, meaning that much won't change (in terms of depth)--
but your chances of survival will be much greater because those escorts you were assigned will actually follow you out. (That they did not was an oversight on my part, fixed for the next release!)
Regarding the terminals, maybe someone else can help you there, but you weren't yet in a position to use that mechanic anyway
(In a general sense, honestly it looks like you had a decent build going.)
Edit: By the way, evolutions only happen once you return to the main complex at your given depth. So you were close, but not quite there.
