They all died.
It was tragic, but unavoidable, really. It was amazing that the six of them had lasted that long. They had been killed in morph, so that was a small blessing, at least. Four sets of parents were driven mad with worry, but they were not hunted down and infested.
The only one that had been in their own form was an Andalite aristh. Recordings were saved of the slaughter, and the images were broadcast across the galaxy. A battered and bloodied child, dying light years from home, crushed beneath the might of the Yeerk Empire.
It was no accident that the images found their way to Andalite eyes. Crowing Yeerk troops would send the files as a warning, a threat of what would come to any that stood in their way. Soon, the body was identified as that of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil, the younger brother of Prince Elfangor.
Noorlin-Sirinial-Cooraf and Forlay-Esgarrouth-Maheen were told not to try to find the images.
They did anyway.
They had not seen their Aximili-kala in so long, they barely recognized him.
It was the last straw. The populace had the results of the battle on Earth shoved in their faces. Were an aristh and a few warriors all the defense that could be spared for such a large battle front? Why was the rest of the fleet not there? Why was the Electorate dawdling so long, when children were dying on the front lines? The voice of the people began to rise up against the military class. It was finally time for the princes to start taking notice of Earth.
They went in with Shredders blazing, fully stocked Dome ships charging into battle. With a few stray pictures, the war had struck a personal chord, and the time for the main assault was long overdue.
They crushed the Yeerks within a week.
With the defeat of the Andalite bandits, the Yeerks had shifted strategic power to the unguarded planet. When the fleet did arrive, they took out the main powerhouse of the Empire, and crippled it so severely that surrender was the only recourse. They were beaten back, routed from the planets they had already captured, and corralled back into their sludge filled home world.
Some Yeerks claimed that they had been part of a peace movement, that they had been actively resisting the Empire, alongside the Analite bandits. These were obviously Yeerk lies, and the treacherous slugs were executed for their attempts at sabotage.
And so the war was won, by the power and determination of the Andalite military. The sacrifice of Aristh Aximili and the five unidentified warriors had led to the greatest victory of the Andalite race, which continued to shine proud throughout the universe, a symbol of peace and tranquility.
And from the darkness, the Kelbrid watched.