Akebono: gives Asashio, who lost their bet, the tracksuit they bet on, while denying involvement. Admiral Shiro: gives Shigure, who lost their bet, the equipment recovery they bet on, while denying involvement.
Akebono: gives Asashio, who lost their bet, the tracksuit they bet on, while denying involvement. Admiral Shiro: gives Shigure, who lost their bet, the equipment recovery they bet on, while denying involvement.
Those two have much in common.
Akebono didn't get a chance to deny giving Asashio the tracksuit, I thought...
Plus, the Admiral didn't deny her request - not exactly. Just acknowledged that she lost the fight to get an expedition launched. He didn't have anything to say about the diversion that the submarines (who were also the best shipgirl unit to send out for underwater recovery ops), except that they'd located Yuudachi's equipment in the process.
Unlike Akebono, he doesn't deny anything happened. He just doesn't say what any orders or information given out were. For all we know, he just hinted that Yuudachi's gear was located in the general area, and let the subs take it from there. Remember how Yuudachi was rescued in the first place, by shipgirls being posted nearby - the main reason they weren't there earlier was because they were stopping the reinforcements that would have otherwise overtaken Yuudachi and the others she was buying time for.
Plausible deniability is a skill that Akebono has yet to master.
From my understanding, the Admiral had already launched the SS expedition when Shigure barged in and demanded she be sent out. He already knew that Shigure's sortie was unnecessary, but still humored her by giving her a chance to prove her worth. It's better on her psyche for herself to acknowledge defeat and desist than to forbid her from launching, only to realize later that Shigure launched an unauthorized sortie on her own. (You know how well that turned out for the naval base's previous Shit Admiral and his secretary ship.)
The fight was merely a diversion to prevent Shigure from launching unauthorized. With her acknowledging her own defeat, she would think twice about launching alone. The Admiral's just playing along and seeming none the wiser, so that Shigure wouldn't feel she's obligated to express gratitude towards him.
Or, well, at least he tried not to have Shigure feel too indebted.
From my understanding, the Admiral had already launched the SS expedition when Shigure barged in and demanded she be sent out. He already knew that Shigure's sortie was unnecessary, but still humored her by giving her a chance to prove her worth. It's better on her psyche for herself to acknowledge defeat and desist than to forbid her from launching, only to realize later that Shigure launched an unauthorized sortie on her own. (You know how well that turned out for the naval base's previous Shit Admiral and his secretary ship.)
The fight was merely a diversion to prevent Shigure from launching unauthorized. With her acknowledging her own defeat, she would think twice about launching alone. The Admiral's just playing along and seeming none the wiser, so that Shigure wouldn't feel she's obligated to express gratitude towards him.
Or, well, at least he tried not to have Shigure feel too indebted.
Make of that what you will.
I still say that Admiral Shiro didn't order the submarines to search for Yuudachi's rigging, but merely said during their pre-mission briefing that Yuudachi had fought near the zone they were crossing, and her equipment might be on the seabed.
So, yeah, the girls did it themselves, which may have delayed their expedition's return, but didn't threaten its success, while letting two of his girls be happy.
He probably didn't order a mission just to get Yuudachi her gear back (which might be seen as favoritism or a unwise use of resources), but gave the girls an opportunity to do as they probably would've wanted to anyways, by providing extra information.
I still say that Admiral Shiro didn't order the submarines to search for Yuudachi's rigging, but merely said during their pre-mission briefing that Yuudachi had fought near the zone they were crossing, and her equipment might be on the seabed.
So, yeah, the girls did it themselves, which may have delayed their expedition's return, but didn't threaten its success, while letting two of his girls be happy.
He probably didn't order a mission just to get Yuudachi her gear back (which might be seen as favoritism or a unwise use of resources), but gave the girls an opportunity to do as they probably would've wanted to anyways, by providing extra information.
That works, too. :)
Coincidences are such amazing things, aren't they.