The Journey to their destination was a long one. Even with a corvette acting as their ship, one that was equipped with the most advanced technology that the Empire could manufacture, it still took several months to arrive at Alpha Centauri.
During this time Erich familiarized himself with his new team members, as well as the mission which they were about to embark upon. When he was not reading over the dossier which he had been given by Ghost, he was interacting with the men in the mess, where they drank and talked about war stories while also playing cards.
In fact, Erich enjoyed the time he spent with these men, as it made him feel like he actually had some friends. After all, the men he had met at the academy were all dead. Ever since then, Erich had never really bonded with any of his other comrades.