Hey, thanks for checking out the game!
I believe you might have tried to expand into both the Wex and Epli System at the same time. You will have to choose one path. To get the strange crystal shards, you can demolish the Long-Range Comet Rail Nodes connecting one of those systems. That will refund the crystals and allow you to explore further at the other system.
(Also, I didn't see that your post was pending review, sorry for the delay!)