Life is the word

"Life is the word" is a recurring phrase in the Orphans series, first used by Nerrine in "Let the Dawn Decide":

"My word is the law. Life is the word. Life is the law."

The command of the Imperatrix is sacred law for the Daughters of Mars. Whereas their culture is obsessed with honor, battle, and noble deaths, Nerrine realizes that these kinds of things don't work on an Earth populated by dinosaurs, and extolls the members of Earth Colony to survive, first and foremost.