"Study in Still Life" is a satirical science fiction short story by British writer Eric Frank Russell.
Sitting at a desk with a surly co-worker, processing endless forms while fat cats in the office line their own nests, is no way to end a career as a space pilot.
So when one ex-spacer finds that an order for a biological irradiator, needed to help wipe out an insect plague on a colony planet, has been sidelined to make way for a shipment of gin for one of his superiors, he takes action.
In record time, that is to say mere years, the irradiator arrives, and immediately the bureaucrats smell a rat.
He decides to adopt the idea for the good of the organization, and gratefully offers the ex-pilot the job of supervisor in the new department.